Just as Hitler used the excuse of protecting Germans living in Czechoslovakia in 1938 for his excuse to invade, now we see this century's would be Hitler, Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine to "protect ethnic Russians." As was the case 76 years ago, the real agenda is something quite different, including seizing territory that Putin wants. Anyone who thinks Putin gives a rat's ass about anyone other than himself and his out of control ego is deluding himself. What is happening now in Ukraine ought to be a wake up call to elements in the media who have fawned on Putin and/or failed to focus on who and what the man really is. I recommend that those ignorant of history quickly brush up on what happened in the 1930's in Germany to understand Putin's tactics. Here are highlights from the Washington Post on the disaster taking place literally at this moment:
Russian soldiers spread out across the Crimean Peninsula on Sunday, taking control of military and civilian installations, after Russian President Vladimir Putin secured authorization to send in more troops as the Kremlin set the stage for a high-stakes international showdown over the future of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s new Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk, speaking at a press conference Sunday in Kiev, said "This is actually a declaration of war to my country.”
Large convoys of Russian troops were seen moving on the highways between Sevastopol, where Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is located, and Simferopol, the regional capital.
The new government in Kiev announced it is calling up military reservists, following Russia's decision to allow its troops to sent to Ukraine. National police units were put on "high alert."
Russian soldiers are digging trenches at the narrow land crossing between Crimea and rest of Ukraine, according to a report from BBC TV.
Hundreds of Russian troops appeared Sunday morning at the Ukrainian army base at Perevalne in Crimea, as Ukrainians soldiers stood at the gates in a tense standoff.
In Kiev, the head of State Security Council ,Andriy Parubiy, said all Ukrainian reservists should report immediately to their mobilization stations.
In Moscow, police detained about 260 people who were protesting against the intervention of Crimea Sunday. About 150 of them were put into police vans outside the Ministry of Defense and more than 100 were detained several blocks away at the Manezh, a plaza next to Red Square. The protesters were taken seemingly randomly. One man was holding a blank sheet of paper. Another, who identified himself as a journalist, was picked up as he was talking to two women. Police left the women alone.
Ukrainian nationalist groups in the country’s west vowed to mobilize against the Russian threat.
Russia and the West find themselves on the brink of a confrontation far more perilous than in 2008 over Georgia, Dmitri Trenin of the Carnegie Moscow Center wrote on his blog, referring to Russia’s previous war. The Ukrainian military, which has taken part in NATO operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and partnered frequently with its Polish counterpart, is far smaller than Russia’s. But if a confrontation should erupt, the Russians would find that Ukraine’s forces are better equipped and trained than Georgia’s were.
Just last Sunday night, Putin was sitting in Sochi’s Fisht Stadium for the Closing Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. Thomas Bach, the head of the International Olympic Committee, declared, “You send a powerful message from Sochi to the world: the message of a society of peace, tolerance and respect.”
The next night, more than 400 Russians were rounded up in Moscow, protesting prison terms for anti-Putin demonstrators. Later in the week, opposition leader Alexei Navalny was put under house arrest for two months. And now, troops for Ukraine.
If Putin wants to use Hitler's old excuse, let's hope that China decides to make similar claims to large swaths of eastern Russia. What is good for the goose needs to be good for the gander.
No comments:
Post a Comment