Ukraine - Putin is Playing Chess, Obama is playing Marbles

[SB Shock]

Ukraine is presenting an interesting view of how inept this administration is:

1. Obama tells Putin to keep his forces home or there will be consequences.

2. Putin immediately calls for and gets permission from his parliment to send troops to Ukraine (which were already on the ground)

3. John Kerry warns Russia they might get ejected out of the G8.

4. Germany immediately responded that they would not be for ejecting Russia out of the G8.

I don't know the answer, but with Ukraine economy near insolvency, government in disarray, Russia and West European banks are at risk it would seem this administration would be better off working with the Russians/Europe on stabilizing Ukraine than playing the "cold war" cards and making idle threats that there is no way are going to be able to carry out, and I'm sure after the NATO fiasco in Libya, NATO doesn't want to get involved.

[pinstripers]

Obama is spineless.

[Kung Wu]

Putin is playing with the world. Obama is playing with himself.

[SB Shock]

diplomacy by "useless outrage"

[RoyalShock]

Based on a piece I read yesterday, it sounds to me as if the Ukrainian president royally screwed that country over and is pretty much now at the mercy of whoever (Putin) is willing to bail them out, unless a rebellion were to overthrow.

[60Shock]

Putin has made it perfectly clear in in recent statements that the breaking up of the USSR was a horrible mistake (from the Russian point of view) and he is apparently set on reversing it. Look for the Baltic countries of Latvia, Estonia. and Lithuania (perhaps even Poland) to be next.

Stalin forced huge numbers of Russians to migrate to these small countries in the late 1940's and 1950's so that they would multiply and eventually be in the majority. Whether we like it or not, it was a brilliant move. Today the number of Russians in each country range from nearly 40% to over 50% in the capitols and larger cities. Plus the Russian millionaires have been investing large amounts of money in the Baltic countries for years and own homes and companies there as well.

If and when Mr. Putin wants to push it and bring them back under Russian control, there is absolutely nothing we and Western Europe can due about it except to issue grave pronouncements that they will be very sorry if they don't back up and go home.

Sure is a brilliant idea Mr. Obama to now direct our SECDEF to reduce the strenght of our total Armed Forces to a level LOWER than it was before the start of WWII. I'm sure Mr. Putin is quaking in his boots upon hearing about this brilliant strategy.

I know I am.

[SB Shock]

That has members of Congress asking why there was no clear warning that Russia would respond militarily to the abrupt departure of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych by sending troops into Crimea — and what intelligence agencies plan to do about the oversight.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/0...#ixzz2v3qvYajp

We have buffoons leading this country. In the public domain, civillian analyst were predicting this to happen - only thing that was slowing it down was the Sochi Olympics.

On 2/19/14 Nightwatch wrote

The Yanukovych government has acted with restraint, compared to Soviet practice, relying on police forces to control demonstrations, most likely to avoid diverting attention from Russia's "coming out" event -- the Olympics in Sochi. Ukrainian crackdowns can be, and probably will be, much more severe after the Olympics.

then a week later Nightwatch wrote on 2/26

Comment and note to new military analysts: As a general rule, during a crisis when the forces that might be deployed during that crisis start to train, that is more than an exercise, it is a rehearsal. If the training includes distribution of live ammunition, assembly of civilian transportation assets, evacuation of civilians and positioning of fuel and food stocks, then it is not a rehearsal, but a preparation for military action, under cover of an exercise.




The cost and extent of the distortion to civilian normality to generate combat power distinguish exercises from a movement of the forces to full combat readiness. Full combat readiness places heavy extra demands on civilian support that is not required when the forces are at constant combat readiness and in garrison.

Open sources are not likely to report fuel, food and transportation movements that enable a large military operation. If live ammunition is distributed to the forces, this so-called "exercise" is no bluff.

With this exercise, President Putin has multiplied his options in ways not available to European leaders.

The nightwatch author only uses public domain news/information for his intelligence reports - the cries of "why weren't warned" is CYA by our government represenatives. There was no intelligence breakdown except in the Oval Office - Dumbama was to distracted to attend his own National Security Briefings. I guess he was just going to leave it to Jump'n Joe Biden to go out the back door and fire off the double-barrel shotgun to scare the Russian intruders off.

[Veritas]

You saw how Kennedy was tested after the bay of pigs.
Miscalculations brought us to the brink of nuclear war.
Obama is going to be repeatedly tested.
We're war weary, in debt, and have a president that is losing respect globally.
It could be a long and rocky road the next two years.
Who will be the next Reagan to pull us out of the malaise?

[60Shock]

I am certainly not one to lightly come to Obama's defense.

Just not sure of what any future POTUS could do at this stage without going to war with Russia and Putin fully understands this.

The only options available to us are basically the same that have been taken against Iran. And we have seen how long this has drug out and what has resulted so far.

Plus, outside perhaps of GB, just what countries in Western Europe can we count on for anything?

To make matters worse, we will be in the same helpless situation WHEN China pulls a similar type of action. And that is WHEN, not IF.

[SB Shock]

So Obama levies meaningless sanctions on Russian officials - 11 individuals. Russia deputy PM laughs at Obama and calls him a "Prankster" and announce they will levy sanctions on U.S. Officials. Meanwhile the Whitehouse doesn't know if the 11 target individuals actually had any assets in the U.S.

Meanwhile the Crimean PM tweeted out a photoshop picture mocking Obama.

Capture.JPG

I really don't know what U.S. is trying to accomplish except look like fools.

[60Shock]

Teddy Roosevelt's Diplomacy - Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick!

Obama's - Gesture and Prance around like a Peacock and Wave his Limp Wand!

[DUShock]

The only thing I will say about this is that the United States has absolutely no business in the Ukraine or the Crimea. The Russians have been doing this same thing in this exact region for much longer than we have been a nation. The most notable Western incursion into the region did not end well for the West, just ask the Brits & French. The most famous reference is Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" which actually was not a complete loss but was a defeat.

[pinstripers]

I am certainly not one to lightly come to Obama's defense.

Just not sure of what any future POTUS could do at this stage without going to war with Russia and Putin fully understands this.

The only options available to us are basically the same that have been taken against Iran. And we have seen how long this has drug out and what has resulted so far.

Plus, outside perhaps of GB, just what countries in Western Europe can we count on for anything?

To make matters worse, we will be in the same helpless situation WHEN China pulls a similar type of action. And that is WHEN, not IF.

"at this stage" being key

[DUShock]

You saw how Kennedy was tested after the bay of pigs.
Miscalculations brought us to the brink of nuclear war.
Obama is going to be repeatedly tested.
We're war weary, in debt, and have a president that is losing respect globally.
It could be a long and rocky road the next two years.
Who will be the next Reagan to pull us out of the malaise?

There will be no Reagan. I do believe that we are incrementally heading toward a balanced budget but it will take time and it will take painful program cuts as well as tax increases. To over-generalize, Reagan was able to outspend the Soviets and our society does not have the stomach nor the resources for it.

[1979Shocker]

German TV Shows Nazi Symbols on Helmets of Ukraine Soldiers

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/german-tv-shows-nazi-symbols-helmets-ukraine-soldiers-n198961