Ukraine

[Gaspar]

Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter's national security advisor is pumping Hillary.

"Hillary Clinton was right in historically comparing Putin's use of force to seize Crimea to Hitler's use of force in seizing the Sudetenland"

As predicted, she is going to come out looking like the strong leader on this, and build a stronger case for her candidacy.

[Conan71]

Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter's national security advisor is pumping Hillary.

[Conan71]

You have to admit, RM, using Bush II as a bellwether on foreign policy is pretty hysterical.

[Gaspar]

Putin has just decided to ignore the silly US president now.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304554004579422624182460570?mod=%3C%25mst.param(LINKMODPREFIX)&mg=reno64-wsj


First came plan A: Get Yanukovych, a leader based in the east, to sign an EU trade agreement that would set a united Ukraine on a westward path. Putin disrupted that plan by getting Yanukovych to switch and go east.

Then came Plan B: When unrest swept Kiev and Yanukovych's government reacted with blind and brutal thuggishness, western diplomats decided to help the protestors replace the Yanukovych regime with a new government that could unite the country and bring it toward the West. That plan failed when Russia took advantage of the chaos in Ukraine to occupy Crimea and demonstrate its ability to threaten the east.

Plan C, which Putin shot down in the last 24 hours, was apparently based on the hope among some policy makers that a confused and misguided President Putin had made a dreadful blunder in Crimea. The plan was to offer the poor, trapped Russians a graceful way out of their predicament that would ultimately restore Ukrainian unity as the country moved West. The plan collapsed when Lavrov blew off the West and refused to even meet with Ukraine's foreign minister and now the Russians are kicking the fragments to bits as the Crimean regional authorities announce plans for a referendum on annexation by Russia.

Putin cares much less than many westerners seem to think about any sanctions that the West is likely to impose. Russia isn't part of the West and things work differently there. Western commentators pointed breathlessly to large declines in Russian stock markets after the invasion, for example, to show how Putin must be feeling the errors of his ways.

Not really; Putin does not worry nearly as much about the Russian stock market as western leaders worry about financial markets in their own countries. Putin broke the oligarchs as a political force years ago; in Russia, corporations exist to serve the state and not the other way round. He is not worried that business leaders will lose confidence in him; in Putin's Russia, it is business leaders who worry about losing the trust of the country's political master.

As for banking crackdowns and visa limits, it will help Putin, not hurt him, if powerful Russians are unable to leave the country or move their money around in the West. One of his worries is that various oligarchs and power brokers can put enough money in the west to be able to get out from under his thumb. He would like all of his backers to be dependent on him for continued enjoyment of wealth and property. If the West wants to fence his backers in, so be it. (If the west goes after Putin's own golden horde of ill-gotten simoleons, estimated by many to be north of $50 billion, the calculation might change.)
http://www.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2014/03/06/russia-blows-past-obamas-off-ramp/

[AquaMan]

Your genius goes largely unrecognized. Thankfully.

So, we can do nothing. Putin holds all the cards because of his (non-feckless) Hun like personality. Obama screwed up for a multitude of reasons. He's just Obama 'nuf said. Bush did too. Ms. Clinton is also a genius for having read and recognized patterns in history. She is backed up by a former (dare I say it) Carter appointee. Yet their solutions are no different than currently offered. Kissinger is outstanding for saying the obvious which can't be accomplished because of Putin outrageous ability to manipulate the rest of the world.

Bottom line is, no one can do anything about this 22 year festering assault on our best laid plans to surround Russia with democracy in the hopes of changing their political culture. No one has any solutions other than what has been offered, dismissed as useless or trampled upon by the Ogre Putin.

If only. If only we had someone like Romney. Or Cruz. Or Ryan. Or those Paul guys. They must also be hiding their genius.

[Gaspar]

Your genius goes largely unrecognized. Thankfully.

I recognize your genius. 

[AquaMan]

I recognize your genius. 

Seriously, my genius is in keeping my home and family intact in the face of declining income and changing physical attributes. Getting old sucks. Regardless of our differing views, you folks keep my synapses firing.

The most interesting remark I heard today was that Russia simply has more interest in the Ukraine than the US or Europe. They view the area as critically important to them. Why anyone would want Crimea to be separate is confusing. They depend on the rest of the country for basic power and water.

[Rookie Okie]

Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter's national security advisor is pumping Hillary.

"Hillary Clinton was right in historically comparing Putin's use of force to seize Crimea to Hitler's use of force in seizing the Sudetenland"

As predicted, she is going to come out looking like the strong leader on this, and build a stronger case for her candidacy.

