Only time will tell.

Those who were saying that Putin was in charge and that Obama was in a position of weakness were correct after all.

"See, we kicked dust on your boots, take that. Those who were saying that Putin was in charge and that Obama was in a position of weakness were correct after all."

...it always seems that way until it doesn't. The RW thinks war is the position of strength in these situations. When it comes to diplomacy, the position is always weak until there is a resolution. It may never come, but diplomacy and whatever else can be used to pressure someone in violation of international law is always preferable to war. Will these sanctions work? Who knows?

The situation is still unfolding. The information about the vote is being provided mostly by pro-Russian sources. Crimea is still under Russian control. Putin is likely to move rapidly, and no doubt the world is watching.

can't vacation in the EU or US.

Obviously war was never an option, but these 'sanctions' have about as much force as the posts at DU denouncing Putin.

"Obviously war was never an option, but these 'sanctions' have about as much force as the posts at DU denouncing Putin."

...that maybe, but you can't know for sure, and there are also likely other actions to come. Still, short of war, what do you think can be done?

It seems to me that mocking sanctions with the claim that "Putin got to annex Crimea" is simply saying that anyone can invade a country and no one can do a damn thing about it.

Maybe that's true. I doubt the UN and international community are going to simply say, oh well, fuck it, let him have it even though his actions and the referendum were illegal.

There are likely to be ongoing negotiations, and no one can predict the outcome.

From the editorial posted here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024675127

to dissuade him from going after the rest of Ukraine. Now he has a metric, he knows what the consequences will be for minor incursions. So, he'll just grab a slice here and there.

Would have been better to do nothing than to do something pitiful like sanctions on 7 individuals.

UN Security Council reform aint' gonna happen. Too many states benefit from having one of the Big 5 running interference for them.

"I would have proposed some sanctions that actually had teeth to dissuade him from going after the rest of Ukraine. Now he has a metric, he knows what the consequences will be for minor incursions. So, he'll just grab a slice here and there."

People seem to be approaching this from the standpoint that because Putin invaded Ukraine, Russia is in a position of strength. Forget that his actions could lead the international community to squeeze Russia's economy and expose internal political strife, which is already underway with its increasing crackdown on opposition media and the rising anti-war protests.

they could have lead to that, but they didn't.

Instead, he gets a victory.

Russian stock market is UP today.

It was a minor victory for him, but a victory nonetheless.

Then the US couldn't veto resolutions on Israel.

I would also support NATO/EU moving a brigade or two into Poland or even Ukraine (I'm sure their economy could use both the cash and the stability) itself and reinstating the missile defense agreement we had with Poland but set aside as an overture to the Russians.

The last thing Russia needs to feel is that such moves enhances their security. A brigade of US troops on their border should send a loud, strong message that their actions made them even less secure.

We can't go too far backward in relation to Putin--we still need to disarm his nukes, and he can still create a lot of trouble for us in Iran.

We can create more problems for him, but still not in our interest to go down that road.

And you think moving a NATO brigade into Ukraine would bring "stability"?

You don't really give a shit about Ukrainians, do you? It's all about this neo-Cold War crap.

That's a lot of projection, Comrade.

Russia is threatening Ukraine. My guess is you're OK with that and you don't live there.

There are all sorts of democratic, economic and legal hoops that they have to jump through first.

What precipitated the current crisis was the Yanukovych government reneged on its obligations to make the necessary economic and legal reforms to bring Ukraine into compliance with EU standards.

I think they misspelled voting in Crimea and tire burners staging a coup to oust the elected leader.

It has been an interesting couple of weeks with the new pro-illegal invasion progressives surfacing.

I guess they'll have to vacation in Crimea instead of going to Disney World.

"I guess they'll have to vacation in Crimea instead of going to Disney World. "

....these people don't care about their assets? Really?