Op-ed: 

The crisis in the Ukraine continues on   

By: Diane Sori

"Any discussion about the future of Ukraine must include the legitimate government of Ukraine. In 2014, we are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders." - Barack HUSSEIN Obama

Bloviations...bloviations and NOTHING more for words are cheap when NOT backed up by action...military action...period.

And while Obama bloviates on and on it appears, at least on the surface, that Crimea does want to become part of Russia, with Russia saying it would welcome Crimea with open arms, especially since 60% of Crimea's population are ethnic Russians. But Ukraine and the U.S. are poo-pooing the fact that on March 16th, Crimea will hold a referendum on whether to join Russia or remain part of Ukraine, with a ballot in Russian, Ukrainian, and Crimean Tatar that reads in part, “Are you for the reaffirmation of the constitution of the Crimean Republic of 1992 and for Crimea’s status as part of Ukraine?”

And of course this vote is being denounced by the interim government in Kiev as illegitimate with Ukraine’s interim prime minister, Arseny Yatseniuk, saying that the referendum vote will NOT be recognized.

So the game continues on as Barack HUSSEIN Obama once again gets checkmating by 'The Russian Bear.'

And to that effect, Thursday night Obama had an hour-long phone conversation with Putin and demanded that Putin pull out of Crimea. And Putin's answer...NO WAY!

So what does Putin do in response to Obama's demands...and Obama demanding anything is quite comical don't you think....he does just the opposite of what Obama demands and sends Russian forces to storm in and take over a Ukrainian military installation outside the Crimean city of Sevastopol, before withdrawing soon afterwards without firing a shot.

And this happened after Russian parliamentarians gave a standing ovation to a delegation of pro-Moscow politicians from Crimea, promising them support if they wanted to become part of 'mother' Russia...and this happened as Ukrainian officials claim there are now about 30,000 Russian troops inside Crimea, including soldiers on the ground as well as others arriving by sea. And Putin's response is that there are NO Russian soldiers in Crimea, only pro-Russian forces from Crimea.

A game of words and a show of force...a show of force to send Obama the message that he, Vladimir Putin, controls this game.

And what does Obama due in response to Putin flexing his muscle...with his infamous pen in hand, yesterday he signed an executive order that allows the U.S. to impose sanctions against certain Ukrainian and Russian individuals who have undermined Ukrainian sovereignty, particularly in Crimea, including banning their visas and freezing their assets, and down the road even including a possible economic embargo against Russia. 

 

And then the EU stepped in to threaten even more sanctions if Russia does not act on these said sanctions. And Putin's counter-response to Obama's response...out comes his VISA and Master Cards so to speak...as in checkmate yet again.  

 

So as Obama says that the U.S. and the European Union are ”standing up for the principle of state sovereignty” he has now offered to send Ukraine $1 billion in aid, while the EU pledge  $15 billion in aid...with a part of those monies contingent on coordination with the International Monetary Fund... to the debt-ridden country's new government leaders...debts to a tune of $1.89 billion. And this does NOT help the fact that Russian gas company Gazprom threatening to suspend its gas supply to Ukraine after Kiev failed to pay for February deliveries. But NO matter as guess where that $1 billion from the U.S. is coming from...you got it...from 'We the People' and our taxpayer dollars...as sadly our own military and vets get screwed by this administration...by this president...yet again.

Also, let's NOT forget Obama's warning Putin (another funny) and pro-Russian forces in Ukraine that any actions taken in Ukraine must be approved by the Ukrainian government or else it constitutes a breach of international law.

I can't stop laughing with that one as Barack HUSSEIN Obama caring about international law is about as funny as Barack HUSSEIN Obama caring about the U.S. Constitution.

So while Putin continues to defend his actions in Ukraine, continuing to say those actions are completely within international law, Obama, in a weak effort to counter Putin's master game plan, has sent 10 of our fighter jets to Lithuania as our sole military response to Putin's military might...pathetic isn't it.

But it's also important to know that these events in Ukraine do indeed affect us here in the U.S. First, the G7 countries have all pulled out of preparatory talks for the G8 summit in Russia this summer and the Pentagon cancelled all joint military exercises with Moscow. Second, Obama's executive order authorizes the Treasury Department to impose additional economic sanctions against “individuals and entities” in the form of freezing the assets or stopping Americans from doing any business with Russian individuals or companies. Third, U.S. companies like Exxon, Coke, Pepsi and others would all be hurt by any economic sanctions placed on Russia that limit their ability to access the Russian market, and Russia would obviously retaliate with sanctions of their own. Fourth, if an outright war occurred the price of crude oil, gold, and other commodities would skyrocket translating into much higher heating and gasoline costs for Americans. Fifth, higher natural gas prices in Europe and Asia would increase the prices of things we Americans import that are manufactured with the help of natural gas, like cars, foods (fertilizer is often made from natural gas), and high tech goods from Germany and Japan.

And these are but a few of the ways we here at home are affected by the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine. But NOTHING affects us and the very heart of America more than the fact that Barack HUSSEIN Obama's lack of strength coupled with his lack of leadership in going up against Vladimir Putin has diminished the U.S. standing in the eyes of the world...and for we proud Americans that is the saddest thing of all.