Posted on 03/09/2014 12:26:23 PM PDT by SkyPilot
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates predicts that Russia will continue to control Crimea for the foreseeable future.
"I do not believe that Crimea will slip out of Russia's hand," he said in an interview aired on "Fox News Sunday."
"You think Crimea's gone?" host Chris Wallace asked.
"I do," Gates replied. Russia has bloodlessly seized control of Crimea over the past week and has moved to formally annex it. The Crimean parliament has scheduled a vote on whether to join Russia for next week.
"I think it's part of a long-term strategy on Putin's part to create a Russian sphere of influence, a Russian bloc," Gates said, adding later: "I don't think he will stop in Ukraine until there is essentially a pro-Russian government in Ukraine, in Kiev."
Gates said he supported efforts by Congress and the administration to increase sanctions on Russia.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Captian Obvious quote by gates
Freegards
LEX
Paris is next.
Crimea is gone.
Barry has gone to hit the links.
Gates. The same guy who thinks Hillary would make a “great” president.
No feces, Sherlock.
Springtime for Putin, and Russ-i-a...
Ok, Crimea’s parliament voted in favor of returning the to Russian union, people in Russia are holding massive demonstrations in favor of Crimea returning, massive demonstrations in Crimea supporting the vote -
why is the US exercised over this issue?
She’d probably be a slight improvement over the current occupier of the White House.
How is this any different than what happened when Czechoslovakia was divided into its two "natural" ethnic regions, or when Yugoslavia broke up into several sovereign states?
You are correct.
These people want to return, Russia wants them to return, the people voted to return, it is none of our damned business.
Crimean people are mostly ethnic Russians, for them its going home.
No..Scotland is.
Several of our states are still having conflicts. Texas for one...that darn Rio Grande.
You can’t be “gone” from where you never were.
How on earth did the US get such a consistent lot of bumbling idiots, like Obama and Kerry?
It’s a distraction from the TSA purchasing 1,980 sticks of dynamite?
Public skool.
Sudetenland is gone. Czechoslovakia is gone. Poland is gone. France is gone. It’s none of our business, is it, Joe Palooka of FR.
US Defense Secretary bows to Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defense
Because he has no spine.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.