Apparently Crimea has strong loyalties to Russia and clearly the citizens here do not consider their arrival to be threat.
However there are more overt actions being taken at the Ukrainian military bases in Crimea:
Amid signs of Russian military intervention in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, Russian generals led their troops to three bases in the region Sunday, demanding Ukrainian forces surrender and hand over their weapons, Vladislav Seleznyov, spokesman for the Crimean Media Center of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, told CNN.
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| Soldiers denying Russian troops access to Crimean military base. |
Clearly Putin is attempting to use a show of force to bully the new Ukrainian government, which is a cobbled together patchwork or political neophytes, many of who have opposing interests, and who were behind the ouster of President Viktor F. Yanukovych, into some kind of negotiations.
Remember that these are the images that we have seen coming out of Ukraine for the last few months.
How long that restraint will last, and whether Putin intends to move his troops past Crimea and further into the Ukraine, is the burning question.
This post is in no way meant to excuse Putin's actions. He is an opportunistic asshole, who cares little for, the people of Ukraine, or how he is perceived by the world at large.
I just wanted to provide a little perspective before the Right Wing hawks start beating their war drums even louder.
By the way for all of those conservatives claiming that President Obama is weak, and unwilling to do what is needed, they must be reminded that Russia invaded Georgia on President Bush's watch, and that he was unable to do a single thing about it.
While watching the various Sunday shows today there were plenty of conservatives who offered condemnation of what our President was doing, but none that offered any better options, or wanted to suggest military action.
And no Sarah Palin was not identified as being a political soothsayer.
Update: More pictures of Ukrainians with Russian soldiers in Crimea.
How do you know that there aren't soldiers off camera pointing their guns at the civilians and telling them to pose and smile?
ReplyDeleteWiki lists 21 different countries/peoples that have controlled Crimea in the last 2000 years.
ReplyDeleteRussia grabbed Crimea in 1783. In 1954 Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine. At that time, Russia still controlled Ukraine so it was a meaningless transfer.
Wading into the morass of ethnic, political, and economic tangles of Crimea without some pretty hefty expertise is not a good idea.
I've settled for asking my "Obama is weak" bleating friends whether Crimea shouldn't just be handed back to the Ottoman empire.
The situation is similar to many places in the Middle East where borders were created for political and economic reasons with little regard for religious and cultural differences. No matter what happens in the political and military arena, there will always be cultural clashes.
DeleteIt's also similar to Northern Ireland, where people with strong political and cultural connections to England have lived in the country for many decades and have as much right to claim it as their home as do the Irish who want complete independence from England.
In all of those places, there can never be clear 'winners' and there is just no obvious solution to the conflict.
Khruschev was FROM Crimea. Crimea has ALWAYS been Russian-friendly. Most of the population identifies as Russian.
DeleteIf this Crimea incident had been an uprising in The Philippines, or Guam - or in any of our Protectorates that have US Military installations, like Crimea has Russian Military installations - we'd be sending our troops in there too. C'mon people...!
For the record - Palin saying Putin would be sending troops into Ukraine back in 2008?
REALITY CHECK: DIMITRY MEDVEDEV was the Russian President from May 2008 on in 2008.
NOT PUTIN.
She only got it half right. Which figures, cause everything the nit-wit half-wit does is half-assed.
Bush invaded Iraq for non-existent weapons of mass destruction. What's our justification for getting all hot and bothered about Russia invading?
ReplyDeleteBecause the latest version of Halliburton and its cronies are starting to see their profits dip, so we need to send our young men and women to war so the CEOs can buy another yacht or two.
DeleteHas anyone ever figured out how much money Dick Cheney has made on wars he promoted?
DeleteSarah could not be on the Sunday TV shows.
ReplyDeleteShe and Bristol are too busy getting ready to walk the red carpet at the Oscars.
Hide the Swag Bags from the Palin Thieves!!!!!
DeleteIt's important to note that over 17% of those living in Ukraine are actually Russian, and Russians make up the majority of those living in the Crimea, which is the most important area, strategically, for Putin. Anyone who compares this to Hitler's invasion of Poland needs a history lesson...or two.
