Posted on 03/04/2014 11:52:34 AM PST by Dave346
Russian troop presence in Crimea compared to what Germans did in Sudetenland in 1938
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has compared Russia's troop presence in Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula to Hitler's invasion of Sudetenland, a part of the former Czechoslovakia, in 1938.
Baird, speaking to host Evan Solomon on CBC News Network's Power & Politics, accused Russia of invading and occupying Crimea, a part of Ukraine. "If it's not war, it's akin to war," he said.
At first, Baird said the situation was "right out of the Cold War." When Solomon pointed out Putin claims he is protecting Russian rights in Crimea, which has a majority of Russian-speaking citizens, Baird said, "The Sudetenland had a majority of Germans. That gave Germany no right to do this in the late 1930s."
Asked by Solomon if he was making a comparison to the Nazis, Baird replied, "When you have one country invading one of its neighbours, and using this type of outrageous and ludicrous rhetoric, it's hard not to."
Baird noted that no Russian in Crimea has been killed during the protests in Ukraine.
In 1938, Hitler sent in troops to occupy Sudetenland, a region on Germany's border populated largely by Sudeten Germans. The takeover was one of the precursors of the Second World War.
Government monitors Ukraine crisis
Baird's comments came after a series of events that show the Canadian government is actively monitoring the crisis in Ukraine, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper speaking to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the interim prime minister of Ukraine, this morning.
The Prime Minister's Office released a statement about Harper's phone conversation. "He expressed to Prime Minister Yatsenyuk that Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected and that the Ukrainian people must be free to determine their own future."
(Excerpt) Read more at cbc.ca ...
If Crimea is like the Sudetenland, then Obama is like Neville Chamberland. I can imagine the Liberal Messiah claiming to have reached a deal with Hit.., I mean Putin and then Putin conquers the rest of Ukraine.
How many territories and millions of people will you excuse getting annexed into Russia before the shooting begins? And how many hundreds of millions do you want killed in the resulting shooting war?
Some of us hate obama so much that we support anyone who’s kicking his butt. Not saying that’s right.
Neocons used to have us quaking in our boots about Iran.
If it wasn’t for Hitler journalist would have no references to make towards something they didn’t like.
What you say is true that Ukraine is an independent nation. I do not think that Putin is using the historical ethnicity excuse; there are other issues like port access. Crimea is 60% Russian.
Russia has assets to protect in Sevastopol. Ukraine and Russia signed a treaty that allowed Russia to keep its fleet in Sevastopol. The agreement is that the Russian fleet is set to remain there until at least 2042.
Hence, I do not think that the Hitler analogy applies. I do not know when the West will stand up. I do not know enough to even guess where this is headed. Will it be constrained to Crimea? Where is Ukraine headed to settle the issues and unrest? How real is the worry that Russia is bent on rebuilding its empire?
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Please don't mistake a bone deep contempt for a crooked Chicago Marxist as support for another communist dictator wanna-be..
Same theme. Der Fuehrer used the poor down trotted Germans living in CheckLand as his reasons for going in and Der Stalin II is doing the same thing. AND we and the Brits will react the same way, ho-hum.
Last I heard Russia’s government debt was about 8% of their GDP.
Western bankers, meanwhile, have the US government debt over 100% of GDP.
Russia has done VERY well economically since 2000, after recovering from an economic debacle in 1998.
It’s not about “empires” and political rhetoric, it’s about real, everyday economics.
IBM and Boeing have been doing business inside Russia since 1972.
No nation on earth has anywhere near the capability to occupy the US, so we are in no danger of some boogie man coming after us.
Our biggest enemy is international financial elites that too few people want to even admit exist, so they go on exporting jobs, exporting food and raising its price, dreaming up things to sell to the government which we pay for with tax dollars, etc.
Most of “conservative” America is clueless as is “liberal” America.
While we’re all arguing about “Hitler”, the elites are enslaving us.
Other parts of the Ukraine were under Russian rule even longer.
Just why Russians predominate in Crimea has to be explained by other factors. Deportation of Crimean Tatars (and Armenians, Bulgarians and Greeks)? The fact that it was an attractive, sunny resort -- Russia's sunbelt? The presence of the Russian military?
I wonder whether John Baird knows the history of the Crimean Peninsula, that it was Russian for over 200 years. That would explain why most of the citizens are of Russian descent.
Does John Baird realize that the neo-Facists and thugs now dominating the protest movement, may be a greater danger?
It was Ottoman a lot longer than 200 years. Crimea is only Russian because the original inhabitants were deported and ethnic Russians moved in. Other than that your facts are in order on Crimea.
And no, Ukrainians are not a greater danger than a murdering KGB thug with an army of 800,000 who rolls armor on his neighbors.
Crimea was Russian since 1783. Not seeking to incorporate any other nations within Russia.
That’s interesting. Lithuania was Russian from 1795 to 1918. Are you advocating Russia move in there also? You might want to let the Lithuanians know if that is your plan.
Ironically, the Ukraine was mostly Nazi Germany’s ally. Word was they were more brutal with the Jews than the Nazis themselves.
“repeating Putin’s propaganda like a good useful idiot. What are you Putin lovers doing on FR?”
How about recognizing that the EU, Obama, Soros, Kerry, Hillary, McCain, and the MSM didn’t suddenly get one right? You have a finely tuned antenna for Russian propaganda, but utterly miss it when its fed to you by our own side.
“You don’t get to erase national boundaries just because you think some percentage of that territory should belong to another nation... “
Really now? Lots of people will be fascinated that this is our position. Examples include Serbia, where we broke away Kosovo. Israel, where at this very minute we are trying to redraw their borders. And not to mention that Europe has changed borders so many times that it’s almost been a hobby. Syria will also find this quite interesting.
And I would submit another law. Rock and firebomb throwing crowds should never get to assert authority over people who disagree, simply because they happen to fall within the nation state area the crowd has seized.
I have to. It’s disturbing.
Jim Noble: Twenty years, fortunes shift and we have a chance to take them back. We would do it wouldn't we?
So, good morals should be copacetic with opportunistic, two-faced "Indian giving?"
HF
“Neville Chamberlain looks a lot better after reading wartime correspondence between Churchill and FDR expressing concern that not enough British and American boys were dying to help the Soviets.”
Interesting fact: The US used 90% of available military power in Europe during WWII.
Obviously, Nazi Germany was a threat that had to be dealt with. No doubt in my my mind whatsoever.
But still, you gotta wonder.....
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