No unit badges or insignia on their uniforms....so Putin can say "I don't have any Russian troops in Crimea"

It's brazen of Putin, but I'm waiting on a positive ID of Russian Marines/Spetsnaz/Army as being perpetrators of the Ukrainian base seizures (which I think they are).

The Ukrainian govt. and Western nations need to prove that to further undermine Russia's de facto annexation of Crimean bases and ports.

Russian gear, uniforms, and vehicles. You don't pick up all that at the ARMY-NAVY store.

And there is PLENTY on on the ground evidence that these are Russian troops.

I'm sure our DIA and CIA could (and probably have already) positively identify Russian military units that are operating incognito in Ukraine.

Maybe Obama and Merkel are holding on to that evidence as some trump card should Putin refuse to back down and return those bases to Ukrainian control.

Dreaming is always good But I have no idea how you can get to NREM with your post.

Plates are area-specific, and some are allegedly from Moscow.

Ukrainian self-defense forces having the latest hardware (that the Ukrainians don't have), in Russian transport vehicles bearing Moscow plates.

If not Russian troops, then certainly Berkut at a minimum. With some paramilitary forces.

but protecting their strategic interests, the same excuse we use to invade countries that haven't attacked us, and are today using to murder innocent children in far away countries with our imprecise drones, and the same excuse we would use, and did use, when Russia tried to put missiles on Cuban soil, THEIR ally, wherein we told a sovereign country what they could or could not do with our military.

So, no. Just fuck no.

what they view as their strategic interests?

how to act for their own strategic interests.

It's two face, especially since we've spent over $5 billion in cash and cookies to help foment this revolution, including money to the Neo-Nazis of the Ukraine.

We knew exactly what would happen, did it anyway, now want to pretend we are all lilly-white and offended.

It's like prostitutes in a church saying other prostitutes are wrong to be prostitutes because they don't go to that church.

As in, it will have a lot to lose if it doesn't get its troops' asses back where they belong, pronto.

Not militarily, but diplomatically and most certainly economically.

Tell me what you think they are

You are confusing the interests of the oil oligarchs with that of the American people. The oligarchs who spent 3+ trillion on a war in Iraq and countless lives of our troops.

The oligarchs who frack and pollute our ecosystem.

The oligarchs who pollute our Gulf and coastlines.

The oligarchs who pay no taxes.

The oligarchs who prevent us from building out our renewable energy.

I don't want to pay for another war for them so they can make a few bucks (or trillions), do you?

And tell me, where will the money come from - starving grandma???

And, no, letting Putin roll his tanks all the way to Paris isn't a matter of passing concern to us. He has to be stopped, so sooner rather than later.

He does not get to be king of Europe.

And what are they?

And who's gonna pay for stopping him?

Where does the money come from?

Talk about hyperbole - rolling his tanks into Paris. Link please!!!

This whole thing is about gas, and you know it. You're on the side of the Dick Cheney's of the world - the ones who live on the dark side.

You could destroy the planet with this one, or just kill a few hundred thousand more.....

Are you really advocating war with Russia?

Union, Japan, and Canada.

At a bare minimum.

To be joined by a lot of other countries.

He pursues the course of military aggression against his neighbors, using his troops to invade and conquer, at his nation's own economic peril.

The bear needs to get his ass back in his cage.

The Eagle needs to clean up its own nest before it goes fostering regime change in the Ukraine.

And may I inquire, what do you mean, 'at a minimum', what is the maximum?

It is guaranteed that others--such as Turkey--will also join in.

Crimea is probably a done deal. Putin gets to keep Crimea, but his people will feel pain as a result.

The real game is keeping him out of Ukraine and letting that country determine its own future.

them with American fracked gas....

Then, controlling, privatizing, and profiteering from the pipelines so that any Russian gas sold in Europe will profit Big Oil.

And then, forcing austerity on the Ukrainians as they lose the money they currently get from their socialized pipelines, and gas fields.

At least, that's how it looks to me!

I hear it's lovely this time of year.

or you just want to lob a few missiles at them? hmm Samantha?

Lets' just go get our WWIII on now, get it the fuck over with.

All this posturing bullshit and empty threats. good fucking grief.

Bottom line, Russia wants Crimea and Russia will get Crimea.

But there may be a price to pay.

need to have the vote taken under military occupation. There wouldn't be a need to cut off the TV stations, newspapers and reporters from telling the pro-Ukraine side. There are only 58.5% ethnic Russians in Crimea. Considering a poll taken in 2011 found that 72% of Crimeans responded that they were "Ukrainians" should tell you something. Not only that, the population of ethnic Russians on Crimea vary greatly in their support for Russia with those under 30 being strong pro-Ukraine and over 70 being strong pro-Russian. When you only have 58.5% of the population to start with, it's unlikely that the referendum would pass in a fair unbiased election since it would only take ten percent of ethnic Russians to vote against it. The issue really isn't even pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian because it seemed to boil down to many who just wanted to keep the status quo.

How long can Germany and rest of EU survive without Russian energy supplies?

It is all "we'll huff and we'll puff and ... do nothing"

which allowed them to build up reserves, a lot faster than Russia can go without cash.

Russia's economy is 1/8th of the EU's. 1/20th of the combined G7.

whereas in reality, he is a master politician and has survived tougher opposition domestically and internationally than almost any leader alive today.

He is probably laughing his ass off with all the empty rhetoric out of EU and US.

He holds the ace of trumps -- energy supplies to EU. He can cripple German and French economies before they can cripple his.

It is all American exceptionalism at its worst.

The person who first used that term, Stalin, meant it as an insult.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/03/how-joseph-stalin-invented-american-exceptionalism/254534/

or no additional troops without Ukraine agreeing. Just the other facts they conveniently miss.

restriction.

Roskomnadzor has blocked a lot of political sites and even a news site that it deemed was engaging in illegal activities, calling for unlawful behavior, etc. All related to opposition to Putin and his actions wrt Ukr.

Whatever the organizations official name, Roskomnadzor is "Russian communications oversight." It also handles issues dealing with Internet user personal information protection, so it's not all bad. I think.

It has the authority to do this on its own recognizance. "We think you're acting inappropriately. Your site is blocked." It's caused a number of larger sites to "geographically disaggregate" their sites, so that if one site is blocked because, say, it's too involved in Ukr issues other sites can stay up and running.

that Russia is not adhering to, like they must stay on bases, ensure Ukrainian troops are accorded food and supplies, no additional troops without Ukraine approval. Oops forgot that part did you?

лол if you prefer.

This is painful. Demands? On what fucking grounds? Crimea, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has its own parliament, its own constitution and the US is in no position to *demand* shit.

And Samantha Powers.... just lol.

Think "states rights". That means states are autonomous from the federal government in some ways, not in others.

It has no authority to hold the referendum under any of the Constitutions or laws of Ukraine. It can't conduct its own foreign relations. It has to abide by the language law, education law, etc.

Any more than Texas or Washington could hold a referendum to secede, ban English, or conduct its own foreign relations. I can imagine Vermont saying that it had decided to invite Canadian forces in to police it and take over any US military bases or installations there. "Well, states have rights, you know."

Meh.

Just an unbelievably horrible appointment by Obama.