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General Flynn says that we had intelligence that Putin was going to invade Crimea 7 to 10 days before he did it. We had sources indicating it would happen and were monitoring troop movements.
Interesting.
Should we have been more pro-active with that intelligence? What could we have done differently - if anything?
Kerry was making assurances that Russia would not invade until it was happening, despite intelligence that it was planned...was that part of a strategy to show faith in Putin's words OR was there just bad communication?
What I don't see reported over and over is the fact that Russia has many bases there. For a very long time, about 200 years iirc. Not only is this not reported, there are no details either on troops. What is reported repeatedly is that Russia invaded.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sevastopol
quote:
The geographic location and navigation conditions of the city's harbours make Sevastopol a strategically important naval point. It is also a popular seaside resort and tourist destination, mainly for visitors from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. The city continues to be the home of the Russian—formerly Soviet—Black Sea Fleet, and is now home to a Ukrainian naval base and has Russian naval facilities leased from Ukraine through 2042. The headquarters of both the Ukrainian Naval Forces and Russia's Black Sea Fleet are located in the city.
Last edited by CDusr; 03-11-2014 at 02:16 PM..
Reason: included links
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
8,297 posts, read 14,169,902 times
Reputation: 8105
Quote:
Originally Posted by All American NYC
Quote:
A report from the Ukrainian town of Feodosiya claims Russia has been broadcasting propaganda to local people over loudspeakers – and that Ukrainian troops have responded by blasting back the music of American pop singer Cher....music can be a devastating tool of psychological warfare, says Herbert Friedman, a former US army sergeant major who has researched the subject.
That can't be true, it must be illegal by internation war conventions. I could see waterboarding ....... but Cher?!
Definitely a good objective article.
Figures it would come from another country.
The Guardian is becoming a good objective news source.
Objective is non-existent, but balanced is good. One has to really look around to find decent information here.
This article has some interesting thoughts. Just saw information on the bonds, looks like a bit of a hold up there also. The use of this "crisis" appears to be used to hurry up the IMF reforms. This would be a major bump up for China, especially, but a big global change. Looking at this in terms of countries and politics can easily miss the financial aspects.
Ukraine – some thoughts on who is playing for what.
quote:
The US has already begun to back peddle on any idea that America would provide vast cash hand outs, prefering instead that Europe sort something out with the oh-so-lovely IMF. Europe would have a huge potential drain on its already unstable finances to say nothing of the carnage already happening at UniCredit and some of the Austrian banks exposed to Ukrainain debts. A poor Ukraine, promised it was going to be able to ‘join Europe’ and get help and iPads, would do nothing to help political stability and strength in Europe.
Objective is non-existent, but balanced is good. One has to really look around to find decent information here.
This article has some interesting thoughts. Just saw information on the bonds, looks like a bit of a hold up there also. The use of this "crisis" appears to be used to hurry up the IMF reforms. This would be a major bump up for China, especially, but a big global change. Looking at this in terms of countries and politics can easily miss the financial aspe
quote:
The US has already begun to back peddle on any idea that America would provide vast cash hand outs, prefering instead that Europe sort something out with the oh-so-lovely IMF. Europe would have a huge potential drain on its already unstable finances to say nothing of the carnage already happening at UniCredit and some of the Austrian banks exposed to Ukrainain debts. A poor Ukraine, promised it was going to be able to ‘join Europe’ and get help and iPads, would do nothing to help political stability and strength in Europe.
It's quite possible that Ukraine topples the entire house of cards in Europe if they don't weasel out of their promises of big money.
Putin doesn't need to do anything more. He can just sit back with some popcorn and watch the show. He' ll have the Ukraine entire in a few years.
What I don't see reported over and over is the fact that Russia has many bases there. For a very long time, about 200 years iirc. Not only is this not reported, there are no details either on troops. What is reported repeatedly is that Russia invaded.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sevastopol
quote:
The geographic location and navigation conditions of the city's harbours make Sevastopol a strategically important naval point. It is also a popular seaside resort and tourist destination, mainly for visitors from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. The city continues to be the home of the Russian—formerly Soviet—Black Sea Fleet, and is now home to a Ukrainian naval base and has Russian naval facilities leased from Ukraine through 2042. The headquarters of both the Ukrainian Naval Forces and Russia's Black Sea Fleet are located in the city.
I actually have heard it reported over and over again...not sure what media sources you pay attention to - obviously they do a poor job on this.
In fact Sevastopol's harbor is one of the principle reasons for Russia to want Crimea.
However, surely, you don't think ALL of those thousands of troops and tanks, and military trucks were already there and just grew in reported numbers by coincidence?
Russia did send forces in to Crimea and we knew about it a week in advance before Putin made the move.
I think we should stop deluding ourselves into believing that the United States has the responsibility, let alone the power, to stop a major nuclear superpower from taking forcible control of a regime in its own hemisphere. After all, it's not like we don't occasionally do the same in our half of the globe. I like how the U.S. criticizes Russia for meddling with Crimea while it's okay for us to manipulate more than half the governments in Latin America.
More than that, the situation in Crimea is a little more complex than what we've been hearing/reading in the American press, which really does a p*ss poor job of reporting. Most of the people covering the Ukranian/Crimean crisis really don't understand the historical and political dynamics at play. I don't pretend to be an expert either, but at least I don't pretend to know things that I don't and fart out uninformed opinions. Most of the key diplomats we hire at the State Dept. these days know almost nothing about the countries they're supposed to establish relations with. They're appointed because they're fundraisers who survive the nominations process, not because they actually understand these countries.
I am in the camp that it was a mistake for us to sign the treaty to protect the Ukraine if they gave up their nukes - since we can't enforce it against their most likely aggressor.
I agree - it is disturbing to see Mr. Hope and Change promise no special access to donors like past presidents and then proceed to do business as usual - while those who cheered wildly at the promise look the other way.
However, don't dismiss my point. It is possible we have severe communication issues if we knew about this a week before it happened, but our political leaders weren't informed. Or, it could be just political gamesmanship in front of the cameras before it unfolded...and if that is the case, could anything have been done differently in advance of Putin invading?
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