Posted on 09/07/2014 11:02:10 PM PDT by wetphoenix
is has been one of the underlying themes of those who have argued from the beginning of this drama that the West doesn’t have a stake in Ukraine’s fate to even approach the stake of Russia, which has included Ukraine within its sphere of influence for the past three and a half centuries and has viewed that relationship as crucial to its sense of national security.
This raises a question: If we don’t have a serious stake in the matter, and we’re very clear with ourselves and the world that we won’t fight over it, and the preponderance of power flows from other directions, why are we even involving ourselves in the controversy?
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalinterest.org ...
Mad Vlad singing “Invading we will go, invading we will go”
Estonia started it!!
It’s all their fault, with their embassies and diplomacies, we had no choice but to invade in response.
It’s not our fault. Never ever the fault of the invading country.
Didn’t the Great War start in Serbia?
Ask Archbishop Vladimir what he thinks of that. He’d probably say those were all fake countries anyway and should have been part of Russia, where WW1 would never have happened because the jackboot would have been on their faces forever!!
And, NATO is getting divided... just like with IRaq... but now the anti-Iraq adventure French and Germans are sending arms to Iraq... go figure
If it looks like the International Leaders don’t know what they’re doing now...it’s because they don’t. Further they haven’t put too much thought in the water they’re carrying.
Fair to say it’s mostly all reactionary....as tensions give way to uncertainties.
The writer is correct. Obama comes across looking weak and bewildered, and the U.S. looks bad by association.
Barry is running a bluff that is so transparent on its face that it is insulting, at least to anyone not dazed and confused themselves.
Putin has about the same amount of respect for Obama as we have for him because he knows (as we do) that Barry is happiest when 1. fund-raising or 2. golfing.
Neither involves or requires real leadership.
That needs repeating indeed. The leaders' morality fundamentals and care are pretty fluffy.
Ummm, bullshit. You could say the same about Poland in regards to Russia or the Czech Republic in regards to Germany or Austria. The whole point of the post Cold War order in Europe was the abandonment of the 19th century 'great power spheres of influence' nonsense that had led to two world wars.
The author apparently thinks 1989 and 1991 were mistakes and we should just concede a Russian 'sphere of influence.' Does that include eastern Germany? He may want to ask the Germans, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Romanians, Hungarians, and Bulgarians about that. Or does he think all these peoples will just roll over and play dead?
True, abandonment of ‘spheres of influence’ in Europe makes certain sense, but what do you think about it regarding Monroe doctrine?
For example, TR almost went to war with Germany in 1902 over Germany's attempt to take over Venezuelan ports for defaulting on German loans.
In 19th century parlance, a 'sphere of influence' meant not only restriction on a country's foreign policy, but also preferential trade positions for the great power, rights of extraterritoriality for its citizens and even partial colonization by citizens of the great power (see French Morocco).
This is exactly how Putin understands 'sphere of influence'. The 'near abroad' is to provide preferential trading relations for Russian firms like Gazprom, a free hand for Russian oligarchs, eventual stationing of Russian troops and probably free settlement by Russians. In essence what it alway meant to Russia: the right of Russians to brutalize and plunder the local population at will.
If Russia had not chosen to get involved, the Austrian-Serbian conflict would not have transmogrified into World War I. Russia had been humiliated in 1904-1905 by the Japanese and again in 1908-1909 when Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Russia got nothing, so they decided to make a stand in 1914.
The fundamental problem in Eastern Europe since before WWI has been political instability in Russia and the tendency of Russian elites to turn aggressive abroad as a means of generating domestic support.
~US never cared one whit about what Latin American countries did internally or externally, as long as it did not involve the recolonization of Latin America by a European great power.~
LOL. Do you understand that the term ‘colonization’ is quite flexible? Submitting Ukraine to EU regulations and NATO might be viewed by Russia as such easily.
If not why did Kennedy reacted at Cuban communist takeover the way he did , why there was a Carribean missile crisis, and why does US forces still present at Guantanamo?
It is not if all of the above constitutes illegal acts by the US government. These are justified acts inhi defence of US national interests.
You have to admit that other nations has similar rights.
“Submitting Ukraine to EU regulations and NATO might be viewed by Russia as such easily.?
Submitting Ukraine? Ukraine is free to choose trade partners as it wishes. There are no NATO connections and NATO voted against any overtures.
This not about spheres of influence. This is about Russia, a declining power, desperately trying to be relevant. And it looks to the entire world as a horse’s ass.
They want a land bridge to their obsolete naval base, which could be taken out in a few days. This is all a joke in which in the end, Russia makes itself look old and decrepit.
Another John McCain production that flopped.
~Ukraine is free to choose trade partners as it wishes. ~
What about Cuba?
What about Cuba? You sound like a demented liberal Democrat.
They have nothing to trade. But then again, your butt buddy Putin likes to trade with Iran.
Glad to see you agree to allow Ukraine to trade with countries to the West.
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