President Barack Obama may be trying to provoke Russian President Vladimir Putin by calling Russia a "regional power" that is less of a threat to the United States than a terrorist targeting New York City, says Seton Motley, founder of Less Government.
"Calling him a regional power in public is a poke at the bear. He's trying to instigate something perhaps. [Obama] can't be this naïve," Motley told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV Thursday.
"If [Putin] wanted to conquer six or seven other countries that were once part of the Soviet satellite system, he certainly could in rapid succession with virtually no obstruction."
Yevgeniy Feyman, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, added:
"He's giving Putin free rein to basically do what he wants in the former eastern bloc, and he's already invaded Ukraine.
"Annexing Crimea was illegal by international law by every way, shape and form."
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