Cold War Part II
The Ukraine-Crimea-Russia debacle is an interesting one. Just a note, this is a more controversial Pickles to Pipes post.
**************************
Conservatives have had interesting reactions toward Putin and his actions. Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, praised Putin for his actions in preventing homosexual "propaganda" and his mixing religion with state politics.
"Obviously, he (Putin) may be wrong about many things, but he has taken a stand to protect his nation's children from the damaging effects of any gay and lesbian agenda," Graham said in Decision Magazine.
Sarah Palin also commented on the situation in a Fox News interview:
“Obama -- the perception of him and his potency across the world -- is one of such weakness. Lookit, people are lookin’ at Putin as one who wrestles bears and drills for oil. They look at our president as one who wears mom jeans and equivocates and bloviates. We are not exercising that ‘peace through strength’ that only can be brought to you courtesy of the red, white and blue, that only a strengthened United States military can do."
~(AKA Cold War part II. No mom jeans.)
Other Fox News commentators have praised Putin, wishing Obama was more like his Russian counterpart.
"Putin decides what he wants to do, and he does it in half a day. ... He makes a decision, and he executes it, quickly," former NY mayor Rudy Giuliani said in an interview. "Then everybody reacts. That's what you call a leader."
I thank God everyday that I live in a nation that protects freedom of expression and freedom of religion, where our leaders are elected to serve in a government accountable to the people. We are blessed our leader is not Putin or Palin.
Lastly, if you want to laugh (Putin sympathizers--you won't find this funny) watch Jon Stewart's take on the situation. Absolutely hilarious.
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/8gpcf5/big-vladdy---semi-delusional-autocrats
-EJS
Firstly, what even is Crimea? Crimea is not a sovereign nation but a mostly autonomous peninsula that belongs to Ukraine. Ukraine was part of the Union of Soviet Republics (USSR), also known as Russia, until 1991 when USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev started a policy of glasnost, or openness, which allowed Ukraine (including Crimea) to declare complete political, economic, and cultural independence from Russia.
After the dissolution of the USSR, Russia felt defeated by the United States. The US was viewed as a "global police force" following the Cold War, but Russia viewed us as a "global bully." For example, NATO expanded to include several nations surrounding Russia. Another democratic organization, the European Union, encroached on Russia, and the Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych said last year he had intentions of joining the EU. However, Russia despised this and threatened economic sanctions if the Ukraine joined. Because the Ukraine is so small and dependent on Russia for natural resources, they listened to Russia. The Ukraine failed to join the EU.
Although already a divided nation, this issue cemented the Eastern portion's separation (the Russian sympathizers) with the Western portion and Crimea (Western-US sympathizers) in the Ukraine. This civil disagreement also provided Russian President Vladamir Putin with a platform to regain Crimea, which he believes belongs to Russia. And in fact, many Crimeans would probably not mind this since most have identified with Russia since 1991.
The United States, however, prefers keeping a global "status quo" and doesn't want Russia to swallow any surrounding territories, likely because "nation swallowing" ignited both WWI and WWII, and was basically the objective of the Cold War. The US wants to prevent another armsrace-global-superpower-war at all cost, while Putin wants Russia to become a stronger world player. There's been some dramatic exchanges between Putin and Obama such as the withdraw of the Russian ambassador from Washington and the removal of Russia from the Group of 8. The US has threatened economic sanctions and other penalties against Russia if they take Crimea, but most of these punishments haven't really been that threatening. I believe we've just seen smoke from an erupting volcano.
Both sides want to avoid a hot war, or really a war at all. But the US doesn't want to concede power to Putin, who is essentially a dictator. The economic sanctions will become more serious and military threats could happen.
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates thinks Putin will eventually seize all of the Ukraine. I personally think Russia will seize Crimea, while the rest of Ukraine will remain independent. We'll see.
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates thinks Putin will eventually seize all of the Ukraine. I personally think Russia will seize Crimea, while the rest of Ukraine will remain independent. We'll see.
**************************
Conservatives have had interesting reactions toward Putin and his actions. Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, praised Putin for his actions in preventing homosexual "propaganda" and his mixing religion with state politics.
"Obviously, he (Putin) may be wrong about many things, but he has taken a stand to protect his nation's children from the damaging effects of any gay and lesbian agenda," Graham said in Decision Magazine.
Sarah Palin also commented on the situation in a Fox News interview:
“Obama -- the perception of him and his potency across the world -- is one of such weakness. Lookit, people are lookin’ at Putin as one who wrestles bears and drills for oil. They look at our president as one who wears mom jeans and equivocates and bloviates. We are not exercising that ‘peace through strength’ that only can be brought to you courtesy of the red, white and blue, that only a strengthened United States military can do."
~(AKA Cold War part II. No mom jeans.)
Other Fox News commentators have praised Putin, wishing Obama was more like his Russian counterpart.
"Putin decides what he wants to do, and he does it in half a day. ... He makes a decision, and he executes it, quickly," former NY mayor Rudy Giuliani said in an interview. "Then everybody reacts. That's what you call a leader."
I thank God everyday that I live in a nation that protects freedom of expression and freedom of religion, where our leaders are elected to serve in a government accountable to the people. We are blessed our leader is not Putin or Palin.
Lastly, if you want to laugh (Putin sympathizers--you won't find this funny) watch Jon Stewart's take on the situation. Absolutely hilarious.
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/8gpcf5/big-vladdy---semi-delusional-autocrats
-EJS
Comments
Post a Comment