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U.S. Spies Said No Invasion—Putin Disagreed (Obama admin epic fail)
The Daily Beast ^ | Friday, February 28, 2014 | Eli Lake

Posted on 02/28/2014 6:07:27 PM PST by kristinn

A day after U.S. intelligence said there would be no Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin’s troops started coming over the border.

On Thursday night, the best assessment from the U.S. intelligence community—and for that matter most experts observing events in Ukraine—was that Vladimir Putin’s military would not invade Ukraine. Less than 24 hours later, however, there are reports from the ground of Russian troops pushing into the Ukrainian province of Crimea. It’s hardly a full-blown invasion. But it’s not quite the picture U.S. analysts were painting just a day before.

There was good reason to think Putin wouldn’t do it. Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov told Secretary of State John Kerry that Russia respected the territorial integrity of the Ukraine. U.S. intelligence assessments concluded that the 150,000-man Russian military exercises announced by Putin on Wednesday were not preparations for an invasion of Ukraine because no medical units accompanied the troops. And Russian and U.S. diplomats were still working on Iran and Syrian diplomacy. All of this followed a successful Winter Olympic games for Putin’s Russia.

Yet private security contractors, working for the Russian military, seized control of two airports in Crimea on Friday. And Ukrainian border officials said that Russian cargo planes had landed inside the province, and that 10 military helicopters flew into Ukrainian airspace.

U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence on the fast moving situation in Ukraine tell The Daily Beast that analytic products from the intelligence community this week did not discount the prospect of Russian provocations and even light incursions in the Russian majority province of Crimea, the home of Russia’s fleet in the Black Sea.

Nonetheless, until Friday, no one anticipated a Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory."Nobody thought Putin was going to invade last night,” one Senate aide who works closely on the Ukraine crisis. “He has the G8 summit in Sochi coming up, no one really saw this kind of thing coming." This source also stressed that events are still moving quickly on the ground. “There is still a question about whether this is Russian troops coming across the border or Russian troops moving around the installations in Crimea.”

(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: crimea; fail; obama; russia; ukraine
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More at the source link
1 posted on 02/28/2014 6:07:27 PM PST by kristinn
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To: kristinn

Our government is a sad joke. Unprepared (see Benghazi, et al). Whiners in a wimpy administration making a genius move in troop cutbacks. Revolution of some sort is needed.


2 posted on 02/28/2014 6:10:10 PM PST by shankbear (The tree of Liberty appears to be perishing because there are few patriots willing to refresh it.)
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To: kristinn

Hey Obama get your head out of Reggie Love’s lap and start drafting another sternly worded letter!

Or better yet... go over there and bend over for Putin and just get it over with.


3 posted on 02/28/2014 6:10:19 PM PST by TexasFreeper2009 (Obama lied .. the economy died.)
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To: kristinn
That's because U.S. Intelligence is targeting people domestically…
4 posted on 02/28/2014 6:10:43 PM PST by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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To: kristinn
CYOA time...

aka It's never Obama's fault


5 posted on 02/28/2014 6:14:03 PM PST by darkwing104 (Forgive but don't forget)
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To: kristinn

If the EU really cared about bringing Ukraine in, would they go to war?


6 posted on 02/28/2014 6:15:00 PM PST by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans!)
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To: kristinn
Kerry is a hero of the Vietnamese communist revolution, and he is the SOS

It's what happens when imbeciles are enfranchised.

The fall of the American Republic occurred in 1865.

The fall of the "democracy" instituted over the last 100 years will soon follow.

7 posted on 02/28/2014 6:15:59 PM PST by Rome2000 (THE WASHINGTONIANS AND UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE ARE THE ENEMY -ROTATE THE CAPITAL AMONGST THE STATES)
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To: kristinn

Putin is blowing off the G8 Summit, he does not need them any longer. The mostly European Union Countries need Russia’s gas in the winters. Can’t afford to cross Vlad.


