Good !
Let the citizens choose their government.
I have high regard for these Ukrainians.

They're not European and they're not Russian...they're Ukrainian.
Gotta be tough to be an independent buffer state or be subjugated.

Not true at all. The older people in Ukraine from Crimea and eastern regions are pro Russia and consider themselves Russian. The younger Ukrainians from the western Ukraine identify with the west and want to align more European. Russia considers the whole thing the center of the creation of Russia and will most likely not tolerate splitting up the area. It's a real pickle for everyone and Russia has already implied it will go to war to preserve its hold on the area. The pussy Europeans will most likely let the Western Ukraines get hung by their yam sacks by Putin here shortly.

I knew this would be coming.
It's about the majority.

These people are dying in the streets for what is right for them, their children and future generations of Ukrainians.
Those who can't live in an independent Ukrainian state will go to Russia.

The Lenin Monument from Kiev, Ukraine being transported to the junk yard..



What a waste, I'm sure the Socialists in Seattle would like another Lenin statue, and I'll bet our Governor could find a place or two in Olympia also.

Yep, a damned waste.

His twin resides in Fremont.

It's not over - by a long shot. Russia has made some serious moves in the past 2-3 days. Russian Gunmen have overtaken the parliament and presidential palace. Russian troops are performing full scale readiness exercises along the entire front and MIGs are on high alert. Who the hell knows what the KGB is up to?

More than likely it’s a bunch of Putin saber-rattlin', but it's still disconcerting to say the least. An isolated Venezuela is one thing. The Ukraine is an entirely different geo-political monster. If the Ukrainian people thought a few snipers were bad, wait until they meet the real Red Army...

It'll all be fine. Why, because Barrack Obama is a pacifist, and we all know how well that has always worked out in the past.

Russian troops in the Crimean. Putin wants a shootin' war.

And no one to kick 'em out.

Gonna take some big time chess playin' to make this one end favorably for the West.

I don't believe that Putin "wants a shootin' war", Putin wants an excuse to reestablish the Soviet Union, and because President Obama is such a poor leader, Obama in fact could be Putin's excuse to achieve his wish.

By the way If Obama's proposed defense cuts pass, the cuts that were put forward by his stooge, in all future situations our only choice may be to surrender or face war on our shore, or perhaps both.

That's not as simple as Fox News makes it seem. Russia and the US know all the costs of war and are grown up enough to keep it a proxy not a direct conflict. Russia's military is 50 years behind ours . It's been proven in Iraq twice and Afghanistan . The military objective was met in two weeks in all wars. We smashed their [Bleeeeep!] and made impossible to mobilize any force post haste. The political war did not allow a quick conclusion and extended asymmetrical gorilla war ensued. If we went in no holds barred fuk the other guy . China is 100 years behind us . All the winger bs that chinas rising militarily is propaganda. Their planes are from the 50's they have one aircraft carrier that had to be towed by tugs. They have no real long range missile capability. They cannot mobilize anywhere in the world . They have no capability. Now China is dangerous because they have a huge nationalist wave sweeping the country combined with an army with zero expierience at war. The guy who has never been punched is most likely to pick a fight because he wants to prove he can take a punch. However we could stop any Chinese attempt in a matter of days with our technological advantage. Lastly the remotely operated war is the war of the future and we will win it because we own the only technology that is capable. We can reduce the size and presance of or forces as we deploy more sophisticated systems.

I don't see anyone touching US soil in our life time. The powers that be want you to think it can happen as a form of enslavement . Don't buy into it . If we have not learned to be more pragmatic from 2001 to now then shame on us.

To your first paragraph, I say, Korea/attrition.

To your second paragraph, I say that I agree, but I am an old man.

Looking like Russian troops are in place to cordon off Crimea.

Rev. Blackmouth,

I spoke too soon about Putin wanting a shootin' war. He doesn't; nobody with half a brain or more wants war with the U.S. I agree that Obama is no obstacle to Putin's intentions. Obama is a complete fvck up in foreign policy/diplomacy unfortunately. Definitely not acting like a brainiac. Sorta' reminding me of some of Bush's gaffes.

I don't know that Putin wants to re-establish all of the former Soviet Union, but it looks like it's in Russia's national interest to retain resource rich and strategic locations like Georgia and Ukraine. Unkraine has the major Black Sea port on the Crimea, and many of the major oil and natural gas pipelines connecting Russia to Europe run through Ukraine. All important assets to the Russian mafia that runs Russia.

T.J.,

Good summary. What do you know about Ukraine? Have the Crimeans always been Russian? Or did it gradually become so over the USSR years? My limited understanding is that Ukraine has never been a single united entity by culture or ethnicity, so divisiveness is normal there. Do you know if that is correct?

Sg

Don't think Russia will let go of it's Black Sea base at Sevastopol no matter what happens.
If the Russians are not politically able to partition off Crimea, I could see Sevastopol becoming something similar to Guantanamo.

Putin's "Georgia model" would suggest that a partitioning of Ukraine will happen.

SG

A couple of things at play from my studies but your assumption is partially right. Several Slavic tribes in Ukraine are considered the birth place of Russia. Kiev was the Capitol of Russia before Moscow. Crimean's consider themselves Russian. Lastly people in Ukraine that were old enough to have lived before the peak of the USSR tend towards the Russians. The younger people want to be more European. Pretty much a divided pie. Much like Iraq and Afghanistan, makes them natural places for the big bullies to make the locals lives miserable. The US and its allies went on and played their cards after weird Al Yankovich sided with Vlad economically.

That vote was meant to be an insult to the US. It mocked the vote congress took to authorize the invasion of Iraq. They cited the threat to Russian people and the homeland. It was taken after 2000 troops were already in Crimea. Putins [Bleeeeep!] for tat.

Unmarked uniforms? What a bunch of chickenshits! Isn't that some sort of war crime?

Yep, we can shoot 'em on sight.
Face masks even....how chickenshit.

I hope we're not in range to shoot 'em on sight, though.
It's Russia's backyard, they are going to do as they please... just as we would.