U.S. Senator John McCain repeatedly has called upon the Obama administration to send "light arms" to Ukraine and last weekend said that when it comes to the east, "Ukraine will fight."
Yesterday, six tanks started the day flying Ukraine's flag and ended the day flying Russia's flag. There was no fight, they just surrendered them.
Vladimir Putin's Greater Russia vision is daft and means seizing territory from other peoples. As everyone has said, the latter is contrary to international law and 21st century standards of conduct. Pause: Putin has called upon Russian oligarchs to come back home and bring their money with them. If he made a similar appeal to Russian-speakers in Ukraine and elsewhere, no one could object. "Russian-speaking Ukrainians, Transnistrainians, Lithuanians, come home! Resettle in Russia!" But he hasn't done that. He wants the land. Unpause. Putin has been brilliant in executing his daft vision in Ukraine, however. The 30,000-40,000 combat-ready Russian troops on the border have driven the unprepared Ukrainians to distraction with worry and fear. That has had the intended effect of demoralizing Ukraine's military and intimidating it into further ineffectiveness. However, John McCain knew all this. He still thought Ukraine would fight.
There is more to yesterday's tank incident than a cowed Ukraine military, more than Putin's strategic brilliance, and neither was yesterday's decision by the tank commandeers to "give it to the Russians," a decision to submit to rape in the face of overwhelming force in order to live to fight another day. Rather, Putin chose well if the decision to rape Ukraine is his first step toward Greater Russia for he has a constituency in Ukraine's east. The reports are that Russian undercover agents crossed the border and were successful in getting Russian-speaking eastern Ukrainians to voluntarily join them in preventing the Ukrainian tanks from advancing. The reports are that the tank commanders recognized the protesters as civilian Ukrainians and didn't want to use force against civilians. That is, the Ukrainian tank commanders recognized that Vladimir Putin had a constituency in eastern Ukraine. As he had in Crimea.
Crimea: Putin did a telephone call-in yesterday and admitted that all those troops in generic uniforms in Crimea had been Russian soldiers. The Crimea referendum was unfair. NOTWITHSTANDING the intimidation and the potemkin vote, I, at least, have read nothing that calls into question the will of most people in Crimea to be part of Russia.
America and the West had better be careful here, more careful than John McCain was, in their words and in their sanctions. If, as Susan Rice said, "America stands with the Ukrainian people," we better be sure where the Ukrainian people stand, for if, in the east, as in Crimea, as perhaps elsewhere in Ukraine, there are "regions" that truly want to be with Russia then we should stand with them and there should not be sanctions against Russia for that. We should not be sending weaponry into this situation.
I am all in on "Farewell to Russia." Cut ties, end partnerships. The soul of mankind would be improved if there was no Russian people. It will be improved to the extent of the isolation of that people. So, cut ties, end partnerships. Sanctions are a different matter. Sanctions are punitive of wrongdoing. Russia should be sanctioned for the invasion of sovereign Ukrainian territory, for the annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea land mass and any further Ukrainian territory it seizes. On this record however, Russia should not be sanctioned for the accession of a population in Crimea or elsewhere that wants to be part of Greater Russia. If people want to be Russian, let 'em! It will make it easier knowing who to avoid.
Yesterday, six tanks started the day flying Ukraine's flag and ended the day flying Russia's flag. There was no fight, they just surrendered them.
Vladimir Putin's Greater Russia vision is daft and means seizing territory from other peoples. As everyone has said, the latter is contrary to international law and 21st century standards of conduct. Pause: Putin has called upon Russian oligarchs to come back home and bring their money with them. If he made a similar appeal to Russian-speakers in Ukraine and elsewhere, no one could object. "Russian-speaking Ukrainians, Transnistrainians, Lithuanians, come home! Resettle in Russia!" But he hasn't done that. He wants the land. Unpause. Putin has been brilliant in executing his daft vision in Ukraine, however. The 30,000-40,000 combat-ready Russian troops on the border have driven the unprepared Ukrainians to distraction with worry and fear. That has had the intended effect of demoralizing Ukraine's military and intimidating it into further ineffectiveness. However, John McCain knew all this. He still thought Ukraine would fight.
There is more to yesterday's tank incident than a cowed Ukraine military, more than Putin's strategic brilliance, and neither was yesterday's decision by the tank commandeers to "give it to the Russians," a decision to submit to rape in the face of overwhelming force in order to live to fight another day. Rather, Putin chose well if the decision to rape Ukraine is his first step toward Greater Russia for he has a constituency in Ukraine's east. The reports are that Russian undercover agents crossed the border and were successful in getting Russian-speaking eastern Ukrainians to voluntarily join them in preventing the Ukrainian tanks from advancing. The reports are that the tank commanders recognized the protesters as civilian Ukrainians and didn't want to use force against civilians. That is, the Ukrainian tank commanders recognized that Vladimir Putin had a constituency in eastern Ukraine. As he had in Crimea.
Crimea: Putin did a telephone call-in yesterday and admitted that all those troops in generic uniforms in Crimea had been Russian soldiers. The Crimea referendum was unfair. NOTWITHSTANDING the intimidation and the potemkin vote, I, at least, have read nothing that calls into question the will of most people in Crimea to be part of Russia.
America and the West had better be careful here, more careful than John McCain was, in their words and in their sanctions. If, as Susan Rice said, "America stands with the Ukrainian people," we better be sure where the Ukrainian people stand, for if, in the east, as in Crimea, as perhaps elsewhere in Ukraine, there are "regions" that truly want to be with Russia then we should stand with them and there should not be sanctions against Russia for that. We should not be sending weaponry into this situation.
I am all in on "Farewell to Russia." Cut ties, end partnerships. The soul of mankind would be improved if there was no Russian people. It will be improved to the extent of the isolation of that people. So, cut ties, end partnerships. Sanctions are a different matter. Sanctions are punitive of wrongdoing. Russia should be sanctioned for the invasion of sovereign Ukrainian territory, for the annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea land mass and any further Ukrainian territory it seizes. On this record however, Russia should not be sanctioned for the accession of a population in Crimea or elsewhere that wants to be part of Greater Russia. If people want to be Russian, let 'em! It will make it easier knowing who to avoid.
