volprof
Destroyer of Nihilists
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To the one commenter's point in Post article Burhead linked, it sounds like Moscow is using every available measure to provoke Kiev. And once they are sufficiently provoked enough and fire in response, then Putin himself gets to come riding into the Ukraine on his magical unicorn, all in the name of defending ethnic Russians in the region.
Putin had best know what the hell he's doing. This could really bite him in the ass long term.
Also, it seems very clear to most people that are being honest with themselves that this was a designed coup in the Ukraine that developed during the Olympics in the hopes that Putin would not be able to take the steps needed to nip it in the bud more effectively. But notice as soon as the Olympics were over, Putin shifted focus on to the situation. The West (mainly funded by the US) has clearly been agitating this entire debacle. Russia is now being portrayed as the bad guys for responding to the situation that is occurring in it's back yard.
In the very least, if Ukraine joins NATO, that would jeopardize Russia's ability to use the only warm water port they have in Crimea. It would be like Russia pushing us out of Guantanamo.
A revival of Soviet nostalgia has been gathering force in Russia for several years, from homey Soviet-themed cafes and restaurants to a rehabilitation of Stalin's legacy. The world saw a glimpse of the revived Soviet aesthetic at the opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympics, which presented the Soviet era as a time of avant-garde art and stylish, rebellious youth. But what has been seen in Crimea is no doubt the greatest burst of neo-Soviet politics in the post-Cold War era. Like the American Tea Party, Crimea's neo-Soviets are animated less by a coherent political philosophy than by a gauzy memory of a mythical past of strength, morality and prosperity. We used to be proud of huge things, huge policies, huge buildings, huge achievements of huge countries, said Iryna Brunova-Kalisetska, a psychologist in Simferopol who works on peace-building projects in Crimea. It's much easier to be proud of that than to be proud of your own achievements.
Are you saying they shouldn't be?
...for responding to the situation that is occurring in it's back yard.
In Bosnia, you have a nonfunctioning state, a state that is in permanent crisis, said Milan Nic, Executive Director of the Central European Policy Institute in Bratislava. Without strong central institutions, you can slow down any kind of European integration. Such an outcome in Ukraine would jibe neatly with Moscows goals, according to a number of analysts.
With a nod to Bosnia, Russia might envision a Russian-speaking Eastern Ukraine established as a separate entity from the pro-European, Ukrainian-speaking West with the capital, Kiev, floating in the middle. Like the Republika Srpska in relation to Belgrade, Eastern Ukraine could forge closer economic, political, and linguistic ties to Mother Russia.
A forcibly federalized Ukraine would effectively be prevented from forming a coherent foreign policy that could veer too strongly in any one direction, which has been Bosnias experience. The revolutionary, pro-European sentiments of the countrys Western half would be thwarted by the geopolitical ambiguity of the state as a whole. It would mean lukewarm ties with Europe and NATO and a satisfied Kremlin.
25 masked men, with silenced automatic rifles have entered the journalist's hotel in Simferopol. People are being searched, rooms are being searched, and several have been detained so far.
Story developing...
Read the rest of the sentence.
I gave you the example of Cuba and Mexico for the US. If it's good enough for us, it's good enough for them to be involved in affairs in the circle of influence.
My question is, why are we involved?