Ukraine Orders Troops to Full Readiness as Russia Enters Crimea

Ukraine Orders Troops to Full Readiness as Russia Enters Crimea

John Kerry, who voted "yes" in support of the invasion of Iraq, actually said this with a straight face:

"You just don't in the 21st Century behave in 19th Century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped-up pretext."

Of course, the straight face doesn't mean much. Maybe he was kidding around, because Kerry says everything with a straight face, now that I think of it.

Nah, that can't be. He never kids around.

For the record:

1. Russia has perhaps its most important naval base in Sevastopol, Crimea. They think it could be threatened by the upheaval in Ukraine. (What do you think the USA would do if an upheaval in Cuba threatened the American forces in Guantanamo?)

2. Crimea itself was transferred from the Russian Soviet Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Republic in 1954 as a matter of geographic convenience. It remained, however, predominantly Russian. Only 24% of the population of Crimea consists of ethnic Ukrainians. (Russians 58%, Tatars 12%). It was probably a mistake to make Crimea part of Ukraine when the Soviet Union collapsed. Crimean independence would have made much more sense. Crimea, by the way, is barely connected to the rest of Ukraine. Although technically a peninsula, it is very close to being an island.

3. Sevastopol was a closed city in the USSR, and it includes even fewer Ukrainians (22%) than Crimea in general. The rest of the population is essentially Russian because there are few Tatars (< 1%) in that particular city.

4. The United States might be able to defuse the entire situation by negotiation. For example, would Putin agree to leave Kiev to sort out its own problems if the USA, in turn, supported a free, independent Crimea, consistent with the American belief that people have the right to self-determination. Remember - the people of Crimea don't want to be under Ukraine's thumb any more than the people of Kiev want to be under Russia's.