Your task is to extract the thesis of an opinionated news article by selecting some of its text segments. The thesis is a summarization of what the author wants to persuade the reader of. Your answer should consist of segments of the given text. Note that you are not allowed to combine different sentences.

Obama's State of the Union fantasy world: We need a real national security strategy, VA reform. Here's a prediction: expect a narrative to emerge in certain media outlets in the coming days that Tuesday night's State of the Union speech was a grand return to form for President Obama . The elite, east-coast intelligencia line will be that the beleaguered lame duck president--facing a hostile, conservative Congress--regained his momentum with renewed energy and purpose . How Obama Got His Groove Back , Washington- style . Groove aside , the fact remains that Obama's next-to-last State of the Union address did not substantially address two of the most pressing issues currently facing our nation and that matter most to its military veterans: the lack of a clear United States national security strategy-- to include the crisis facing our military-- and the inability of the VA bureaucracy care to deliver timely health care to millions of our veterans . But you wouldn't know it by listening to Tuesday night's State of the Union address . President Obama is living in a fantasy world . The president says that we're "stopping ISIL's advance." But in reality, his campaign of airstrikes have not been successful , and ISIS controls more territory in Iraq and Syria today than ever before . He also boldly claimed that "we're slashing the backlog that had too many veterans waiting years to get the benefits they need," but this statement too just doesn't match up with reality . Today, nearly 250,000 veterans are still stuck in the VA claims backlog and another 290,000 languish in the appeals process . Is that still "too many," Mr  President? Unfortunate events will likely force the president's attention to these issues in 2015 -- just like ISIS did in Iraq and Phoenix did for the VA in 2014 . However ,  President Obama could be proactive and get ahead of these issues by pursuing the following four agenda items :. 1 \. Articulate a real national security strategy . The president's plan for"leading from behind"-- and that national security and foreign policy boils down to "don't do stupid stuff"-- is no substitute for a real strategy, as deteriorating situations in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Ukraine and elsewhere prove . Likewise, denying the nature of the enemy we face("ISIS is not Islamic") only muddies the water further , emboldening our enemies and confusing our allies . President Obama also touted ending the 14 year-long war in Afghanistan , but "ending" is different than"winning." His telegraphed withdrawals have pulled us out of conflicts before they're resolved , creating power vacuums in Iraq- and soon in Afghanistan- that leave America more vulnerable . And incredibly, for the first time since 9/11, the president failed to even mention the Taliban or Al Qaeda  - both of which are far from "on the run" as he proclaimed in 2012 and are advancing and actively challenging the West . 2 \. Get serious about fixing defense spending . Instead of cutting fat, the president's ill-conceived defense budget sequester has slashed into the muscle of our military force . The administration should strive to replace defense sequestration, by implementing serious and commensurate acquisitions and compensation reforms . Reforming these areas will reduce Pentagon budgetary pressures caused by massive weapons system cost-overruns and exploding personnel costs, allowing for a more strategic allocation of war-fighting resources . In order to live within a fiscally responsible reality, and most importantly maintain the world's most capable military, the administration and Congress must get serious about real DoD spending reform . His address last night didn't even mention sequestration . 3 \. Develop and implement a plan to tackle the national debt . Respected military leaders like Marine General James Mattis, Admiral Mike Mullen, and many others recognize that the biggest long-term threat to our national security is our massive national debt . At more than $18 trillion and growing, the debt is on track to double under President Obama . It is absolutely vital to the fiscal, economic, and military strength of our country that we have a serious plan to get our debt under control through reductions in spending and significant reforms across the government . 4 \. Implement more accountability and choice at the VA . The VA reforms passed by Congress last year were a good first step, but will not address the deeper, systemic culture problems at VA . In the next Congress, the president should champion even deeper reforms at VA to bring accountability for poor performing employees throughout the department and to expand health care options for veterans outside the VA system . These basic principles would not only address a campaign promise the president has failed to deliver on("fixing the VA") but would show that he is finally serious about improving veterans' access to the quality health care they earned . What the president misses, and even defies, in his latest list of proposals is that Americans don't think government isn't doing enough . They think government does too much, that most of what it does, it does poorly , and that it doesn't attend to the issues that matter to them . Focusing on the four agenda items above would send a message that the president is finally serious about governing in his last two years in office . It's probably too much to ask for Obama to change his approach at this stage in his presidency -- but it's essential if he wants to avoid a legacy of division, defiance and neglect . And if the president continues on his current course? Well, the items listed above will become part of a compelling agenda for his potential successors as they take to the campaign trail for 2016 .
