Posted on 07/18/2014 12:30:05 AM PDT by elhombrelibre
Moscow has broken the trust that many worked long to build. Now NATO must adapt to this new security threat.
In just the past few months Russia has managed to use its military, political and economic forces to fundamentally destabilize a European nation and change internationally recognized borders by illegally annexing Crimea. In that short time, this new chapter in Russian policy has become a very unwelcome part of Europe's 21st-century security landscape. Not to belabor the obvious, but the sudden shift carries significant implications for the future and seriously challenges how Europe has developed its stability and security since the end of the Cold War.
Let's be clear, Russia's military actions in and around Ukraine have not been, and are not now, defensive in nature. Russia's military operation against Crimea relied on pre-deployed regular and covert forces and unbadged "little green men" conducting unconventional warfare as well as cyberattacks and significant information-warfare activity, using conventional media and the Internet to spread its propaganda. This is a 21st-century offensive employing 21st-century tools for strategic deception and calculated ambiguity to achieve Moscow's political goals.
Russia's military actions inside and along Ukraine's border exceed any definition of "defensive" and part with any reasonable understanding of what is militarily required to secure the border. The movement and positioning of Russian forces is also well beyond anything that could be called routine training. Their military actions, however, do allow Moscow to shape the crisis, by putting pressure on Ukrainian authorities at all levels, and shielding (by providing a cover story for) Russia's financial and military support to separatists....
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
curious, why are passengers jets traveling thru a war zone.
We’ve got so many anti-American/pro-Putin posters here that you’d think they’re part of Putin’s coordinated propaganda campaign.
that article points out what the air traffic is like AFTER the incident, but it sound like they were using ukraine air space quite heavily before
Absolutely, I’ve tried to point that out to some folks, but they’re psychologically committed to blaming the airline for the actions of Putin’s thugs. It’s shameless sophistry, and it reminds me of when I used to have to argue with Marxist during my University days. The Soviets never did anything wrong in the Left’s views. Now, we’ve people (alleged conservatives) who think sixteen-year former KGB Colonel Putin and his thugs are being wronged by Ukrainians and civil airplanes that won’t stay out of their way.
Nobody’s blaming the airline, despite the fact it has a terrible history as we all know. Rather questioning why have flight paths going through a known and active war zone where firing missiles and taking out aerial craft has been continuous for weeks....and that’s a reasonable question.
One, many, many airlines have continued to fly over this area. Two, the flights are at very high altitude, so high that only the types of air defense weapons used to shoot down planes at 30,000 plus feet need to be feared. Three, only nation states typically have such weapons. Four, the fact that Putin’s thugs have these sophisticated weapons has not been generally known or appreciated as the threat that it is to ordinary citizens flying way above the war zone. Five, Putin turned loose the dogs of war. He’s basically using morons to pursue his reestablishment of hegemony over all of his neighbors. Now, the world knows this and yes, must avoid going near the areas where Putin turns his proxies loose.
Ok...but Kiev Gov. also has these weapons and the means to use them...and since they’ve been the ones continually bombarding the EAst, and have left equipment either unguarded or had it taken by the Anti-Kiev forces, so who’s to know where the equipment came from? Heck Russia sells equipment everywhere and to anyone who will purchase it.....so even if it’s made in Russia that’s no determining factor.
I just think we need to wait for the International Investigation.......even if they frame it a certain way Freepers always know how to take it down enough to establish the truth.
FRiend, ordinary people cannot operate these systems.
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