[NorthMountain]

spitting distance of Russia and will present a perpetually tempting target for Putin or whomever succeeds him. It’s like a permanent piece of bait laid out within striking distance.

That's a damning indictment of Russian leaders in particular, Russians in general, and Russia as a country.

I notice that nobody worries about America invading Canada or Mexico for their petroleum and other mineral resources ... or for their arable land. Funny how it works that way.

It's time for Russia to grow up and fix its own problems instead of invading its neighbors.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

“I notice that nobody worries about America invading Canada or Mexico for their petroleum and other mineral resources ... or for their arable land. Funny how it works that way.”

You’re comparing two possible actions, the odds of which occurring do not even rise to zero, while Russia invading Ukraine and Crimea are established certainties. Meanwhile, Russia, as Peter Ziehan has stated, is not much more than a mafia-controlled gas station. If Russia getting her act together is timely, who blew up their natty gas pipelines under the Black Sea?