The referendum is mute. End of discussion. The sanctions against Russia are more than appropriate. They are unreliable partners and a hostile global country. Either treaties are worth the parchment they are written on or they aren't. And if they aren't the world is back to the stone age.
"The Real World" demands civility and cognitive understanding there is a greater peace to achieve. Unfortunately, Russia hasn't achieved the ability to translate peace into it's leadership in a meaningful way and prefers brinkmanship instead of treaties.
Maybe we need to go back to the Cold War and have more nuclear arms than any potential to annihilate the human population of the world? Should we do that? We can. That is the real world, right?
The correct response to any unrest in the Crimea from Russia should have been, "There is an election in May, we will not impose any force, presence or promises that would destroy the sovereign borders of the Ukraine. We oppose any violence or threat to Ukrainian people." Is that what happened? No. That isn't what happened. Russia knew fully well there were militias throughout Ukraine that endangered citizen's lives and would IMPOSE a 'certain political outcome.' That is civilized? No, it isn't. That is sovereign policy? No, it isn't.
Under Yanukovych the people of Ukraine had no chance to leverage it's political will and to that end resulted "Maidan." If Ukraine had a healthy political balance without oppression through threat of death of citizens and imprisoned political leaders "Maidan" would never have occurred.
Russia's imposition of it's will on post soviet nations through fiscal intimidation and sovereign hostage taking proves Russia is not nearly ready to be engaged as a major power in the world. It doesn't belong among the G7 or otherwise.
A treaty isn't defined by "Today we are faithful to the treaty, but, tomorrow we march troops into sovereign nations because we don't like the treaty anymore." The promise was broken. Russia is not a reliable global power. Just that simple.
Let's just throw out the book on diplomacy, peace and economic strength because Russia is pouting and practicing politics of intimidation on global partners. I don't think so.
Let's give Ukraine all the arms and NATO troops it needs in the face of a lack of participation in NATO because John McCain is having a hissy fit because President Obama is in the Oval Office and 'a weak president." Let's break every rule in the book because 'the USA is a bad ass.' Let's do that and hope Europe survives to see another day. Let's just bomb, bomb, bomb the world and end McCain's frustration. Shall we? Maybe Bush was "W"rong and he didn't see Putin's soul and now the USA is sincerely threatened by the soulless. Let's do that, shall we? What the hell, before the nukes are completely mothballed and we can never destroy the world ever again.
First Published: Thursday, April 17, 2014, 14:31
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin (click here) on Thursday admitted for the
first time that Russian soldiers were present on the Crimean peninsula
before and during the referendum that backed rule from Moscow.
"Our goal was to ensure the conditions for a free vote," Putin said,
explaining who were the soldiers in uniforms without insignia who
appeared in Crimea in late February, many of them surrounding Ukrainian
military bases.
"Behind the local defence forces were our soldiers. They acted
correctly, but decisively and professionally," he said. "We had to
protect people from possible use of weapons" on Ukrainian military
bases.
