Senseless to continue discussion with this individual. They have no desire to reasonably discuss the issue and will resort to ad hominem, name calling, shouting, etc., etc. when faced with the reasoned and clear counter position they have taken.
Putin is a strong Russian leader who is shrewd and taking abject advantage of the intentionally weak President and administration we have.
He is playing high stakes poker with a decent hand, but able and willing to dead pan worjk a bluff and make it stick.
We have a strong hand if we would use it...but we have a leadership that is intentionally playing a game of tiddlie winks in response. We will have to wait for a decent coupld of elections here in 2014 and again in 2016 before we are going to be able to stand up against this.
I pray God the Ukrainian people themselves will show Putin that should he go further north or west than the Crimea, that they will make any occupation a living hell for him.
As is it...the Crimea is lost to the Ukraine and gone back to Russia, with whom it resided up until 1954, Nikita (himself a Ukrainian) ceded it over to the Ukraine.
Here’s a great vide of an American girl, with family ties to the Ukraine, who resigned on Russia Today. Did it live on air.
RT Anchor Resigns on Air
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3dSuVUdzgs
Khrushchev was an ethnic Russian.
He was boss of Ukraine, under Stalin, and wanted to win over the Ukrainians, when he was locked in a power struggle, after Stalin’s death.
I don’t think Putin is going to leave Crimea. It’s too rich in Russian history and mythology.
However, the west needs to make it so painful that he won’t risk another adventure in NATO countries like Poland or the Baltics.
So far the west has projected weakness. That will only encourage Putin to play the same game in Latvia or wherever else it suits him. A shooting war with Russia in a NATO country is just one step from WW3. No thanks. Better to deal with the KGB thug now.