Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Watching International News this Morning Made Me Proud of Obama and Kerry

There was some de-escalation by Putin, pulling troops back from the border. 

But what most made me proud this morning was the video footage of Ukraine troops in the Crimea peninsula, marching unarmed, with their flags and their commanding officer at their head, to confront armed Russian troops including snipers.

They had a five hour stand off, with very agitated Russian soldiers, as the Ukraine troops attempted to take back the control of their airfield.  The New York Times has the video you can see here.

They were chanting "America is with us. America is with us."

Sec State Kerry had just arrived in Kiev.

They know what more of our own radical right politicians, the radical right media bubblers, and the radical right voters SHOULD know.  Obama and Kerry and the coalition of which they are a part and with which they cooperate and lead, is being effective.

The people of Russia don't want to go to war; the people of Russia have a bad economy, and since the invasion of Ukraine, the value of their currency has significantly declined and the economy is getting desperately worse.  The Russians can't afford this conflict and they don't want it, and they are looking at longer term consequences from it with little to gain.

Putin has been pushing the Russian government to pass a new law making it possible to confiscate American and other business assets, if the west takes action against the Ukraine invasion.  While this would present a short term loss, it has to present a much longer and larger loss to Russia if they ever hope to attract any kind of foreign investment again, and it is a measure of Putin's desperation, as I'm sure that detriment to investment is clear to other people too.

This is what winning looks like, to adults, not Putin. Putin only appeals to the party of bullies.  This is what leadership and adults look like - Obama and Kerry.  This is what being in good standing with the developed world looks like - not Bush, and very much not Putin.

This is how you stand up to people like Putin, and this is how you stand up to fools like those on our own right.

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