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Ukraine needs America’s help
Washington Post ^ | January 29 at 8:12 PM | Steven Pifer and Strobe Talbott

Posted on 01/30/2015 12:35:40 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com

"Eight former U.S. national security practitioners — the two of us, plus former U.S. representative to NATO Ivo Daalder, former undersecretary of defense Michèle Flournoy, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, former deputy undersecretary of defense Jan Lodal, former NATO European commander James Stavridis and former U.S. European Command deputy commander Charles Wald — come together issuing following recommendations for immediate action. (releasing Monday report: “Preserving Ukraine’s Independence, Resisting Russian Aggression: What the United States and NATO Must Do.”)

First, White House and Congress must commit serious money to Ukraine’s defense: $1 billion in military assistance this fiscal year, followed by additional $1 billion each in fiscal year 2016 and 2017. Congress should not only authorize assistance, as it did in the Ukraine Freedom Support Act last year, but also appropriate funds.

Second, U.S. government should alter its policy and begin providing lethal assistance to Ukraine. Most of the above funds would go to nonlethal assistance. For example, the Ukrainian army desperately needs counter-battery radars to pinpoint the source of enemy rocket and artillery fire, which cause about 70 percent of Ukrainian casualties.

But the Ukrainians also need some defensive arms, particularly light anti-armor weapons. The antitank missiles in the Ukrainian inventory are more than 20 years old, and a large proportion of them do not work. U.S. anti-armor weapons could fill a crucial gap.

Third, the U.S. government should approach other NATO member states about assisting Ukraine, particularly those countries that operate former Soviet equipment and weapons systems compatible with Ukraine’s hardware. If the United States moves to provide lethal assistance, we believe that some other NATO countries will do so as well.

Time is urgent. Spring arrives in three months in eastern Ukraine, and fighting could then achieve new intensity. We should help the Ukrainians deter that."

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: 201501; crimea; donetsk; russia; russianscum; stevenpifer; strobetalbott; ukraine; washingtonpost
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com
Budapest Memorandum reinforced obligations that all of the signatories had already legally agreed upon by signing the UN Charter!!!

Lets be clear...the real purpose of the Budapest memorandum was to keep nuclear weapons off the black market, as the Ukrainian kleptocrats were selling everything that wasn't nailed down to the highest bidder.

Beyond that, the West has spent billions interfering in the domestic politics of Ukraine in direct violation of the memorandum...so stop pretending the West has 'clean hands' when it comes to the Bucharest Memrandum which is NOT a treaty and does NOT obligate the United State to defend Ukraine.

81 posted on 01/30/2015 5:17:27 PM PST by mac_truck ( Aide toi et dieu t aidera)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

“Under Obama, The U.S. has become a very poor ally.”

Yes, and he is a total lying fraud with NO INTEGRITY.
Given his typical anti-military agenda, we can forget standing tall for any agreement the USA may have.

Anything about him is viewed with TOTAL disgust. And our allies know it.


82 posted on 01/30/2015 5:55:52 PM PST by EagleUSA (Liberalism removes the significance of everything.)
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To: mac_truck

Incorrect.

To be very clear:
The only place the Bucharest Memmorandum is not considered a treaty by some is the U.S. because it was not submitted to the Senate for approval.

So in your mind, the United States completed nearly 16,000 international agreements between 1946 and 1999, with only 912 of those agreements submitted to the Senate.. so should ALL the other nations consider them “non-binding” as well?

ONCE AGAIN, since the Franklin Roosevelt presidency, only 6% of international accords have been completed as Article II treaties. Most of these executive agreements consist of congressional-executive agreements.

Ukraine had control of over the world’s third-largest stockpile of nukes: bigger than China, Britain and France combined.

Russia, the UK, the US, and Ukraine concluded two years of negotiations with agreement that the signatories would among other things:

“respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine”

“refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine”

However, Ukraine’s sovereignty HAS been compromised despite security assurances and despite Kiev giving up nuclear stockpiles. Laurent Fabius, French Foreign Minister, said recently: “countries that have nuclear weapons won’t want to give them up, while countries that don’t have them may want to acquire them because that will be the only way to protect their territorial integrity!”

So, much for Obama’s international policy!


83 posted on 01/30/2015 6:22:37 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com
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To: sparklite2

You had no problem giving him Czechoslovakia, and in ‘68 to soviets. ‘99 Bombing of Serbia. So stop pretending...
Maybe you should read The 500 Hundred.


84 posted on 01/30/2015 7:08:20 PM PST by Crapolla
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To: tcrlaf

Piss off you Putinia lickspitlle, there was a free election in Ukraine, take your FSB shite and rotate.


85 posted on 01/30/2015 7:32:18 PM PST by free_life (If you ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you, He will.)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

“So in your mind...”

NO...
Not in anyone’s mind, in the UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION.
Article II, Section 2, Clause 2

NOTHING the President may sign with another nation is binding, without the consent of a SUPER-MAJORITY of the United States Senate.

NOTHING....

This includes Memoranda for Propaganda purposes like the Budapest Agreement.