ReplyDelete...Certainly, had Palin become vice president, we would have been assured that Putin would have been so intimidated by having a neighbor who could watch his every move from Wasilla, that he would never have dared to covet – biblically or otherwise – his neighbor’s country. Seriously (can I use that word where Palin is concerned?), the Russian strongman would have been far too busy rolling on the floor and laughing uncontrollably at her inability to hold or load a hunting rifle to even think about invading anybody.
ReplyDeleteBut now, with the indomitable would-be galactic justiciar and holy warrior Palin safely out of the way, and with Russian troops in Ukraine as predicted, Esther, er, I mean, Palin, who quit halfway through her term of governor of Alaska, is having her “I told you so” moment on Facebook, you know, because she can’t have her I told you so moment on steps of the White House, or Capitol, either state or federal, because, you know, she quit halfway through her term as governor (just sayin’):
Yes, I could see this one from Alaska. I’m usually not one to Told-Ya-So, but I did, despite my accurate prediction being derided as “an extremely far-fetched scenario” by the “high-brow” Foreign Policy magazine. Here’s what this “stupid” “insipid woman” predicted back in 2008: “After the Russian Army invaded the nation of Georgia, Senator Obama’s reaction was one of indecision and moral equivalence, the kind of response that would only encourage Russia’s Putin to invade Ukraine next.
It is difficult to find anywhere in this Wasillan Dance of Joy™ a concrete solution to the Putin problem from the former “Mavericks” Palin and McCain. McCain, unsurprisingly, thinks he can make everything better with a full-scale war. You might remember that McCain in February and again Saturday, called Obama “the most naive president in history.”
The not-so-subtle suggestion here seems to be that only declarations of war can disprove allegations of naiveté. Which doesn’t explain why Republicans have been so anxious to blame Obama for Bush’s war in Afghanistan. Or how such a timid and ineffective president could knock off the #1 terrorist of our age, Osama bin Laden and pretty much destroy al Qaeda as an organization. Oh, and by the way, help topple Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya without engaging in a ten-year war to do it. Oh wait! Remember when McCain was a big Gaddafi booster in 2009 and before he decided Gaddafi needed to go? Remember how McCain wanted Obama to squash Gaddafi and then worried that Obama had acted illegally?
Let’s face it, McCain hasn’t been too good with foreign policy himself (or with reality for that matter – he thought he was a Maverick after all), and Palin’s underwhelming experience still depends upon her geographical proximity to Russia. We can let Palin jump up and down in joy that she was finally right about something that would happen in the world, even if she could not pinpoint it on a map, and we should be pretty well used to McCain’s violent swings of opinion by now.
As they say in the NFL, that home of syllogisms, “it is what it is.”
The safest thing to do at this point is probably to simply nod and smile, like you tend to do with people whose mental stability is in doubt. After all, you can’t take either of them seriously anyway, and thanks to you, neither one of them is president. So enjoy a deep sigh of relief that the “Mavericks” are not now enjoying their own second term and leading America down the path to yet another unfunded war, but this time with a nation that can actually shoot back.
Because when you find yourself on the brink, you want a cool head, and there is nary a cool head to be found in Maverick country. There is, fortunately, in the White House, and his name is Barack H. Obama.
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/03/02/sarah-palin-adds-told-foreign-policy-credentials.html
http://theobamadiary.com/
My grandparents were born in Ukraine, in a tiny village near Lviv. There is a tremendous national identity and pride, particularly among those in the west who were formerly ruled by the Russians and Poland before them. The most offensive thing you could have ever said to my grandmother was that she was Russian.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the other half of my family tree is Irish, long known for being stubborn, they've got nothing on the Ukrainians. They spent centuries being controlled by others before finally achieving independence in 1991. In all those years, they have never considered themselves to be anything else but Ukrainian, and will NOT give up their hard-won independence easily.
By my reading, the Ukrainians have always been regarded as less than the Russians and pushed into bad situations. When Russia invaded Afghanistan, Ukrainian troops were put into the worst areas. (Save one bullet to kill yourself if you’re going to be captured by Afghan women.) This resentment has been building for a long time.
