Things are heating up so I started up a new thread. Ukraine says Russian armored vehicles pouring across border http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-ukraine-russia-new-front-20140827-story.html I don't think Putin will invade Western Ukraine and risk world war but it does appear that he has weathered world opinion for actions thus far, including annexing Crimea, and is trying to consolidate the Eastern edges to secure Gazproms holdings in the Sea of Azov. I admit I am detached from the actual human suffering and am interested in this as a story of world politics. It's just so interesting to watch history unfold. How far will Putin push, how will the world react?
I can't believe we are just sitting back and watching Putin spew all over us. The guy is the most arrogant and deceiving person in power right now...and we better recognize what he's trying to do. I say we start with Russia and show the rest of the world who the real Super Power is. It's time for the United States to show the world how to behave.
Putin is aggressive in pushing his agenda. Like I said in the old thread, he got caught off guard when his lacky Poroshenko got ousted. He had to make a move to insure the appearance of his power. Crimea was an easy power move, harassment of the new Ukraine government maintains his influence, and even taking the land route to Crimea to control the Gazprom assets in the Sea Of Azov makes sense. The world is distracted and Ukraine doesn't have many formal allies since they just switched spheres of influence. This will be interesting.
That press conference was a joke. I hope President Obama has an ace in his pack pocket to play when he's called.
Use your imagination and suppose what that play would be. It won't be military for the foreseeable future, given the lack of treaties, relative strength of the Russian military given their proximity and as always in the background, the nuclear threat. But hell, Exxon is still announcing new Arctic drilling deals. Deepening Ties Between Exxon and Russia Run Counter to U.S. Efforts to Punish Putin http://insideclimatenews.org/news/2...nd-russia-run-counter-us-efforts-punish-putin
Looks like a major escalation by Putin and his gang. Regular army troops have entered Southern Ukraine with tanks, mobile artillery, armored personel carriers, and the latest Sovie... uh, Russian mobile anti-air batteries to keep the Ukrainian air force from taking this stuff out. And it is all manned by 1,000+ Russian troops, now joining the special forces that have been operating in the "rebel" area for weeks. If after this France still insists that they will sell Putin the 2 Mistral amphibious assault ships, essentially small carriers, in a multi-billion dollar deal, one ready to turn over to them in a matter of weeks, the United States should raise diplomatic hell. Recall our ambassador and start punishing them economically. It would be beyond the pale. As for Putin's Russia? More punishing sanctions for Russia (we aren't intending to go to war over Ukraine) and arms shipments to Ukraine. We need to be prepared to have our access to the International Space Station cut off. Seems like a "logical" next step for an increasingly irrational Putin. All my opinion, of course.
To f**k Putin, they should park a carrier battle group in the Black Sea, as near to the military ports that Russia took from Ukraine as possible. They don't need to do anything but park there and run drills. Maybe run a few simulated attacks on Crimean military ports. Just treat Putin like they would Saddam Hussein or Khomeini when they threw a tantrum.
