a reply to:
TechUnique
Okay, first of all you lose credibility by inserting Bible quotes.
Secondly, the dramatic music is needless and is intended to create a sense of dread.
Thirdly, pointing out that the US has foreign policy objectives and repeating this is nothing but propaganda. Of course the US had objectives! Every
nation does! Welcome to the notion of global politics.
Now, this situation is far more complex than anyone here will ever be able to understand, there are a million and one things going on behind the
scenes that we know nothing about, and likely never will.
However, there are some things we do know, without any doubt.
1. Russia has invaded another country
2. This is criminal under international law, and in breach of agreements Russia has itself signed.
3. An Invasion of Ukraine threatens all of Europe not only physically, but politically. Putin is testing the world and reluctance to act will send a
terrible message to other dictators and radical forces.
While no one wants to see things in Ukraine getting any worse, it is not the Ukrainian government responsible for the deaths and injuries on the
ground. The only people responsible for this are the Rebels and the Russian troops and government. They had no reason to attempt to claim territory in
this way, whether they were genuinely Rebels or the Russian government. You cannot simply form a group and state that the land is yours, stealing it
from those who inhabit it.
That is NOT the right to self-determination, it's terrorism or war.
Because of all of this, because Russia has invaded another country, the world now has no other choice but to support the Ukrainian government in
defense of their nation. Anything less than assisting them would be considered a massive failure, would bolster nutty Putin, and would send the
message to other world leaders with eyes on foreign lands that they might be able to start a proxy war and steal whatever they like.
Putin has now given us no other choice, doing nothing is simply not acceptable.
We tried this before, remember? We held back, we had talks, we made agreements and we even attempted to look the other way when a maniac leader stole
a foreign land from the people living there. And what happened? He was bolstered in his position, he found allies who found him useful in order to
excuse their own actions, and he then spread his murderous plan across the entire continent. We then ended up having to fight a massive army across
numerous fronts in order to defend ourselves, all because we failed to have the balls to stop him when we had the chance.
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and Putin certainly is doing just that, seemingly reading from a Hitler guide book and
thinking he knows where he went wrong in his maniacal plans.
Merkel and Hollande are only involved in the peace talks because their nations have economic and financial interests in taming Russia. Merkel wants
the gas, Hollande has massively lucrative military deals with Russia. It is in their interests to play this down and make a deal with Russia which
then allows them to continue their partnership with some semblance of credibility.
The question is, just how far will they go in order to save face? Will they willingly sign up to a deal handing over swathes of Ukraine to Russia?
Will they be willing to carve up another nation in order to keep themselves in a good relationship with Russia? Leaders are elected to work in the
best interests of THEIR nation, not a foreign nation. Leaders are also extremely short-sighted, stumbling through their stewardship and putting out
fires when they happen, without much regard for the long-term problems that the next guy will have to deal with.
Personally, I think Merkel and Hollande are about to try and screw over Ukraine and basically hand the East of the country to Russia.
Regardless of all of this, the US will not be happy with the expansion of Russia, and nor should they. Neither will any other nation in Europe. NATO
has been forced to go knocking on Putin's door by increasing presence in NATO member states, and Ukraine (whatever is left of it) will likely be
invited to join it too in the coming decade.
Putin has backed himself into a corner, lost a hell of a lot for his country, and seemingly has no way out of escalating this other than simply
removing his troops from Ukraine. That's not likely to happen, given that Putin is an egomaniac and would sacrifice his entire nation in order to
maintain his image.
We should be arming Ukraine, to the hilt. We should be sending everything we can to force Russia out of Ukraine, and then we should be spending
billions on keeping Russia within its own borders. We have no other choice, Putin has left us with no other choice. The only person to blame in all of
this is the man who invaded another country.