8 posted on 02/28/2014 6:16:05 PM PST by swamprebel (a Constitution once changed from Freedom, can never be restored.)
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To: kristinn

Other predictions have been more prescient:

“After the Russian Army invaded the nation of Georgia, Senator Obama’s reaction was one of indecision and moral equivalence, the kind of response that would only encourage Russia’s Putin to invade Ukraine next,” Palin told Foreign Policy in 2008.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/28/did-sarah-palin-predict-russia-invading-ukraine-if-obama-got-elected/


9 posted on 02/28/2014 6:16:15 PM PST by jiggyboy
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To: kristinn

It’s not a fail. It’s what was expected by these liars upstairs.


10 posted on 02/28/2014 6:16:33 PM PST by SgtHooper (If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.)
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To: shankbear
Nonetheless, until Friday, no one anticipated a Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory."Nobody thought Putin was going to invade last night,” one Senate aide who works closely on the Ukraine crisis. “He has the G8 summit in Sochi coming up, no one really saw this kind of thing coming."

The Washingtonians are an existential threat to the USA.

11 posted on 02/28/2014 6:18:39 PM PST by Rome2000 (THE WASHINGTONIANS AND UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE ARE THE ENEMY -ROTATE THE CAPITAL AMONGST THE STATES)
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To: kristinn
Obama admin epic fail

No surprise here. "Obama admin" and "epic fail" are synonyms. We know that. Putin knows that. Everybody (except the mainstream media) knows that.

12 posted on 02/28/2014 6:20:14 PM PST by Leaning Right (Why am I holding this lantern? I am looking for the next Reagan.)
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To: Nachum

Ping


13 posted on 02/28/2014 6:20:40 PM PST by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: kristinn

more than ten choppers :

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=287_1393605865


14 posted on 02/28/2014 6:21:42 PM PST by LeoWindhorse
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To: kristinn

Our enemies have, at least, a three year window to completely take advantage of US interests. To not do so, would be utterly foolish.


15 posted on 02/28/2014 6:22:07 PM PST by LittleBillyInfidel (This tagline has been formatted to fit the screen. Some content has been edited.)
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To: darkwing104

Obama gets no blame for anything bad that happens...
and all the credit for everything bad that doesn’t.


16 posted on 02/28/2014 6:22:45 PM PST by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat Party!)
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To: kristinn

The minute Kerry put his warning over the wires this was assured. Hagels announcement that we want to neuter the Army was fuel on the Ukrainian fire
Russia is now a superpower again courtesy of Barack the Stupid.


17 posted on 02/28/2014 6:24:51 PM PST by jwalsh07
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To: kristinn

Pimp slapped again. Anyone remember the Pristina International Airport. Where the Russians showed up
before the ailed forces. Oh yea they are moving in
and Obama better watch his 6 because the Russians are
in Cuba. This may turn into a double or even a triple
slap down for him and F’in Kerry.


18 posted on 02/28/2014 6:25:40 PM PST by Slambat
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To: kristinn

Even a child would know that Putin won’t give up Ukrainian gas and oil control - it supplies half of Europe!

CIA didn’t know? LOL, Putin probably CLEARED it with all the major powers to avoid any misunderstandings!


19 posted on 02/28/2014 6:28:21 PM PST by Talisker (One who commands, must obey.)
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To: kristinn

Even Stevie Wonder could see the Russians were going to invade the Ukraine.

They moved to protect their port at Sevastopol, and the military and civilian airports they secured are for a future pincer move to the north to link up with an invasion of ground forces to the west into Eastern Ukraine. This is a region of mostly ethnic Russians, so this will be like Austria 1938 all over again.

Russia is moving to take back Crimea.It can easily be defended, it is strategic, and the Ukraine is not going to move into the peninsula to take it back—it has geographic pinch points which will be hard to traverse.

“US intelligence” is a joke, like President Obama is a joke.

Obama goes on TV to announce about the situation, and then devolved into a joke about 5:30 pm being Democrat happy hour.

What an a-hole.


20 posted on 02/28/2014 6:28:51 PM PST by exit82 ("The Taliban is on the inside of the building" E. Nordstrom 10-10-12)
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