Posted on 01/30/2015 12:35:40 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com
"Eight former U.S. national security practitioners — the two of us, plus former U.S. representative to NATO Ivo Daalder, former undersecretary of defense Michèle Flournoy, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, former deputy undersecretary of defense Jan Lodal, former NATO European commander James Stavridis and former U.S. European Command deputy commander Charles Wald — come together issuing following recommendations for immediate action. (releasing Monday report: “Preserving Ukraine’s Independence, Resisting Russian Aggression: What the United States and NATO Must Do.”)
First, White House and Congress must commit serious money to Ukraine’s defense: $1 billion in military assistance this fiscal year, followed by additional $1 billion each in fiscal year 2016 and 2017. Congress should not only authorize assistance, as it did in the Ukraine Freedom Support Act last year, but also appropriate funds.
Second, U.S. government should alter its policy and begin providing lethal assistance to Ukraine. Most of the above funds would go to nonlethal assistance. For example, the Ukrainian army desperately needs counter-battery radars to pinpoint the source of enemy rocket and artillery fire, which cause about 70 percent of Ukrainian casualties.
But the Ukrainians also need some defensive arms, particularly light anti-armor weapons. The antitank missiles in the Ukrainian inventory are more than 20 years old, and a large proportion of them do not work. U.S. anti-armor weapons could fill a crucial gap.
Third, the U.S. government should approach other NATO member states about assisting Ukraine, particularly those countries that operate former Soviet equipment and weapons systems compatible with Ukraine’s hardware. If the United States moves to provide lethal assistance, we believe that some other NATO countries will do so as well.
Time is urgent. Spring arrives in three months in eastern Ukraine, and fighting could then achieve new intensity. We should help the Ukrainians deter that."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The USA's greatest enemies should be Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
How many 9/11 terrorists come from Iran? How many terrorists are from Syria or Iran, compared to those who are Sunnis?
Sorry, but Iran and Syria, while not friends of the USA, are the lesser evil compared to the Saudis and Qataris
Russia portrays itself as "the protector of the Orthodox" -- and let me clear -- Assad protects Christians. For his own personal gain of course, but he protects them, just as Saddam did -- the IS and the Saudis kill Christians.
Net-Net, we should stop supporting the Saudis with weapons or buying their oil. Lift the sanctions against the IRanis and let them conduct their Sunni-Shia war openly -- Salafis v/s Ayatollahs
The USA could have made Russia our friend, but thanks to Clintoon, we didn't
It is normal when a higher-developed culture is near an under-developed or non-developed culture (and I'm not talking about civilisation or technological developments but culture -- arts, literature, sense of a wider group beyond the local) that the lower-developed one -- especially if it is ethnically the same, it will be destroyed
If you read about Poland during the 1800s -- it was destroyed, wiped off the map, but it survived because it had literature, arts, a sense of self. Marshall Edward Rydz-Śmigły, Commander-in-Chief of the Polish armed forces said: "With the Germans we run the risk of losing our liberty. With the Russians we will lose our soul" -- if you take what happened in teh 1800s, you see this cultural destruction happening in Europe
At the time of th eFrench revolution only 10% of the population of France spoke "French" (the language around Paris), but the revolution created this sense of "stamping out differences". The English at the same time destroyed the Cornish and Manx languages and aimed to destroy Gaelic. The Germans or rather the Prussians destroyed the various German dialects while the Russians made Russian speakers of no only the "in-betweeners" but also in Central Asia -- they tried to do this to the Poles, but couldn't succeed because of the difference in cultural strength.
No, the 2010 election found to be corrupt fraught with irregularities such as intimidation, citizens going to vote to find out their ballot had already been cast; missing & “found” ballots. But, THANKFULLY that is history!
But, you probably recognize that 80% support for Putin is the Russian propaganda & disinformation.
Also, be aware that the EASTERN RUSSIA wants to split from Russian Federation with populace leading serial demonstrations in varied places to avoid punishment; Red Square had 1000’s of protestors AGAINST war with Ukraine; Russian conscripts ‘refusing to be sent to war in Ukraine’; No Putin is NOT popular! Also, the Russian Communist saboteurs, Separatists, Drug/alcoholic city thugs paid mercenaries, the Cossack mercenaries of DNR [self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republics] and LNR [self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic] have been warring within their own factions against themselves! The population have been brutalized by them & are NO LONGER SUPPORTIVE! There have mega videos and numerous articles & posts that Russian speaking people consider THEMSELVES UKRAINIAN NOT RUSSIAN! In total, according to a 2007 country-wide survey by the Institute of Sociology, only 0.5% of the respondents describe as belonging to a group that faces discrimination by language!!!!!! At the same time, this is not viewed as an important issue by most Ukraine’s citizens. On a cross-national survey involving, the Russian language, only 8% of respondents (concentrated primarily in Crimea and Donetsk) felt that the legal status of the Russian language this was an important issue!!!!!!
