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Showing posts from January 28, 2015

Why Putin Will Fight On in Ukraine: "Putin wants to develop a military advantage so he can talk to Ukraine and its Western allies from a position of strength... Putin doesn't want to give Ukraine any more time to build up its military with Western help: He wants a lasting deal soon... Putin will fight on in Ukraine, having convinced himself that the West is aiming to destroy Russia."

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Why Putin Will Fight On in Ukraine Wednesday January 28 th , 2015  at  2:59 PM Bloomberg View 1 Share As Ukraine burned again last weekend, Western leaders stubbornly stuck to their chosen path: No appeasement and no military action, just more  economic sanctions  against Russia. It's a sure-fire way to get more Ukrainians killed. Even as President Barack Obama  claimed  in his State of the Nation speech on Jan. 20 that Russia was "isolated," with "its economy in tatters," pro-Russian separatists -- and probably some regular Russian units -- pushed Ukrainian troops out of the ruined Donetsk airport after 200 days of what had been held up as a brave Ukrainian resistance. They then moved to encircle Ukrainian soldiers near Debaltseve and, last weekend, shelled the port city of  Mariupol , killing 30 civilians. To understand why the separatists and their Russian allies decided to end  almost four months of relative passiv

To stop Putin in Ukraine, Obama must offer more than rhetoric - The Globe and Mail: "...the unifying glue in the West has been missing. That “glue” has traditionally been American leadership. When that leadership was bold and determined, as in the case of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, it proved to be effective. Mr. Obama’s “leadership from behind” has been the obverse. His grand rhetoric could hardly contrast more with the timidity and fecklessness of his policies." - Aurel Braun is a visiting professor, Department of Government, Harvard University and professor of Political Science and International Relations, University of Toronto. His latest book is Nato-Russia Relations in the 21st Century.

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To stop Putin in Ukraine, Obama must offer more than rhetoric - The Globe and Mail Wednesday January 28 th , 2015  at  2:12 PM Putin - Google News 1 Share To stop  Putin  in Ukraine, Obama must offer more than rhetoric The Globe and Mail Barely within a day after U.S. President Barack Obama took a victory lap in his State of the Union address regarding Russia – not only ridiculing any notion that Russian President Vladimir Putin  may have demonstrated strength and strategy, but  ... Putin: Ukraine's Army Is A NATO Proxy Aimed At 'Containing R... - Business Insider Wednesday January 28 th , 2015  at  2:12 PM Putin - Google News 1 Share Business Insider Putin : Ukraine's Army Is A NATO Proxy Aimed At 'Containing  R... Business Insider Russian President Vladimir  Putin  said on Monday that Ukraine's army is a NATO proxy whose geopolitical aim is to constrain Russia. &qu