Posted on 03/18/2014 11:16:19 AM PDT by opentalk
Former Rep. Ron Paul says that America’s reaction to Crimea’s vote to secede from Ukraine should be,“so what?”
“Why does the U.S. care which flag will be hoisted on a small piece of land thousands of miles away?” the Texas Republican and libertarian icon wrote in a USA Today op-ed Monday.
...Over the weekend, Crimeans voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia,which the Russian government has moved to approve. American politicians have called the vote a sham and the administration has said it does not recognize the results of the vote,placing sanctions on some Russian officials in response.
Ron Paul said at least three other regions, Catalonia, Scotland and Venice,are similarly seeking to leave their countries, and the U.S. and Europe should allow events to proceed uninterrupted there as well as Crimea, saying “self-determination is a centerpiece of international law.”
… Paul said the “minimal” sanctions from the White House is all the global economy can afford, and it is the global economy that promotes peace,not intervention.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
1. We should either make nice with the Russians be honestly willing to do something about them. Obama’s lies just make us all look like fools.
2. I don’t like Putin, and his justifications have a real 1939 sound to them but ... Look at this this way, back when there was a Soviet Union it was OK that all sorts of Russians lived in Crimea, E Ukraine, N Kazakhstan, etc. They were Russians and they were part of Russia and everyone knew it. Say what you want about Russian style elections but 60ish % of Crimeans seem to have put on their fur hats, gone out and voted to be part of Mother Russia. Russians are very nationalistic people. Maybe the borders of Russia should be drawn so that it includes the places where Russians live and have traditionally lived. Is that really our business?
3. If the Russians are willing to have a war over the Ukraine and we are not maybe we should recover some semblance of foreign policy and STFU.
Reduce Russia’s leverage...that means DRILL! DRILL! DRILL!
(and as a nice byproduct you also reduce the Saudis’ leverage)
Same here. Not our country. Not our fight. If any American wants to send their own money or volunteer for the Ukraine army, so be it, but don’t tax the rest of us to represent another nation.
NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!!! ... INCLUDES NOT TAXING US TO REPRESENT SOMEONE ELSE.
If I had my way recent presidential election would have gone very differently, and American foreign policy wouldn't have been hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Not to my knowledge. His actions are in keeping with the old Kremlin attitude, that of take what can easily be absorbed. My main contention with Vladimir is his lack of response to the Chechin murders in Beslan. Were I to hold anything against him, it would be that. But even that shows his unwillingness to extend beyond the natural borders of Russia.
Mexico sends troops across the Rio Grande into the southernmost 25% of Texas, because at one time it was part of Mexico, before it became part of the nation of Texas, before that became part of the United States. Mexico then holds a referendum in the occupied area, run by its troops, in which all the people living in “the Tejas” are given the opportunity to vote to secede from Texas and become a part of Mexico—except that there is no option on the ballot to decline the “offer” and stay with Texas, and except that everyone gets to vote including all the Mexicans living in “the Tejas,” and except that the ballot is only in Spanish, and except that the marked ballots can be seen by everyone as they are being placed in see-through ballet boxes, so everyone knows how you voted. 97% of those voting agree with the secession, and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto gives a speech in Mexico City proclaiming how the sovereign people of The Tejas have finally been able to become part of the nation they have always wanted to be a part of.
President Obama sanctions Carlos Slim, then flies to Florida to collect bundles for the 2014 midterms.
Nobody cared about the Sudetenland or Czechoslovakia either and looked what happened.
How is this any different than when the USA made Hawaii and Alaska a state? For that matter, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, etc. etc........Crimea is a non story.
The way we “acquired” Hawaii was shameful.
Where where you on a progressive President who dragged us foolishly into WWI? Which decision BTW led directly to Sudetenland and Poland.
Absolutely. And given that there’s nothing we can do about it, to borrow a phrase from a recent SOS, “What difference does it make.”
That said, if Vlad moves beyond Ukraine, to, say, the English Channel, we may have a somewhat different situation.
“Why does the U.S. care which flag will be hoisted on a small piece of land thousands of miles away?”
(Obviously not a fan of John Doone)
Or as Hillary might put it, "What difference does it make?"
Yeah, you're in real solid company, Ronnie.
That said, as an autonomous republic with a lot of Russian occupiers after the Holodomor, Crimea is an area that could be flipped. Just don't kid yourself that the announced "93% in favor" is any more real than Kim Jung-un's "unanimous" election.
And if you consider yourself someone who holds hands with any of Russia's neighbors, don't come crying when the Bear bites your hand off. After all, "treaty" is just Russian for "toilet paper". Get used to it.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat.
If he DOES go farther, the muzzies in western Europe will need evacuation plans.
"A quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing" Neville Chamberlain about Czechoslovakia, 1938
The US has a Communist sitting as President. Geesh Open the eyes will ya?
“Catalonia, Scotland and Venice”
None of these regions had a major military power deploy an army to occupy it before the vote.
We should care because Putin is power mad and could try to take over other Eastern E nations.
He could have been contained if we had proper leadership.
That’s a foolish and irrelevant question based on a faulty premise.
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