DeleteI'm a Ukrainian. My father was born in the Ukraine and my grandparents on my mother's side emigrated to Canada from the Ukraine. It is very true that to call a Ukrainian, a Russian is a high insult. I have heard us referred to as the Irish of the Slavic races. We have a rich history in art and literature. I must agree, we are a stubborn lot. I'm convinced it's genetic and is very dominant. We are all stubborn in my family and love a good argument. I believe that having a troubled history and still keeping your identity demands that you are stubborn.
DeleteSuch informative comments today!
ReplyDeleteIM is such a smart community!
TexasMel
President Obama is waiting to decide what to do.
ReplyDeleteHe is waiting for Bristol to post what he should do, on her blog, before he acts.
Bristol is asking Track to google search where Russia and Ukraine is on the map.
Track cannot spell Ukraine ... so everything is on hold.
excellent!!
Delete
ReplyDelete“Told-Ya-So,” the Quitter from Alaska Misreports the Facts and Offers No Solutions
http://malialitman.wordpress.com/2014/03/02/told-ya-so-the-quitter-from-alaska-misreports-the-facts-and-offers-no-solutions/
Sarah Palin is a lot of things. I’m going to add shallow to the list.
DeleteTo a certain extent Palin got lucky in that she happened to mention the Ukraine one time during a campaign rally. But overall her speech was littered with inaccuracies and failed vision. It is surprising that she would bother to remind people of her foreign policy inadequacies. She didn’t predict the citizen uprising in Ukraine, or the ouster of it’s president, or the Russian presence in Crimea, a region whose population is majority Russian and staunchly pro-Russia. And to characterize her 2008 remarks as predictive of what is taking place today is nothing short of delusional.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=11594
Caribou Barbie is in a joyous rapture because in 2008 she made a statement about Russia invading the Ukraine. So she's qualified and serious as a presidential candidate, you betcha.
ReplyDeletehttp://crooksandliars.com/2014/03/sarah-palin-actually-gleeful-about-russia
ROFLMAO - Palin a political soothsayer
ReplyDeleteBWAAAAAAAHAHAHAHahahahahaaaa haaa ha
Sarah WHO?
Oh, you mean that little old lady that's afraid of Katie Couric?
Big ol', mean ol' Katie Couric?
Palin claiming she came up the the Russian invasion of Ukraine all by herself is completely laughable. It came from one of the preppers for the McCain campaign. She knows about as about foreign policy as the oil industry, To take credit is akin to Rand Paul not giving Wikipedia credit for his pilfering of their content for his speeches.
DeleteOH, and thank FSM that we have an adult with a college degree in Political Science handling this Ukraine fiasco, rather than the MBA frat boys and college dropouts that got us into the last two wars
ReplyDelete...that they didn't know how to either run or PAY for.
Those top pictures you posted, from Russia Today. Well hon, that's the Russian version of Fox News. You might want to read the links below to get a more fair and balanced view of what is going on over there...
ReplyDeletehttp://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/thoughts-on-the-ukraine-situation
http://americablog.com/2014/03/ukraine-crisis-uber-update.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Americablog+%28AMERICAblog+News+%29
And Gryphen,, Alec Jones is a frequent guest commentator at Russia Today. Check your sources better next time.
ReplyDeleteA short primer on Ukraine and what Putin hopes to achieve
ReplyDeletehttp://theobamadiary.com/2014/03/02/a-short-primer-on-ukraine-and-what-putin-hopes-to-achieve/#more-158931
Before jumping into conclusions about what an asshole Putin is,and he is an asshole, one should Google "Ukraine, Crimea". Get a quick history lesson going back to the 1200's and the Mongol hordes. The area has been unstable forever. Many tribes, nationalities, economic and military interest are at play. Most of which are none of our concerns. I'm an pretty sure that the Obama administration is educated on the history of the area and understand there never has been a solution which will satisfy all affected parties. I am also sure Sarah Palin doesn't and lacks the curiosity to learn. What an ignorant bitch she is.
ReplyDeleteWhoa up there gunsmoke. Those pics from Crimea have about as much to do with the situation and the wishes of all Ukrainians as a pic of KKK klan members would have to do with all Americans.
ReplyDeleteThe protests in Kiev were about the President of Ukraine turning down being aligned with the European union and instead wanted the Ukraine to hop back into bed with Putin.
