Posted on 05/28/2014 1:14:13 AM PDT by nickcarraway
There was a moment at the height of the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962 when Soviet ships approached to within just a few miles of a U.S. naval blockade and then, at the last minute, turned back prompting then-Secretary of State Dean Rusk to utter one of the most famous lines from the Cold War: Were eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked.
The crisis in Ukraine never threatened a Cold War-like nuclear Armageddon, but it may be the first case of post-post-Cold War brinkmanship, pitting the 21st century versus the 19th. It pits a Chinese/Russian worldview that says we can take advantage of 21st-century globalization whenever we want to enrich ourselves, and we can behave like 19th-century powers whenever we want to take a bite out of a neighbor versus a view that says, no, sorry, the world of the 21st century is not just interconnected but interdependent and either you play by those rules or you pay a huge price.
In the end, it was Putinism versus Obamaism, and Id like to be the first on my block to declare that the other fellow Putin just blinked.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
No kidding! When the dust settles, everyone's going to be like, "Oh, yeah. He took a chunk out of Ukraine first thing, didn't he?"
Yes, and we were so very close to a Nuclear War....few today realize just how close.
I learned that when the American Pilot was shot down by Russia then, and died, it was from a trigger happy Russian who did not have authority to fire. That is something all were concerned about then...tensions were so very high.
You should switch off the conspiracy trash from Russian media. You and it are sounding more hysterical with this nonsense.
And before you start whining like the Putinist you are, provide evidence for the national guard being "Right Sector," and the ethnic cleansing you allege. And do NOT use fringe websites to do it.
Asking for proof is usually the best way to shut you guys up.
Russia hasn't annexed Eastern Ukraine. They were working on it, but the Ukrainians are putting up a good fight.
I think he was blinking because he wasn’t sure if the rest of the world would put a stop to it. Hitler also couldn’t believe that the rest of the world wasn’t doing anything.
Yet now, we know that once he felt he had complete carte blanche to take over whatever else he wanted, he immediately stopping blinking and started murdering Jews and blasting the rest of the East of Europe to pieces before beginning on the West.
Now Putin, for all we know, is in fact blinking since he’s bewildered at how easy this is for him. Chances are we’ll see him trying to revive the old Russian Empire and as usual, we’ll get dragged into it with more of our young people dragged into this and dying to protect us.
” Europeans are too comfortable in their Socialist havens to give up anything for non-Russian gas or for military expenditures. (”Let America do that stuff!”)”
Exactly. We need to get out of NATO, withdraw our troops from Japan and Korea, and let the freeloaders know there’s no more free lunch. We’ve taken care of the richest nations on the planet for far too long.
“I learned that when the American Pilot was shot down by Russia then, and died, it was from a trigger happy Russian who did not have authority to fire.”
I’m not familiar with that; I know Gary Powers was shot down, but he survived (and was traded for one of their spies).
That is exactly what the EU wants to happen, i.e. for the USA to fade off the world scene so that they can become the third power they have so desperately wanted to be for decades. They have leaned on the USA in order to precipitate just that.
Europeans are too comfortable in their Socialist havens to give up anything for non-Russian gas or for military expenditures. (Let America do that stuff!)
Heh. More fluff to make Obama look tough. No one is buyin’ it, Tom.
Yes, and trying to equate Obama with JFK. Hilarious. JFK had an affair with Marilyn Monroe.
I just learned of that this week...so perhaps I’ll look further into it.
http://consortiumnews.com/2014/05/10/burning-ukraines-protesters-alive/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3152726/posts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_Sector
http://www.voltairenet.org/article183864.html
http://open.salon.com/blog/libbyliberalnyc/2014/05/12/us_govtmedia_hearts_neo-nazi_death_squads_wtf
Interesting that you called them "Federation" troops. But you are just talking out your butt when you claim he was a member of Right Sector.
“Friedman showing everyone that he is on drugs.”
Or....
http://thomasfriedmanopedgenerator.com/about.php
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.