I suspect it would look different today. We wouldn't be marching Benedict Arnold through the hinterlands again.
By the way, somebody is going to have to explain how Putin is getting the upper hand here. If anything, he's boxing himself into a corner and acting from a point of desperation than actual cunning. He has a critical satellite nation on his border that was on the verge of switching their support and influence to the EU, away from Moscow. From the Russian point of view, this is a critical loss, far more of a priority for them than the US, yet, who is supporting Putin? Who is backing him? Do people really think, and this is rhetorical because I know many do, that Putin is taking this step in the Crimea because he views the US, and Obama specifically, as weak? What a crock of bull. He's doing this because this is a vital area of his dwindling sphere of influence that he can maintain with his weak military. Putin is digging a hole for himself, furthermore, in that country, which will further weaken his influence in the region. Putin is not winning here.
you think this is desperation? Civil war between a weak gov't and rag tag hill folk is a threat to Putin? How is it critical? He's absolutely right regarding the pure rhetoric approach of Obama and Eurosocialists. This isn't about weakness. He knows we aren't weak. He damn well knows that we aren't going to do anything that threatens him or diminishes his power. Hell, we aren't going to do anything but watch him centralize more power. Weakening his influence is a pipe dream. I know you're dying to make all things Obama better than they are, but good grief. He should have sat idly by and let the UN respond - as it is taken every bit as seriously as Obama is.
And I know you're dying to make all things Obama worse than they are, but who has more to lose here, Putin or Obama? Hill folk or not, Putin was losing the friendly government in Kiev and he knew it was a problem for him to do so. I think it's a decent point that Obama didn't need to make a comment, but it's not an Obama vs. Putin deal here. You're kidding yourself if Russia is in a position of strength in this situation or if Putin is asserting, or centralizing, his power, especially as Eastern Europe slides away from his influence. Hell, without Crimea, Russia doesn't even have a warm water port. This isn't the Cold War, Russia isn't what it used to be, whether they have a conniving ex-KGB guy running the show or not.
Ignoring the Russian aparatus is insane. They still remain by far the largest threat to US sovereignty in the world and will likely remain so for our lifetime. Obama should have shut his hole. This can't end well because he won't be doing anything about it and nobody else in the world is even capable of talking about it. The condemnation was coming and our silence would have done plenty to agree with the outcry. Instead, Putin called the bluff knowing full well that we're stumbling over ourselves to look like the peaceable kingdom. This is like Syria to me. Shut your hole and leave it alone publicly or be prepared to be proactive. Public condemnations are idiotic stuff of negotiating class lore, but are utterly worthless. I don't remotely understand the Eastern European comment. It isn't sliding away. It's currently gone because his economic system and economy as a whole have been, are and will likely remain a disaster. If he needs to consolidate at some point, I have no doubt that he can be plenty persuasive in making it happen. Our public admonishments will never make a whit to a guy like Putin. He'll toe the line at every turn until we chop off said toe. His type isn't new to the world.
Russia is a paper tiger. They have trouble controlling their own borders and are now having to use their leverage to maintain influence over a country with a large Russian population within its borders. If Russia thinks they are going to reassert their authority and influence within places like Poland, as if it's 1968 or something, they have their own delusions of grandeur. Russian politics is based upon a projection of strength and masculinity, so Putin couldn't afford to let the Ukraine go, but he's shit the bed with ability to expand his influence and power beyond this situation. For what it's worth, I totally agree with you on the "do something or shut up" part, although that doesn't necessarily mean a military action or threat of one.
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is reported to have become “really annoyed” about Russian President Vladimir Putin and has questioned whether he “was still in touch with reality.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...s-whether-Putin-is-in-touch-with-reality.html
4 Reasons Putin Is Already Losing in Ukraine 1) At home, this intervention looks to be the one of the most unpopular decisions Putin has ever made. The Kremlin’s own pollster released a survey on Monday that showed 73% of Russians reject it.... 2) The economic impact on Russia is already staggering. When markets opened on Monday morning, investors got their first chance to react to the Russian intervention in Ukraine over the weekend, and as a result, the key Russian stock indexes tanked by more than 10%... 3) Even Russia’s closest allies want no part of this. The oil-rich state of Kazakhstan, the most important member of every regional alliance Russia has going in the former Soviet space, put out a damning statement on Monday, marking the first time its leaders have ever turned against Russia on such a major strategic issue: “Kazakhstan expresses deep concern over the developments in Ukraine,” the Foreign Ministry said. “Kazakhstan calls on all sides to stop the use of force in the resolution of this situation.”... 4) Russia’s isolation from the West will deepen dramatically. In June, Putin was planning to welcome the leaders of the G8, a club of western powers (plus Japan), in the Russian resort city of Sochi. But on Sunday, all of them announced they had halted their preparations for attending the summit in protest at Russia’s intervention in Ukraine. So much for Putin’s hard-fought seat at the table with the leaders of the western world... http://news.yahoo.com/4-reasons-putin-already-losing-ukraine-211452971.html?vp=1
But in the seriousness of the situation, the irony of Kerry’s next comments may have gone missed. ”You just don’t in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pretext,” he said. He went on to repeat the assertion on Meet the Press, keeping a straight face as he told host David Gregory: ”You just don’t invade another country on phony pretext in order to assert your interests.” http://www.salon.com/2014/03/02/ker...r_country_on_a_completely_trumped_up_pretext/
I imagine every autonomous state that was part of the USSR is now eying Moscow with some contempt and fear. "Are we next?" I think Putin is crazy, and not crazy like a fox, but seriously insane.
Moscow (AFP) - Russia could reduce to zero its economic dependency on the United States if Washington agreed sanctions against Moscow over Ukraine, a Kremlin aide said on Tuesday, warning that the American financial system faced a "crash" if this happened. "We would find a way not just to reduce our dependency on the United States to zero but to emerge from those sanctions with great benefits for ourselves," said Kremlin economic aide Sergei Glazyev. He told the RIA Novosti news agency Russia could stop using dollars for international transactions and create its own payment system using its "wonderful trade and economic relations with our partners in the East and South." Russian firms and banks would also not return loans from American financial institutions, he said. "An attempt to announce sanctions would end in a crash for the financial system of the United States, which would cause the end of the domination of the United States in the global financial system," he added. He said that economic sanctions imposed by the European Union would be a "catastrophe" for Europe, saying that Russia could halt gas supplies "which would be beneficial for the Americans" and give the Russian economy a useful "impulse". http://news.yahoo.com/russia-warns-could-reduce-zero-economic-dependency-us-083926261.html?vp=1
I'm really starting to get to the point where I think he does stuff just to see if he can get away with it. There is no plan, and if it works and no one says anything, then send in the entire army. I'm a bit concerned of this quasi-Russia/China-pseudo alliance that seems to be there.