No, it may be CONVENIENT for outsiders to split a nation.. but look into our own backyard, should we split off California & Florida?
Putin has increasingly promoted ONLY the Russian Orthodox Church to lean on its conservative appeal poltically to offset support lost in 2011-12 protests staged by more liberally minded urbanites!!!!!!!!!!!
Other denominations must now submit their sermons etc to be reviewed & edited!
“On Ukraine, as elsewhere, the Russian Orthodox Church these days unfortunately cannot have any stance different from the state’s one because it is becoming more and more an instrument of state policy,” said political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin.
INFO: Supreme Court confirmed the decision to liquidate the Pentecostal Church in Russian Federation.
Full name of the religious organization - “Evangelical Christian Church Pentecostal “Harvest” . It leads its activity about 20 years. According to experts, in Russia this movement is not less than 200 thousand followers. Pentecostal put on a par with the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” in the scale and pace of distribution. In Russia, Pentecostal representatives say they are being persecuted on religious grounds.
Reason for closing
Last spring, the “harvest” visited the city prosecutor and found out that their religious organization led educational activities without a license. In a rented building were equipped classrooms where classes were held: school desks, shelves with the educational literature, manuals and wall boards.
A formal reason was needed to be found to close “Harvest .” The prosecutor’s office filed a lawsuit (on the side of the plaintiffs were also Department of Justice and Department of Education Krasnogvardeisky district.) On November 14, 2013, St. Petersburg court ruled to liquidate the church. By that time, several regions of the country courts also made similar rulings against Pentecostals.
Pentecostals do not agree with this decision and appealed to the Supreme Court. However, the decision rendered by the St. Petersburg City Court to liquidate the Church “Harvest,” was upheld and entered into force.
Meanwhile, experts say that in Russia there is still no government agency that would address the problems associated with religious sects. Although at one time referred to the establishment of expert advice, it turned out that among the officials there were almost no people, versed in religious matters, but also able to assess the potential risk of different preachers.
In St. Petersburg, Pentecostals are 1996 They started with three people and have grown to branches daughter churches . The main hall at the Tallinn street to accommodate 500 worshipers.
80% support for Putin -- well, I think pretty valid Western sources have shown that he does have a majority of support. Perhaps not 80%. I know Russians here and yes, there is support for Putin -- I think it's brainwashing
2. Red square had ... I didn't know that -- any links? There probably were, but I'd like to also read myself
3. Population has been brutalized and... --> the thing is that they have also been bombed by the Poroshenko government, so don't support them either.
i know he doesn’t like Pentecostals who get money from the USA
or Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, or Ukrainian Orthodox!!!
I forgot.. or Roman Catholic.. very sad
Over last year, search engine I have posted photos & articles. My Mom is 95 with Alzheimer’s so I have to go. but, you can use Free Republic’s search engine or I will post this late afternoon or evening. :)
“No, it may be CONVENIENT for outsiders to split a nation.. but look into our own backyard, should we split off California & Florida?”
Yes and no.
Because they want to strangle us.
The USA could have made Russia our friend, but thanks to Clintoon, we didn't
That's like saying "The USA could have made fundamentalist Islam our friend, but thanks to Bush, we didn't."
You're not dealing with normal westeners here. You're dealing with KGB/FSB criminals. Mass murderers, thieves, people with ideologies that call for world domination.
The next challenge to NATO will be this: "Should we risk nuclear war for a little country like Latvia?" If the answer is "no," then NATO collapses. This is the end-goal of Russian military strategy. Ukraine is just the second stage, after Georgia.
Western Ukrainians are not Hungarians, them are Ruthenians.
Do you have evidence for Saudi control/creation of ISIS? There is reason to believe the Russians have their hands all over Islamic terrorism (and terrorism in general) across the world. Many KGB/FSB defectors have long warned us that the USSR (and now the Russian Federation) considers Islamic terrorism a legitimate weapon to use against the West. Alexander Litvinenko, for example, pointed the finger explicitly at Ayman Al-Zawahiri as an agent of the FSB. Others, such as Pacepa, have also put the existence of Al-Qaeda into the arms of Russia.
That's not to say other countries might not have some involvement as well-- though, countries like Syria, Iraq, Iran, all have intelligence services modeled after the KGB-- their original benefactors in the first place.
Your theory (that Russia supports Assad because he "protects Christians) is flawed, since; Russia kills or generally persecutes Christians; Supports Syria which also supports Hizbollah; supports Iran which doesn't "protect Christians"; is implicated by defectors as having a role in world-wide Islamic terrorism for the last 70 or 80 years.
Much less military risk and easy to implement to Russia would be turning off oil and gas supply to NATO countries instead of invading Latvia.
Russia has an economy about like Venezuela. Without selling oil your average Russian on the street will be turning to cannibalism just like how they used to do in the good old Soviet days they're still yearning for.
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