Posted on 03/05/2014 1:13:39 PM PST by goldstategop
Should there be a western-leaning Ukraine going forward, it will not include Crimea. The U.S. and Western allies should concede this from the start, and perhaps other of Ukraine’s 24 oblasts too. Crimea and its environs have little strategic value to the West, beyond the opportunity of denying them to Russia. But Russia holds all the leverage because they have the most at stake, and are the only ones willing to commit troops on the ground. Let Moscow annex these lands.
Ukraine is better off without Crimea. Critics will no doubt deride this yielding as weak surrender, but it is better viewed as a strategic concession. Ukraine and the West are better off without Crimea, and perhaps other Russian-leaning regions in East Ukraine as well. The Ukrainian interim government should negotiate exact borders – perhaps, say, Crimea and the three other oblasts that lead up to the city of Donetsk – with the goal of retaining the maximum population whose electoral balance tips unquestionably to Europe and NATO-friendly political parties. It is better to have a smaller Ukraine that is a united and confident member of Europe, than the current Ukraine that is an unstable political football between old Cold War foes. What remains to be seen is whether Moscow will attempt to invade, occupy, and annex other pro-Russian regions of East Ukraine as well. For this reason, it is better for Ukraine and its Western allies to get ahead of the situation and negotiate a concession settlement that guarantees a Russian withdrawal from elsewhere in the country.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
“You gotta keep ‘em separated.”
Liberal/Conservative isn’t based on a region of a country...It’s based more on rural vs. urban.
It doesn’t matter if a country is formed that is 100% ethnically, politically, and religiously homogenous. Soon enough, they will all split roughly in half over some ideological shibboleth or another. It’s human nature, both to be part of some “tribe”, and to have another handy “tribe” to have a constant rivalry with.
We will Rule You, Greengo!
Yup. That's the plan.
What they could not make...they will try to take.
Imagine a United States where the descendants of the hated Conquistadors - the sworn enemies of the Anglo Americans - end up with effective control of the American nuclear arsenal.
They imagine it all the time. It's the kind of power they could never have hoped to build on their own.
And we have a Left wing who demands that we salute them and call them "Americans".
Nothing could be further from the truth.
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