tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post2202190556286575922..comments2024-03-29T14:03:27.321+02:00Comments on Dispatches from Vilnius: A Winter of DiscontentJames Fergusonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-76852468153061387412014-03-25T07:22:48.614+02:002014-03-25T07:22:48.614+02:00Russia has always been unpredictable, but so too h...Russia has always been unpredictable, but so too has been the US. Snipping off the Crimea from a beleaguered Ukraine doesn't make them a great power, it just reveals Putin as an opportunist.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-1545263571735621942014-03-25T00:58:51.035+02:002014-03-25T00:58:51.035+02:00Putin saw an opportunity favored by history and ge...Putin saw an opportunity favored by history and geography, then seized on it before anyone could mobilize any opposition. Call it sinister but it was bold and unexpected. Let's not overreact, but it does revive Russia as a force to reckon with and not to regard as predictable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-58941512979042354202014-03-24T19:25:30.480+02:002014-03-24T19:25:30.480+02:00Meanwhile, our own President in Exile has weighed ...Meanwhile, our own President in Exile has weighed in on the subject,<br /><br />http://theweek.com/article/index/258548/speedreads-mitt-romney-explains-how-he-would-have-kept-russia-from-messing-with-ukraineJames Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-8804366414942926292014-03-24T19:22:52.693+02:002014-03-24T19:22:52.693+02:00I prefer to look at cases individually, not justif...I prefer to look at cases individually, not justify one in terms of another.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-17716761690458636862014-03-24T16:18:23.001+02:002014-03-24T16:18:23.001+02:00If international sanctions are the solution then t...If international sanctions are the solution then the right wingers ought to be glad these were not imposed on the USA when Bush carried out his invasions on Iraq and Afghanistan. Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-474509924507120302014-03-22T18:55:05.363+02:002014-03-22T18:55:05.363+02:00The crisis in Ukraine arose when Yanukovich chose ...The crisis in Ukraine arose when Yanukovich chose not to sign an EU trade agreement which he had previously agreed to in principal and had taken over a year to finalize. Putin apparently offered gas discounts and debt relief to encourage the Ukrainian president not to sign that agreement. <br /><br />Many Ukrainians were looking forward to increased ties to the West, but Russia has long James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-6049240045552521532014-03-22T17:11:32.815+02:002014-03-22T17:11:32.815+02:00Speaking of "whipped into a social frenzy&quo...Speaking of "whipped into a social frenzy", some right wing loonies are talking like Russia is about to invade Alaska and to reclaim it. As far as I'm concerned, if Crimeans were wrong to democratically vote for union with Russia, then Ukraine's action in removing a democratically elected government in Kiev is just as wrong. In either case, Obama has no business dictating to Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.com