RUSSIA IN CONTROL – AT 10:20 A.M. ET:  Another famous victory for Field Marshal Barack Obama and Grand Admiral John Kerry.  Let us celebrate these magnificent strategists.  From AFP:

MOSCOW (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered a halt to an agreement with the United States on plutonium disposal, citing Washington’s “unfriendly actions”.

The deal, signed in 2000, was meant to allow both nuclear powers to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium from their defense programs, a move seen as a key step in the disarmament process.

The two countries recommitted to the deal in 2010.

The Kremlin indicated Monday that it would stick to the agreement if Washington lifts sanctions and ends other policies seen as unfriendly to Moscow.

Putin charged earlier this year that the United States was not honoring the agreement by disposing of plutonium in a way that allowed it to retain its defense capabilities.

The suspension is symbolic of the breakdown in nuclear nonproliferation cooperation, an expert said.

The decree published Monday states that Russia is pulling out of the agreement “due to a drastic change in circumstances, the appearance of a threat to strategic stability due to unfriendly actions of the United States toward Russia”.

It claimed that Washington was “unable” to carry out the terms of the agreement and that Moscow “must take urgent measures to defend Russian security”.

COMMENT:  This should be brought up during the debate on Sunday.  Clinton must be pressed on her failures as secretary of state.  And it's fair to press Trump on his praise for Vladimir Putin.

Clearly, Putin is reaching for superpower status again, and achieving it in the face of a weak Obama administration.

October 3, 2016