“What, exactly, is running through Putin’s mind is NOT clear.”The short term is clear: Putin did not want a stable, western looking Ukraine on his border. Putin’s been reacting to the fall of his lackey, Yanukovych by seizing the Crimea & de-stabilizing the rest of Ukraine.Putin’s end game is totally unclear. If he really hopes to re-establish the USSR, he seems to have not noticed the big changes in the world since 1992. Germany is united & can become a major military power again if they feel threatened. Which they would if Putin makes a move on the Baltics.China has emerged as the second most powerful player on the world stage. Communism failed to bind China & Russia before. The Chinese have no trust whatsoever in Russia, now. Putin’s goal to make Russia an exporter of raw materials seems like a certain path to status as a second tier nation. The USSR couldn’t thrive in it’s own sphere of isolation. Putin’s “Greater Russia” has even less of a chance.Pessimistically speaking, the only question is whether it will require a major war to make the Russian people realize they are not being led into a promising future. Putin does not enjoy the monopoly on information that his Soviet predecessors had. He’s as vulnerable to public opinion as any American President.
You have to wonder why this isn’t a European issue sorted out by Europeans. Seems America’s involvement in this complex issue is less about domestic security and more about who’s the big dog in the world..Then when you see the right baiting Obama by questioning his manhood, you have to wonder if it’s all about domestic politics.
It is sometimes necessary to handle conflicts to avoid wars. We are presently conflicting with Russia in its long-range plans to dominate once again its area of Asia..We should soon decide if we need to convince Russia to cooperate with us against the Chinese. So far, we’ve gone it alone with Iraq and Afghanistan, with failed results. We have badly dissipated our strength and good will among countries in that area of the world. Massive shows of strength as those seem to no longer be the effective style among the most powerful nations..The truth is we are in contention with Russia and China for natural resources within Asia. Asia is not a barren wasteland to be neglected. In the far north are petroleum resources to be explored and in central Asia are valuable mineral deposits. China is purposefully expanding its influence to monopolize the world supply of minerals that are important to future communications and electronics. .The electronics in our cell phones, security communications, and weapon systems depend on certain rare earths. Supplies of these elements are said to be dwindling in supply within the U.S. sphere of influence. They are being found in Asia and Africa, and the Chinese know this and so does Russia..Putin is presently using money from oil and gas reserves to intimidate his customers and regain power among his former satellite nations. Europe must decide if Ukraine is important enough to jeopardize its supply of Russian energy resources. Georgia was a test we failed. Ukraine is another test, and we are presently being judged. .I think domestic security of any nation depends increasingly on economic factors. This has certainly been the basis of warfare ever since wars began, but it usually involved destruction and slaughter. These days, among the more powerful nations, it has sublimated into diplomatic war games played directly or indirectly. .Purely abstract strategic intimidation is what I’m sure Putin would prefer to wage, with vague threats of destruction . Western nations shy from destruction to themselves, so destruction is now done on battlegrounds other than the homelands of the major powers. The populations of those strategic countries are the ones that suffer through death or dislocation...I don’t think the elite of either China or Russia believe they are behaving this way for ideological purposes, anymore. Ideology might be the shell, nationalism the engine – and economic domination the goal. Fervent patriots are the pawns, while the cynical instigators of conflict take the benefit for themselves..Growth in consumer communication products are presently the impetus to our economy. If we no longer have easy access to the materials for those products, our economy will suffer badly. It is sometimes necessary to handle conflicts well in the beginning to avoid wars later. We should decide if that time is now, or let things get worse..http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/rare-earth-elements/folger-texthttp://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/us-russia-rareearth-china-idUSBRE9890EI20130910http://www.cprm.gov.br/33IGC/1342225.htmlhttp://rt.com/business/production-china-rare-metals-402/
The U.S. is the dominant power in North America and we all seem to live in relative harmony, give or take a Cuba. If Russia was the dominant power in Eur-Asia, would that be a problem? I continue to think the U.S.’s concern is about who is the big dog in international politics.