The elite, east-coast intelligencia line will be that the beleaguered lame duck president--facing a hostile, conservative Congress--regained his momentum with renewed energy and purpose

Russia is part of the solution and the problem. When it comes to Russia, I must admit, I have my biases . Political and economic developments in Russia have a direct impact on the Caucasus and particularly my own country, Armenia . The heightened tension between Russia and the West limits Armenia's ability to balance between two friendly sides while Russia's economic reversals impact Armenia's fragile economy . Not to mention what another Cold War might do to Armenia, to the region and the world . My enquiry generated a commotion in the hall and the Finnish representative, pre-empting the speaker, challenged my premise arguing that Finland's choice was of its own volition , which is not the case in Ukraine . Schussel concurred . Fair point . But in international relations, a state's "volition" is so often shaped and determined by perceived threats . It's called diplomacy and it requires reconciling the pursuit of national interests with regional and global peace . Finland's President Sauli Niinisto himself, in a recent interview with the Washington Post, predicted that Finland joining NATO would negatively affect relations with Russia . "It is very obvious that if Finland joins NATO, that would undoubtedly harm our relations with Russia . You have to keep in mind that 1,300km is a long border, and you just don't keep it closed . On the contrary, it's a living border," Niinisto said . It's time Ukraine does the same . The world is inching towards a new Cold War and at the heart of it is Ukraine . When and what will be the last straw is hard to tell . But then it will be too late to reverse things from a point of no return . Russia today faces serious geopolitical and economic challenges . It is in direct confrontation with the West on a vision about the world order, on Ukraine, on Syria and on a great many other large and not-so-large issues . Economically, Russia is beginning to feel the aggregate impact of the West's economic sanctions , falling oil prices, the devaluation of the ruble, capital outflow and a decline in direct foreign investment . But to think that these pressures will force the Kremlin into even partial submission and to change its posture on global issues and weaken its grip on its immediate neighbourhood would be to misjudge President Vladimir Putin . It could have the exact opposite effect , as Russia's president perhaps walks his way out of this through consolidation at home and further assertiveness and intransigence abroad . In his annual State of the Nation address to parliament on December 4, Putin evoked exactly that . He called for the public's resilience in the face of hardship, and promised to continue his foreign policy in the belief in the justness of Russia's cause and greatness . Russia's(or Putin's) convictions are anchored on several real or perceived premises . Russian influence . First ,  Russia believes that the US never stopped containing Russia . Since the collapse of the Berlin wall, NATO's and the EU's borders have moved east . Russia fears that Ukraine's and Georgia's expressed desire to join both organisations, risks bringing those organisations to Russia's most vulnerable borders - to the east and the south . In his address condemning the "pure cynicism" of the West, he accused western governments of seeking to raise a new "iron curtain" around Russia and suggested that even if Crimea had not been annexed, the West would have come up with a different pretext to impose sanctions to contain Russia's resurgence . Second ,  Russia firmly believes that Americans are interventionists and falsely moralistic in their discourse . They are heavily involved in using soft power to manipulate and shape the will of the people while advocating the independence and sovereignty of states and respect of the will of those same people to determine their own future . In the same speech, Putin accused the West of meddling in Russia's internal affairs, claiming that sanctions were merely an excuse to weaken Russia . Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov charged the West with seeking regime change in Moscow . Russia has always blamed the West for its policies of interference in other countries' internal affairs, but had never before implied that it had worries of its own . As we are faced with the possibility of another Cold War and are challenged to look for ways to avoid it , it is worth looking into history's verdict on the original one . Facing a Cold War . First there are the traditionalists of the 1960s who argued that the Cold War was the direct result of Stalin's aggressive Soviet expansionism . Later on, particularly during the Vietnam War, the revisionists (William Appleman Williams) challenged that view blaming the US for the Cold War, arguing that:"America's chief aim in the years after the war was to make sure that there was an 'open door' for American trade, and that this led the American government to try to make sure that countries remained capitalist like the United States." Then there were the post-revisionists (John Lewis Gaddis) in the 1970s who believed that:"America and Russia wanted to keep the peace after the war but that conflict was caused by mutual misunderstanding, reactivity, and above all the American inability to understand Stalin's fears and need to defend himself after the war." The latter is the closest guide to today's problems . One of the specificities of the current period is that the West considers Russia to be both part of the solution but part of the problem as well . Indeed ,  Russia supports the separatists in Ukraine and is the only power that can influence decisions there and make the rebels listen . In Iran, Russia built the heavy water Arak nuclear power station which was perceived to be a huge problem , even as it offers to supply enriched uranium or host Iran's centrifuges as part of a solution . In Syria, Russia backs the Assad regime while it remains engaged in the political process and under certain circumstances can influence Assad's decisions . The list grows even longer if one considers the conflicts in other parts of Russia's neighbourhood . From the Moldovan to the Georgian and the Armenian- Azerbaijani conflicts, Russia has a major influence and say in the final outcomes . As a result of this duality, the line is blurred between engagement and confrontation, creating misunderstandings and uncertainties, but also opportunities for both Russia and the US . This was not the case in the East- West standoff during the Cold War . These beliefs and perceptions are both strengths and weaknesses for one side or the other . Taken together, they nullify each other . In the bigger picture, in the face of enormous global disturbances causing untold carnage and loss of life, they seem trivial . It is time that the major players look beyond history and personalities and transcend the zero-sum thinking of the past .
