Posted on 03/27/2014 10:48:49 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
ATHENS — For all the chest-thumping and heated rhetoric between President Obama and President Vladimir Putin of Russia in recent weeks, efforts by the West to make Moscow’s maverick leader pay for pushing his forces through Crimea have failed — miserably. U.S. and European officials already acknowledge that Crimea is a lost cause, and some assert that Putin’s lightning takeover and annexation of the peninsula mark the start of a new Cold War.
The challenge now, experts explain, is stopping Russia’s capricious autocrat of 14 years from further destabilizing Ukraine. That means stiffer sanctions if Putin provokes further trouble. But if he doesn’t, preferring instead to just pocket his victory in Crimea and leave it at that, then the way could be paved for negotiations that would allow for Ukraine’s besieged and harassed military personnel to exit Crimea peacefully, followed by free elections in Ukraine to install a legitimate national government, revamp the economy and create durable institutions.
Whatever the solution, if any, it most probably depends on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the tetchy ties that the de facto boss of the European Union has with the Russian president.
Ever since Putin drove a tank through world order, in effect, by annexing Crimea, Merkel has made but a handful of cautiously worded public remarks, mainly underscoring the need for preserving the territorial integrity of Ukraine. But behind the scenes, the world’s most powerful female leader is at the center of it all. U.S and European officials acknowledge that if anyone can exercise any influence on Putin, potentially getting him to pull his troops back to their bases, she can.
In the 14 years they have known each other, Putin and Merkel have grown to understand each other’s realities...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
One detail in this article that might be questioned is how many of Ukraine’s Crimean troops are returning to Ukraine. A few sources have stated that all but a few thousand have elected to stay in Crimea.
She is the one with the most at stake on the security side. My prediction is she manages to get us into a war, assuming Putin keeps moving the bar, and she won’t wind up spending a dime or committing any German resources. The Russians aren’t the only ones laughing at us. At least the Russians pay for their own national security, unlike the Germans, who leech of the US and UK so they can fund their socialism and mercantilism and run around bragging that their house is in order.
Problem is Merkel needs energy to backstop any move she makes and Obama’s energy policies have taken that out of play.
Let’s give them the rest of the Ukraine..maybe that will make them happy.
It’ already underway. And no, don’t think she can do much good. Remember, she is a politician.
What we see from Obama is not chest thumping. Chest thumping is an aggressive behavior. Obama is not being aggressive at all. His rhetoric is not heated, either.
I’ve seen German soldiers, and they’re pretty good. The problem is that in total they have about 60,000 and most of those are in some kind of international command. Using the formula of 10:1, 10 support to 1 fighter, that means that the Germans have 6000 warriors.
Putin will push Merkl around the way he will Hillary. You’d think he had a pair of abused wives.
The EUnuchs did a good job of getting themselves into this situation with their own foolish energy policies.
Unlike our own “chief executive” Merkel is out to do what is best for her own country. Period.
I have a lot more confidence in Angela Merkel than I do in Hilary, or John F’in Kerry, or 0bama. Yes her options are limited right now. But she is also fairly shrewd.
It looks like the Germans had already been backing away from the Green Energy BS even before the Crimea crisis. A good strategy would be to cut losses now, staunch the bleeding, and long term obtain alternate energy sources.
Well, that’s what a shrewd leader would do.
Red Storm Rising. There is nothing outside of nukes to keep Putin from riding all the way to the English Channel.
Europe will either fall to Russia or China, Fall to the Muslims, or arm itself barely in time and collapse into a bloody xenophobic balkanized slaughterhouse.
I don't see any other outcome even in the short run.
Judging from Thousands of years of European history (and my own take on eschatology) my bet is on the bloody slaughterhouse outcome.
The CEO of German conglomerate AG Seimens met with Mr. Putin in Moscow yesterday, signalling its going to be business as usual despite the finger wagging from western politicans.
If I was Merkel, I’d start running three shifts at the panzer factory.
You know, the usual stuff... Mutual military aid, divvying up spheres of influence. That sort of thing.
Regards,
Yes, I know.
“Unlike our own “chief executive” Merkel is out to do what is best for her own country. Period.”
And that’s part of the problem! None of the world “leaders” have a world view beyond their own borders and self-interest. Germany was trading with Iran when most of the other western countries were not. With Germany, it is totally about them and their economic interests.
“Unlike our own “chief executive” Merkel is out to do what is best for her own country. Period.”
And that’s part of the problem! None of the world “leaders” have a world view beyond their own borders and self-interest. Germany was trading with Iran when most of the other western countries were not. With Germany, it is totally about them and their economic interests.
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