Uncle Joe Premium Member about 10 years ago
“What, exactly, is running through Putin’s mind is NOT clear.”The short term is clear: Putin did not want a stable, western looking Ukraine on his border. Putin’s been reacting to the fall of his lackey, Yanukovych by seizing the Crimea & de-stabilizing the rest of Ukraine.Putin’s end game is totally unclear. If he really hopes to re-establish the USSR, he seems to have not noticed the big changes in the world since 1992. Germany is united & can become a major military power again if they feel threatened. Which they would if Putin makes a move on the Baltics.China has emerged as the second most powerful player on the world stage. Communism failed to bind China & Russia before. The Chinese have no trust whatsoever in Russia, now. Putin’s goal to make Russia an exporter of raw materials seems like a certain path to status as a second tier nation. The USSR couldn’t thrive in it’s own sphere of isolation. Putin’s “Greater Russia” has even less of a chance.Pessimistically speaking, the only question is whether it will require a major war to make the Russian people realize they are not being led into a promising future. Putin does not enjoy the monopoly on information that his Soviet predecessors had. He’s as vulnerable to public opinion as any American President.
Gypsy8 about 10 years ago
You have to wonder why this isn’t a European issue sorted out by Europeans. Seems America’s involvement in this complex issue is less about domestic security and more about who’s the big dog in the world..Then when you see the right baiting Obama by questioning his manhood, you have to wonder if it’s all about domestic politics.
emptc12 about 10 years ago
It is sometimes necessary to handle conflicts to avoid wars. We are presently conflicting with Russia in its long-range plans to dominate once again its area of Asia..We should soon decide if we need to convince Russia to cooperate with us against the Chinese. So far, we’ve gone it alone with Iraq and Afghanistan, with failed results. We have badly dissipated our strength and good will among countries in that area of the world. Massive shows of strength as those seem to no longer be the effective style among the most powerful nations..The truth is we are in contention with Russia and China for natural resources within Asia. Asia is not a barren wasteland to be neglected. In the far north are petroleum resources to be explored and in central Asia are valuable mineral deposits. China is purposefully expanding its influence to monopolize the world supply of minerals that are important to future communications and electronics. .The electronics in our cell phones, security communications, and weapon systems depend on certain rare earths. Supplies of these elements are said to be dwindling in supply within the U.S. sphere of influence. They are being found in Asia and Africa, and the Chinese know this and so does Russia..Putin is presently using money from oil and gas reserves to intimidate his customers and regain power among his former satellite nations. Europe must decide if Ukraine is important enough to jeopardize its supply of Russian energy resources. Georgia was a test we failed. Ukraine is another test, and we are presently being judged. .I think domestic security of any nation depends increasingly on economic factors. This has certainly been the basis of warfare ever since wars began, but it usually involved destruction and slaughter. These days, among the more powerful nations, it has sublimated into diplomatic war games played directly or indirectly. .Purely abstract strategic intimidation is what I’m sure Putin would prefer to wage, with vague threats of destruction . Western nations shy from destruction to themselves, so destruction is now done on battlegrounds other than the homelands of the major powers. The populations of those strategic countries are the ones that suffer through death or dislocation...I don’t think the elite of either China or Russia believe they are behaving this way for ideological purposes, anymore. Ideology might be the shell, nationalism the engine – and economic domination the goal. Fervent patriots are the pawns, while the cynical instigators of conflict take the benefit for themselves..Growth in consumer communication products are presently the impetus to our economy. If we no longer have easy access to the materials for those products, our economy will suffer badly. It is sometimes necessary to handle conflicts well in the beginning to avoid wars later. We should decide if that time is now, or let things get worse..http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/rare-earth-elements/folger-texthttp://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/us-russia-rareearth-china-idUSBRE9890EI20130910http://www.cprm.gov.br/33IGC/1342225.htmlhttp://rt.com/business/production-china-rare-metals-402/
Gypsy8 about 10 years ago
The U.S. is the dominant power in North America and we all seem to live in relative harmony, give or take a Cuba. If Russia was the dominant power in Eur-Asia, would that be a problem? I continue to think the U.S.’s concern is about who is the big dog in international politics.