Finally we have something we all can agree on. What’s happening in Ukraine is dangerous for all Americans and what’s happening in Washington may not make it safer.
Russian troops now control the Crimean region of Ukraine, after Russian President Vladimir Putin ignored a warning from our president:
“The United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine,” President Obama said.
With the memories of the Olympics in Sochi still fresh, give Putin a gold medal for turning international geo-politics upside down, catching the United States and NATO by surprise and using enough military force to heat up a dormant Cold War.
The question for President Obama is what can he do about it?
He’s trying to end wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, not start another one, particularly in a place that’s next to Russia and half a world away from the United States.
Worse for President Obama, he needs Putin’s help in curbing Iran’s nuclear program and unrest throughout the Middle East.
“This is an act of aggression that is completely trumped up, it’s really 19th century behavior in the 21st century,” Secretary of State John Kerry said.
Tomorrow, Kerry flies to Ukraine’s capitol, Kiev, where he will meet local leaders who believe Russia invaded their country and made a “declaration of war”
But if Ukraine thinks the US is ready to fight back, they’re wrong.
“The last thing anybody wants is a military option in this kind of situation,” Kerry said.
This all happened very quickly, but I don’t think it will end fast.
Russia’s president sees a chance to be a super-power again, and we may not have the power to stop him.