86 posted on 01/30/2015 7:41:53 PM PST by tcrlaf (They told me it could never happen in America. And then it did....)
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To: free_life

“Piss off you Putinia lickspitlle, there was a free election in Ukraine, take your FSB shite and rotate.”

The FACT that it was coup doesn’t change, no matter how many childish and filthy insults you spew.


87 posted on 01/30/2015 7:43:02 PM PST by tcrlaf (They told me it could never happen in America. And then it did....)
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To: BCW

Maybe Ukraine should go directly to the Chinese. They have more US money than the US does. The US is broke, military stretched to the limit, and our problems are right here - massive debt, socialist in the White House, Muslims all over the place and increasing in numbers. Let Europe take care of its own.


88 posted on 01/30/2015 8:20:25 PM PST by Pining_4_TX (All those who were appointed to eternal life believed. Acts 13:48)
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To: BeadCounter

This seems like a well funded sham movement. The Communist Party Russian Federation is controlled from the Kremlin.


89 posted on 01/30/2015 9:00:11 PM PST by Thunder90 (All posts soley represent my own opinion.)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

Mmmm. No. If Ukraine wants weapons they can pay cash.


90 posted on 01/30/2015 9:01:31 PM PST by Lurker (Violence is rarely the answer. But when it is it is the only answer.)
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To: tcrlaf

Oh, sure, we believe you and the FRAUD Putin’s version. Guess I’ll go read Russia Today. That’ll give the answers. I guess people were not camped out protesting for months for nothing.


91 posted on 01/30/2015 9:24:02 PM PST by BeadCounter
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To: BeadCounter

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/world/europe/ukraine-leader-was-defeated-even-before-he-was-ousted.html?_r=0

Yanukovych was cast aside and fled. No coup. Nothing to wave the star and sickle over.


92 posted on 01/30/2015 9:40:54 PM PST by BeadCounter
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To: BeadCounter

I tried to post an RT article in News for giggles. Try it and have a chuckle at the message that pops up.


93 posted on 01/30/2015 10:11:11 PM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: tcrlaf; UMCRevMom@aol.com

Church lady wants war. And she gonna keep propamagandizing til she git it.

Well, or until her masters tell her enough.

Til then, it’s war ! war ! war !

The United Methodist Church wants war !

You can just foget that US Consimatution, War Lady want a war.

You go borry some mo’ money from dem Chinese and give it dem Ukranes so they can buy dem missiles from da de-fence companies of the US of A. And den you can pay back the Chinese wif yo tax dollas you owes from all yalls fancy jobs.

Now, d@mmit you sheeple person, you stand up strate an look smart ! You stands at mattention !

War lady want WAR !

She got da memoranda, she got da propaganda. You gotta do it cuz you just gotta do it. Ya gotta. Don’t need no stinkin’ laws. We gots lotsa dem soldiers dat gotta go whereffer da White Hut sendsem. Gots orders to be followed. We just needs da Church ladies ta rally dem neocon conservasheeple.

What else good dose conservasheeple be good fo anyway ???

They keep dem Bibles. Dey keep dem guns. How we supposta git New World Order if you don’t gif dem all up ? Huh ? Now you tell me how !

War lady waitin’ fo’ yo’ ansa !


94 posted on 01/30/2015 10:40:39 PM PST by PieterCasparzen (Repent !)
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To: PieterCasparzen

I’m Vladimir Putin and I approve this message.


95 posted on 01/31/2015 12:08:48 AM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy

I’m Peter Mandelson and I can safely say that Vlad would get a chuckle out of that message.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10744744/Peter-Mandelson-refuses-to-defend-links-to-Russian-defence-firm.html

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/matthewholehouse/100233969/vladimir-putins-got-a-friend-in-peter-mandelson/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2706344/Putin-Prince-Darkness-Revealed-web-links-Peter-Mandelsons-shadowy-global-consultancy-firm-billionaire-power-brokers-Putins-Russia.html

Poor little sheeple. They don’t know a banker from a sheepdog. They’re just sheeple. Poor little sheeple. Yet some of them prattle on so about things they know absolutely nothing of, other than what the banker’s information factory feeds them.


96 posted on 01/31/2015 1:04:55 AM PST by PieterCasparzen (Repent !)
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To: PieterCasparzen

Yup. Russia invading yet another small country is all about the bankers. And Monsanto.


97 posted on 01/31/2015 1:15:37 AM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy

You’re right, the IMF has absolutely nothing to do with Ukraine.


98 posted on 01/31/2015 2:16:48 AM PST by PieterCasparzen (Repent !)
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To: PieterCasparzen
Thank you. Russia did not invade, occupy, and annex a portion of Ukraine because of the IMF. LOL

Where do you come up with this stuff?

99 posted on 01/31/2015 2:27:57 AM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: 2banana
Imagine (in America) if a democrat congress just "voted" out a Republican president and installed their own guy. What would you call it?

Impeachment, as provided for in the Constitution.

100 posted on 01/31/2015 2:40:15 AM PST by Paul R. (Leftists desire to control everything; In the end they invariably control nothing worth a damn.)
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