Posted on 03/30/2014 12:25:50 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Some U.S. lawmakers are ready to say that it’s futile to try to persuade Russia to give up control of Crimea.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN chief political correspondent Candy Crowley on Sunday that the debate over the Crimean Peninsula is "done" and the region is now under Moscow's control.
"The Crimea is dominantly Russian, a referendum was passed. That, I think, has been done," Feinstein said on CNN's "State of the Union."
Feinstein's acknowledgment clashes sharply with multiple declarations from President Barack Obama and the United Nations that Russia's annexation of Crimea constitutes a violation of international law.
One hundred countries backed and passed a resolution in the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday branding as invalid Crimea's secession referendum, which has been dismissed as a sham by Western governments.
A day later, Obama reiterated his opposition to what he described as Russia's takeover of Crimea, according to a White House readout of a phone call between Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The United States and the European Union have already imposed two rounds of sanctions on Russia, including travel bans and asset freezes for some of Putin's inner circle.
Feinstein, labeling herself a "student ... of Russian history,” said it’s plain to her how essential Crimea is to Russian interests. She mostly dismissed the continued outcries over its annexation as diplomatic posturing.
(Excerpt) Read more at politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com ...
Pinging Captain Obvious...
Honestly, I was surprised the Russians didn’t seize it when Ukraine went independent. I’ve never expected it to remain Ukrainian.
90 or so countries either voted no or abstained.
I think 80% of the "Ukrainian" soldiers in Crimea have joined the Russians.
Its a very good question. The seeds of today's crisis was sown with the dissolution of the Soviet Union - and at the time, the West (certainly its media and most analysts) ignored the Ukraine, Crimea, and the details of how the Soviet Union collapsed.
In order to oust Gorbachev, who wanted only reform, not dissolution of the Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin needed the support of powerful political figures at the time - one of whom was Leonid Kravchuk, the head of the Communist Party in Soviet Ukraine. As the organs of the Soviet state and army collapsed and chaos ensued, "Russia" was in no position to demand anything from the local officials of the Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, etc... This is the "disaster" of collapse that Putin referred to.
It took 20 years to turn the tide - and now Putin (and Russia) no doubt have re-union with Belarus in their vision as well.
As much as it pains me to agree with Di Fi on anything she is right. The Crimea is gone. It was always going to be gone.
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