[Jim Robinson]

Europe and the US united to do battle against Russia as Dear Leader brags? I don't think so. Merkel likely to be the one open to negotiations. Europe is ill prepared for the consequences of serious sanctions.

[grania]

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.

[wolfman23601]

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.

[AU72]

Problem is Merkel needs energy to backstop any move she makes and Obama’s energy policies have taken that out of play.

[mulligan]

It’ already underway. And no, don’t think she can do much good. Remember, she is a politician.

[webheart]

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.

[xzins]

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.

[clintonh8r]

Unlike our own “chief executive” Merkel is out to do what is best for her own country. Period.

[MrEdd]

Merkel is not in a position to prevent a hot war with a mere arms race (which is largely what detente was.)

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.

[DesScorp]

There's not going to be any "world war". Because the Russians know that US and European governments are a bunch of *insert female genitalia phrase here*. Putin will unite the Russias... Ukraine and Belarus both will once again be one with Rus... and that will be that.

[mac_truck]

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.

[blueunicorn6]

If I was Merkel, I’d start running three shifts at the panzer factory.

[alexander_busek]

How about if Merkel and Putin start by signing a Nichtangriffspakt? Maybe with a few geheimen Zusatzprotokollen thrown in for good measure.

You know, the usual stuff... Mutual military aid, divvying up spheres of influence. That sort of thing.

Regards,