tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16816866.post6762866834300851116..comments2024-02-29T02:10:56.878-08:00Comments on J O S H U A P U N D I T: Putin Orders Military Readiness As Crimea Puts Russian Leader In PowerFreedom Fighterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649470110087808596noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16816866.post-56221805611089514912014-03-01T23:21:22.444-08:002014-03-01T23:21:22.444-08:00The standard narratives on this are either 1.)the ...The standard narratives on this are either 1.)the rebels are acting against a fairly elected government on behalf of American colonialism and should be condemned as a coup or 2.)the rebels are freedom fighters who have majority support, are lovable freedom fighters, and only want to resist Russian colonialism. <br /><br />As with most complex real world things, the truth is likely somewhere in between. It would seem clear that the Russian backed government backed government lacked popular support. If they had popular support, it would seem the army and security forces would have backed the government to the hilt. They did not. As such, I think it's safe to assume the government did not have popular support. As such, to wait for an election that Russia would have simply rigged would not have had a good ending for them. <br /><br />Given their prior experiences under Russian/Soviet colonization one can certainly sympathize with why they might act as they are. Perhaps emotion is clouding their judgment. A fight against Russia is a fight they cannot win. For them to win such a fight, would require a miracle comparable to the parting of the Red Sea that delivered the ancient Israelites from ancient Egypt. It would be unrealistic for America to expect to defeat Russia at this time. As such, the Ukrainians would be even less likely to win. <br /><br />Now as for them being some sort of freedom fighters, this seems far fetched. For the most part, these don't seem like good people. For the most part, not worthy of any support from us nor should the EU desire them as members. They generally seem to be for the most part first class thugs. Essentially Ukrainian thug vs. Russian thug. Even more puzzling is why anyone would actually want to be a part of the EU.<br /><br />Finally no one should be under any delusion here. The Russians hold all of the cards here. The Russians can always invade Ukraine any time they wish to impose whatever they want. This is a bit messy so they could simply act to undermine the Ukrainian government. They are very patient so they may not want to play this card just yet. Also, they can cut off natural gas supplies to Western Europe or the Ukraine any time they want. <br /><br />Assuming they are actually thinking about supporting the rebels which a number of reports indicate the US and perhaps EU nations are supporting the rebels there is absolutely nothing they can do to counter the steps laid out above that Russia can take. Getting involved in unwinnable conflicts is generally a bad idea. It's an even worse idea when no discernible personal or national interests is involved. For America their is no discernible national interest involved. I would hope and pray we would stay out of this and if we are involved get out NOW. At the very least recognize what we are up against and recognize who the rebels are. <br /><br />In summary Russia holds all the cards. The opposition and their supporters hold none. The opposition and any supporters they might have would sure make lousy poker players!! The opposition and their supporters should hope and pray for something on the order of the parting of the Red Sea. That type of miracle is what they would need to prevail. But then these don't seem to be good people so that's probably not in the "cards." <br /><br />Hopefully I'm wrong about them. Again, it seems one could understand their desire to risk Russian colonization. B.Posternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16816866.post-38334097546367723952014-02-27T08:12:44.615-08:002014-02-27T08:12:44.615-08:00Certainly it's the most desirable outcome for ...Certainly it's the most desirable outcome for Putin. He keeps the strategic base at Sebastopol and the Crimea and saves $12 billion in aid money.<br /><br />We've already spoken about Yanukovych's election <a href="http://joshuapundit.blogspot.com/2014/02/revolution-rebels-take-over-in-ukraine.html" rel="nofollow">on another thread.</a> To say he was 'freely and democratically elected' is a huge stretch, but whatever.<br /><br />And please drop the 'ethic conflict' line. This is about Russian control, colonialism and imperialism.The Ukrainian rebels are by no means a very sympathetic group, but that's the real story. It has been for centuries.<br /><br />Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13332213651195340500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16816866.post-4458578561177589602014-02-27T04:07:13.005-08:002014-02-27T04:07:13.005-08:00This is an ethnic fight not a fight for democracy....This is an ethnic fight not a fight for democracy. After all, Yanukovych and his party were freely and democratically elected, and then deposed by violence.<br /><br />The ethnic divisions are also geographic divisions, so a clean partition is a possibility. Peaceful partition is also the most desirable outcome.sykes.1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10954672321945289871noreply@blogger.com