When it comes to Russia, I must admit, I have my biases Political and economic developments in Russia have a direct impact on the Caucasus and particularly my own country, Armenia

CIA Report, Funding the Government: How can Obama, Congress defy the Constitution? When the government is waving at us with its right hand, so to speak, it is the government's left hand that we should be watching . Just as a magician draws your attention to what he wants you to see so you will not observe how his trick is performed , last week presented a textbook example of public disputes masking hidden deceptions . Here is what happened . Last week was dominated by two huge news stories . One was the revelation by the Senate Intelligence Committee of torture committed by CIA agents and contractors on 119 detainees in the post-9/11 era -- 26 of whom were tortured for months by mistake . In that revelation of anguish and error were the conclusions by CIA agents themselves that their torture had not produced helpful information . President Obama acknowledged that the CIA had tortured , yet he directed the Department of Justice not to prosecute those who tortured and those who authorized it . The other substantial news story was the compromise achieved by Congress and the White House to fund the government through the end of September 2015 . That legislation, which is 2,000 pages in length, was not read by anyone who voted for it . It spends a few hundred billion dollars more than the government will collect in tax revenue . The compromise was achieved through bribery ; members of Congress bought and sold votes by adding goodies (in the form of local expenditures of money borrowed by the federal government) to the bill that were never debated or independently voted upon and were added solely to achieve the votes needed for passage . This is how the federal government operates today . Both parties participate in it . They have turned the public treasury into a public trough . Hidden in the law that authorized the government to spend more than it will collect was a part about funding for the 16 federal civilian intelligence agencies . And hidden in that was a clause, inserted by the same Senate Intelligence Committee that revealed the CIA torture, authorizing the National Security Agency to gather and retain nonpublic data for five years and to share it with law enforcement and with foreign governments . "Nonpublic data" is the government's language referring to the content of the emails, text messages, telephone calls, bank statements, utility bills and credit card bills of nearly every innocent person in America -- including members of Congress, federal judges, public officials and law enforcement officials . I say "innocent" because the language of this legislation -- which purports to make lawful the NSA spying we now all know about-- makes clear that those who spy upon us needn't have any articulable suspicion or probable cause for spying . The need for articulable suspicion and probable cause has its origins in the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution , which was written to prohibit what Congress just authorized . That amendment was a reaction to the brutish British practice of rummaging through the homes of American colonists, looking for anything that might be illegal . It is also a codification of our natural right to privacy . It requires that if the government wants nonpublic data from our persons, houses, papers or effects, it must first present evidence of probable cause to a judge and then ask the judge for a search warrant . Probable cause is a level of evidence that is sufficient to induce a judge into concluding that it is more likely than not that the place to be examined contains evidence of crimes . In order to seek probable cause, the government must first have an articulable suspicion about the person or place it has targeted . Were this not in the law, then nothing would stop the government from fishing expeditions in pursuit of anyone it wants to pursue . And fishing expeditions turn the presumption of liberty on its head . The presumption of liberty is based on the belief that our rights are natural to us and that we may exercise them without a permission slip from the government and without its surveillance . Until last week, that is . Last week, Congress, by authorizing the massive NSA spying to continue and by authorizing the spies to share what they have seized with law enforcement, basically permitted the fishing expeditions that the Fourth Amendment was written to prevent . How can the president and Congress defy the Constitution, you might ask? Hasn't every member of the government taken an oath to uphold the Constitution? Doesn't the Constitution create the presidency and the Congress? How can politicians purport to change it? The answers to these questions are obvious, as is the belief of most of those in government that they can write any law and regulate any behavior and ignore the Constitution they have sworn to uphold whenever they want , so long as they can get away with it .

When the government is waving at us with its right hand, so to speak, it is the government's left hand that we should be watching