Full disclosure: The only reason Republicans have been praising Putin is because its a way to knock Obama down a peg. Its an interesting read, if not incredibly slanted (its Maddow afterall, the Lefts version of Sean Hannity.) But it does bring up an excellent point: It looks like Obama is calling Russias bluff on the Ukraine. But to say that Putin is erratic, reactionary, and wanting to restore the Soviet Union, is American propaganda. Ive said it before, and Ill reiterate: - Historically: the Kievan Rus (Kiev is the capital of the Ukraine) converted to Christianity in 988 and began laying down the foundations of the Russian Empire. Eventually, Muscovy would overcome it, but the relationship between the two nations have always been incredibly close. To say that Putin is meddling in Ukrainian affairs and that its none of Russias business is historically and factually incorrect. The two nations have always had close ties. - Geopolitically: If this situation were playing out in the US with a border country, we would be doing everything in our power to ensure that a traditional rival (lets say Russia) would have as little power as possible nearby. Ill cite the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, or the anti-missle system set up in Turkey, a close neighbor to Russia. -Economically: Russias biggest source of income is their vast surpluses of natural gas, and their main buyers are everything to the West. If the Ukraine suddenly becomes part of the EU, this could severely cripple the Russian economy (likely moreso than any US trade sanctions.) What Putin is doing is trying to keep the one thing that Russia has going for it, oil, in production. TL;DR: Putin isnt some evil mastermind, and Obama isnt a stumbling dooface. This is geopolitics playing out as it should. Neither side is evil; both are looking out for national interests. I side with Russia only because wed be doing the same thing in their situation. It doesnt make sense to call them a bad guy if theyre looking out for national interests.
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 15:57:52 +0000
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