Why is Ms. Clinton talking now?  When she had the job as SOS, and was asked questions on Benghazi she didn't have much to say then did she?  As a matter of fact, she appeared quite sheepish and lame, clearly not one of her better moments.  Moreover, she immediately quit because she senses a lot of time will be needed to work through all of her issues that she'll undoubtedly need to address when she campaigns once again.
She can call the leader of a major power a Nazi or anything else that she wants from where she stands now.  But President Obama is smart enough to know that in the role of POTUS this is classless and would definitely jeopardize or severely stalemate already tense negotiations.  Would Ms. Clinton be that stupid to make the same remark if she were President?  She's smarter than that.
One of President Obama's leadership style elements is that he is more cerebral than emotional and hostile.  Fist pounding and name calling may satisfy some, but such tactics can't lead to a more satisfactory and expeditious resolution of a crisis of this scope and magnitude. 
For all of President Obama's critics, I'd like to see any past leaders or present hopefuls manage this crisis any better.  BEFORE YOU ANSWER, make sure you have them operating within the same context of the bottom feeding level of discourse and classlessness that now firmly characterizes the legislative branch, and do not forget to include the backdrop of the millions of (blog hog, social media whoring, and greedy rich self-serving talk show host) citizens whose daily existence is hell bent on trying to orchestrate that individual's total destruction.  Yes, that is what whomever succeeds the current POTUS will need to deal with as well.  To that point, I see nothing but thin skin out there among the hopefuls, and seriously wonder if any can hold up under the madness.

[Gaspar]

Huffpoo is claiming 30,000 Russian troops have moved into Crimea. 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008

Me thinks that's an awful lot of soldiers for just Crimea.

[Gaspar]

Why is Ms. Clinton talking now?  When she had the job as SOS, and was asked questions on Benghazi she didn't have much to say then did she?  As a matter of fact, she appeared quite sheepish and lame, clearly not one of her better moments.  Moreover, she immediately quit because she senses a lot of time will be needed to work through all of her issues that she'll undoubtedly need to address when she campaigns once again.
She can call the leader of a major power a Nazi or anything else that she wants from where she stands now.  But President Obama is smart enough to know that in the role of POTUS this is classless and would definitely jeopardize or severely stalemate already tense negotiations.  Would Ms. Clinton be that stupid to make the same remark if she were President?  She's smarter than that.
One of President Obama's leadership style elements is that he is more cerebral than emotional and hostile.  Fist pounding and name calling may satisfy some, but such tactics can't lead to a more satisfactory and expeditious resolution of a crisis of this scope and magnitude. 
For all of President Obama's critics, I'd like to see any past leaders or present hopefuls manage this crisis any better.  BEFORE YOU ANSWER, make sure you have them operating within the same context of the bottom feeding level of discourse and classlessness that now firmly characterizes the legislative branch, and do not forget to include the backdrop of the millions of (blog hog, social media whoring, and greedy rich self-serving talk show host) citizens whose daily existence is hell bent on trying to orchestrate that individual's total destruction.  Yes, that is what whomever succeeds the current POTUS will need to deal with as well.  To that point, I see nothing but thin skin out there among the hopefuls, and seriously wonder if any can hold up under the madness.

It's her "The Gathering Storm" moment, and simply a warning shot over the bow to judge response. . . and the response was indeed positive.

She is extremely cunning.  We will hear more from her on this subject, and I wouldn't' be surprised if she becomes critical of the current administration and uses Obama's poor approval combined with her criticism as a wave to ride into the election.

[Conan71]

Huffpoo is claiming 30,000 Russian troops have moved into Crimea. 

Me thinks that's an awful lot of soldiers for just Crimea.

Must have created quite a housing boom!

[Gaspar]

Must have created quite a housing boom!

I have a feeling they intend relocate into the suburbs of the Ukraine.

[Rookie Okie]

She is extremely cunning.  We will hear more from her on this subject, and I wouldn't' be surprised if she becomes critical of the current administration and uses Obama's poor approval combined with her criticism as a wave to ride into the election.

If she attempts criticism, it would be her undoing.  Benghazi is tatooed all over her.  Besisdes she doesn't have to resort to such ill advised tactics to win.  If she wanted to be a hero, she could be doing what Kerry is trying to do now had she not quit when she felt a bit of steam from the heat.  Her critics have already pointed out that since she couldn't handle Benghazi, then she's probably not capable of dealing with more serious foreign matters.

[cannon_fodder]

And THIS is why Russia should never host another Olympics.  Every time they do they invade someone.

Seriously, Putin has ZERO integrity.  He cast off the treaty he helped negotiate guaranteeing Ukraine's territory.  His propaganda machine is laughable to anyone without governmental filters.  His excuses are pathetic (not Russian troops, just locals who bought full combat gear, automatic weapons, and mobile artillery at a surplus store).  He needs to be exposed.

I don't believe Putin holds all the cards.  I believe trying SO hard to act in your personal interest, look tough, and put on the guise of "helping" has to leave you exposed.  He definately took the initiative - but it is his boarder so one would expect as much. Surely we can make some plays.

Can we agree that an independence vote while occupied by a foreign nation is a farce?

[cannon_fodder]

By way of developments:

Russian forces have taken over boarded crossings, occupied a command center, and kicked Ukrainian families out of military housing.  The Russian navy has blockaded the ports and refused to let Ukrainian naval vessels come or go.

Russia still denies having troops in the Crimea in spite of photographs of Russian troops...

Russia has refused entry to European observers (cooperation in Europe) and said UN observers are not needed.

Gazprom (partially owned by Putin) has threatened to shutoff gas.

Obama has ordered asset freezes on Russian government officials deemed responsible (funny how many Russian governmental employees have billions of dollars).

Russia has said they will seize US corporate assets and not pay back US banks (the US has replied that Russians have more assets at risk controlled by US financial institutions and amy tit for tat ends badly for Russia)

In a 2013 poll of the Crimea - 29% of people wanted to join Russia.