Most Ukrainians want to maintain their own country and ran their President out of office. That is their peoples right to do so. From what my Ukrainian friends tell me most Ukrainians want nothing to do with Russia, they never want to fall under Russian control again.
BTW what the heck do you mean by "Russia's restraint"??!!! They invaded another fucking country!!
Russia invaded Georgia too. And the USA invaded Iraq. Restraint is relative.
DeleteJohn McCain Wants War With Russia, And Here’s Proof
ReplyDeleteThe results are in and it is official, John McCain has succumbed to the ravages of age and his mind is no longer functioning on a rational level. He is now calling for what we managed to avoid through all of the tensions of the Cold War — war with Russia.
In response to the crisis in Ukraine he has released a statement calling on President Obama to take military action against Russia, a move which is not only foolish but premature since Ukraine has already brought the issue to the U.N. Security Council which has not yet had time to attempt a resolution of the situation.
His full statement as posted on his web page says:
http://aattp.org/john-mccain-wants-war-with-russia-and-heres-proof/
THANK GOD that Barack Obama beat the old man in 2008!
Yeah, I'd say this pretty much captures the 'old man'.
Deletehttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QawgTzLCK1k/SM5ub44J1hI/AAAAAAAAAXY/8IvWFvy8mtw/s400/Greenberg+McCain.jpg
The senile jackass had the stupidity to call President Obama's reaction "naive" on G Stephanopoplous's show.
Delete"And no Sarah Palin was not identified as being a political soothsayer."
ReplyDelete----------------------------------------
I didn't see her listed as a guest on any of the Sunday morning gasbag shows, either.
It's almost as though her capering about squealing "I told you so" while gleefully jumping up and down on the bodies of the dead didn't impress anyone.
O/T but Oh Gryphen, you're gonna love this 'brilliance'!
ReplyDelete‘Outreach to Rednecks’ Program Gives Guns Away to Persuade Rural Residents to Attend Church (Video)
Things sure are tough in Jesusland! Apparently lacking followers, Kentucky Baptist churches are resorting to an interesting new method to win converts: gun giveaways they have dubbed “outreach to rednecks.”
The Kentucky Baptist Convention is doing exactly what Jesus would want: luring converts by giving them the means to murder others! At their “Second Amendment Celebrations,” churches across the state invite gun lovers everywhere to enjoy a nice, juicy steak and a chance to win fabulous prizes–all of which are capable of sending someone to meet Jesus very efficiently.
According to Chuck McAlister, a former pastor and Outdoor Channel hunting show host, over 1,600 men made “professions of faith” at about 50 gun giveaway events last year. The hillbilly handouts managed to lure over 500 people out of their homes on a snowy January day to a gun event at Highview Baptist Church. Sixty-one of those men “made decisions to seek salvation,” according to McAlister. According to Paul Chitwood, the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s executive director, “it’s been very effective.”
http://aattp.org/outreach-to-rednecks-program-gives-guns-away-to-persuade-rural-residents-to-attend-church-video/
The invasion you claimed never happened? At least admit you jumped the gun Gryphen.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't the one who jumped the gun.
DeleteSenator Senile Mc Maverick Unmaverick expressed his indignation with how "naive" President Obama has been while handling the situation in Russia.
ReplyDeleteHey, Assclown, if you won, what would you and your VP pick have done? Newsflash, you'd be six feet under and "That woman idiot" would Send in the Duck Dynasty Guys? Write a facebook post about how awful, mean, vile and unchristian Vlad Putin is? Go on Fox News? Assemble prayer warriors? What?
Look up Diplomacy in the dictionary, mr "Bomb Iran".
Why is War ALWAYS the first and only option with these people?
I would like to point out that the eastern part of Ukraine is mostly orthodox christian whereas the western part has a large catholic population. ( The more differences there are the greater the chance of conflict.)
ReplyDeleteI would also like to point out that the Crimea has a very fascinating history. If I remember correctly it was once a Roman and Greek colony and then Turkish, etc. etc.
Just saying.
If Mexico or Canada had a civil war, revolution or coup we would send in troops and place ships along the coasts, of course we would. The US would do it to protect corporate interests, to prevent dangers to the US borders and to protect people.
ReplyDelete