“Kerry responded carefully, saying “we have contingencies – we are talking through various options that may or may not be available.”
Yes, Longface, those “options that ... may not be available” are going to be very useful in deterring Putin.
“At least the West is agreed on the Ukraine crisis. It agrees that something must be done to stop Russia’s re-occupation of Crimea, and it agrees that nothing can be done to stop it. Paradox is the stuff of foreign policy. It produces summits, holds conferences, forms and reforms contact groups. Leaders make interminable phone calls and thinktanks rush joyfully to club-class lounges. Everywhere, something must be done and nothing can be done.”
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/12/ukraine-crisis-west-do-nothing-russia