So what if Putin says he wants Alaska back?

SFF

[GOPJ]

Meanwhile we have generations of illegals throughout the country, most of which we won’t be able to get rid of, demanding ever more special rights. Apparently we’re so busy protecting the world from itself that we forget to protect ourselves from the world.

Well said cripplecreek.

[GOP Poet]

Palin would kick his ass back to the Stone Age.

EXACTLY!!

[Berosus]

Alaska was discovered while Peter the Great was tsar, but it wasn’t sold to us until 142 years after his death.

[SoFloFreeper]

My bad...I thought it was he who gave it up....

[SoFloFreeper]

Ya know, turning Manhattan over to someone else might not be bad...San Fransicko, too....hmmm...give away Chicago and L.A., and we might get a nation back that respects the Constitution, Christianity, and capitalism....

[dfwgator]

Ya know, turning Manhattan over to someone else might not be bad.

Even old New York was once New Amsterdam...

[Pearls Before Swine]

A couple of thoughts:

1) Wasn’t there a Rock Hudson movie about a Soviet incursion into Alaska that ended in WW III?

2) If this occurs, maybe I’ll have to go North for the low taxes. (/S, of course)

[Rusty0604]

The Mexicans DO want TX (and other US land they claim) back. And they are invading it, just not with their army. The smart thing is the way they are doing it is the have more rights than citizens and citizens have to pay for their welfare.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Berosus.

[21twelve]

I watched a four hour youtube on the history of Ukraine. VERY interesting, just made last year or so, and had a few snips of the protestors and others showing the diversity and different views on Russia.

Way back when Russia gained control of Ukraine (300 years ago??) it sought to get rid of the Ukraine language and culture and replace it with Russian. Prior to the communists they allowed them to use their language in books and plays and other things; with a revival in their nationalism to go with it. When the communists took over they got rid of that again, as well as the purges and famines of the Ukrainians, and replacing them with Russians.

So now as we see in Crimea “Hey - these people are pretty much Russians and they should be with Russia!”

Same thing in our Southwest. As that guy says: “Language, culture, borders.” The Russians have that figured out.

[Drew68]

I would imagine the 600,000 residents of Alaska might have something to say about that.

What if these 600,000 residents of Alaska voted to become part of Russia?

[dainbramaged]

What if these 600,000 residents of Alaska voted to become part of Russia?
That's a pretty big "what if?", don't you think? What if Spartacus had a Cessna?

[wetphoenix]

~What if these 600,000 residents of Alaska voted to become part of Russia?~

Won’t happen. Crimean parallels are far-fetched. They went to Russia because Ukraine is a corrupt hellhole circling a bowl between anarchy and tyranny of all colors for 20 years and counting. Alaska is a part of country which is both a top or second global economy and also in a top ten in terms of freedoms.
Southwest is not going to Mexico anytime soon for that very reason.

[smokingfrog]

Of course, Todd will be there for backup.

[Drew68]

That's a pretty big "what if?", don't you think?

About as likely as Putin trying to reclaim Alaska.

[Drew68]

Won’t happen. Crimean parallels are far-fetched.

I agree. Same with your comment about the southwest returning to Mexico.

[ctdonath2]

Methinks for quite some time to come Putin will be operating on the premise that areas of “Russian people” will be re-assimilated. AFAIK there is _no_ part of Alaska that can be construed as “Russian” in any way, nowhere that “Russians” constitute any notable population percentage density, nowhere that “Russian” is spoken to any meaningful degree outside sporadic individual homes. There’s just nothing “Russian” about it, and it is entirely the imputation of “Russian” that will guide Putin’s moves. Yeah, selling Alaska wasn’t a great idea, but easy come easy go.

If, on any pretext, Russia _did_ seek to take Alaska back, they’d find it an “American Afghanistan”: long-term fiercely independent residents would wage sophisticated guerrilla warfare in extremely difficult terrain, very comfortable with harsh/difficult conditions where occupying forces would struggle to maintain frequently-broken supply chains. It would take a lot of boots on the ground, delivered via expensive naval operations, who would take a lot of sniper fire from talented & well-equipped “lone wolves”. Alaska residents alone would prove a hard force to put down.

The Obama would just hand it over, likely on some pretext amounting to “buying Alaska back with inflation-adjusted interest”. It would take a direct attack on “the lower 48” to inspire any sort of military resistance from him, and even that may very well be more a matter of being unable to stop our military from responding (forcing him to assume leadership lest he be thrown under the bus). Barry has demonstrated absolutely nothing construing actual care about defending this country.

TL;DR - don’t give Putin ideas, ‘cuz he might just cut Barry a big fat check that WOULD get cashed. The only resistance (formidable though) would be Alaskans themselves.