Russia, China Challenging Obama

Cuba has once again become a hot spot of international politics. Both Russia's and China's presidents are scheduled to visit there soon. Ostensibly their goals are to strengthen their respective nations' ties to the island, 90 miles from U.S. shores, which could include a military build-up. This would add to Russian ties already being strengthened to Venezuela.

A hypothetical scenario is a Russian naval base in Venezuela or Cuba, with a permanent presence of Russian navy within landing distance of mainland U.S..

If Russia's goals are increased military presence in the Western Hemisphere it is likely that the Chinese will want to play one-upmanship with the Russians for increased military presence in the region.

Should Russia strike a deal with Cuba or Venezuela to build a permanent naval base in either country it would be a tremendous challenge to the U.S., equivalent to the international crisis that Joe Biden mentioned during the election campaign. Obama's response, he said, would not be the one we would want, which in this scenario would mean a passive, accommodating policy that concedes part of the Caribbean to the Russian and/or Chinese military.