WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG, BAD PUTIN -- OR ASSAD FOR THAT MATTER

By Sig Demling

You would think that Vladimir Putin would have better things to do with his Russian rule than threaten Israel.

Really -- what is he gaining by sending S-300 missiles to Syria's Bashar Assad not to mention a flock of advanced jet planes?

Then again, Putin may have visions of Josef Stalin dancing in his head.

With the Middle East -- that is Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, you name it -- in tumultuous turmoil, the latest Russian attempt to toss gasoline on the fire already is causing explosions with even greater KA-BOOMS likely if Putin doesn't mind his business.

On his last visit to Moscow Benjamin Netanyahu made it abundantly clear to the Mad Russian that Israel not only won't tolerate the acceptance and positioning of a sophisticated Syrian air defense system, he will do something about it.

And that something includes destroying them on arrival whether Putin or Assad like it or not.

Not that Israel ever can expect tangible help from Uncle Sam but at least U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has acknowledged that the S-300 missiles and advanced jet planes put Israeli security at risk.

When his country is placed in an at-risk situation, the last thing Bibi is going to do is twiddle his thumbs and order another iced coffee. (No sugar, please.)

Israel should not be afraid of either the Russian Bear -- who can bear that perfidious Putin in the first place? -- or the Dictator of Damascus.

The Kremlin should know by now that whether the year was 1948, 1956 or 1967, Israel must be pro active when it comes to self-defense.

As for being afraid? By now Israelis know that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was right when -- as American president during the Great Depression -- he uttered the deathless words, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

The problem with Kerry and European Union officials such as Germany's Secretary of State Guido Westerwelle is that they are the ones living in fear.

Their courage comes only in statements rather than actions.

If ever actions would speak louder than words it would have to be something more than the sitting-on-hands behavior of the White House and EU. That's especially true when it comes to halting the Iranian rush to nuclear arms or stopping the endless massacres in Syria.

Barack Obama's answer to the nut cases running Iran, the swine in Syria and the hateful Hezbollah is the president's favorite pastime -- Active Procrastination (AP).

In case you're wondering what Obama's AP is all about, just check his White House press conferences, or watch him debark from Air Force One.

The first thing he does is skip -- dance, if you will -- out from the wings as if he's demonstrating something meaningful.

That's the active part. Then, when he moves into what should be the substantive, action-packed decision-making, all we get is hemming and hawing. Heavy on the thinking; light on the action.

Exhibit A is the Obama plan for halting Tehran's march to nuclear capability. Any speech that he makes on that subject can be translated thusly:  Well, ah, hmmm, umm, hak-kaff, sput-t-t, er. That is, nothing.

Same with dis-arming Assad. Same with putting Putin in his place. Same with once and for all calling out phonies such as Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator whose primary objective in life is to pretend that he wants to negotiate face-to-face with Israel without pre-conditions.

Except that Erekat's briefcase has more pre-conditions than there are cedars in Lebanon.

In case you missed it, Erekat got his bowels -- and vowels -- in an uproar last week when Israel issued tenders for the construction of 300 housing units in Ramot and began marketing efforts for a further 800 units in Gilo -- both, by the way, areas in East Jerusalem.

To put it bluntly, Erekat's answer to the "no-pre-conditions" agreement is to assert pre-conditions. In this case the Arab is telling Bibi and Kerry that he won't talk unless the building is halted.

Why pray tell should Jews be prevented from living in their eternal capital? ANSWER: There is no reason.

Why should anyone pay attention to Erekat's blathering? ANSWER: The PA negotiator is to be ignored because the Israelis learned their lesson about Arab perfidy vis-a-vis home-building in November 2009.

That's when Netanyahu implemented a settlement freeze that lasted ten months. The whole point of it was to inspire Mahmoud Abbas, Inc. back to the negotiating table. So what happened?

You guessed it; talks briefly started at the end of that period but Abbas then aborted them. End of story. End of construction freeze.

Suggestions for Kerry:

1. Stop worrying about Jews living in East Jerusalem apartments.

2. Tell your boss to get off his tuches and become infinitely more active in terms of bashing Bashar and putting down Putin.

3. Otherwise Israel will have to do the dirty work for Uncle Sam when it should be the other way around.

What should we expect?

More tap dancing in the White House while Erdogan does the Turkey Trot in Ankara!