Tuesday, April 22, 2014
There's Waldo!
It is now being widely reported that the pro-Russian troops present in Ukraine, whose existence Putin has largely denied, are the same troops that were present in Georgia in 2008. Check out these articles from CNN and BBC, look at the pictures and decide for yourself. Is this enough proof to convince anyone that Putin is outright lying? If it is actually the same special ops force, what are the implications for the legitimacy of Crimean (and Eastern Ukrainian) independence? Are there any implications? Will this change the attitudes of Russians or Ukrainians about the legitimacy of the pro-Russian protests popping up in Eastern Ukraine? Will this change the reaction the international community has had to become more aggressive or will it really have no impact? Thoughts, comments and discussion welcomed below! Keep an eye on the blog for more posts to continue reviewing before the test (and boost that grade).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Sorry for being late.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that a few photos are enough proof that pro-Russian troops are present in Ukraine, because it is really easy to fabricate that kind of information (as shown by the second article), but if these photos are actually sufficient proof, it will really hurt the legitimacy of Russia and the pro-Russian troops. The Russian government already said that the pro-Russian troops aren't working under their orders; having that proven wrong will cause others to lose their trust in them. In addition, according to the Russian foreign minister, "Ukrainian officials were not implementing the agreement negotiated in Geneva, Switzerland," which was to reduce tension in the Eastern part of the country by disarmament of pro-Russian troops. Neither of these ruling bodies will be trusted by others.
The international scene is already at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the situation in Ukraine. Even the United States is debating about whether to send weapons to aid the Ukranian troops. I don't think that imposing economic sanctions on Russia will be enough of an incentive for it to stop, even if they'll potentially lose a lot of profit. I personally hope that this event can be resolved without too much conflict.
I not only believe that these photos are accurate, but it goes along the types of tactics that Putin has used thus far. By claiming the troops in Crimea weren't his, only for the vote to come in and he claims them as his troops he has showed what he is willing to do. Now there is unrest verbally supported by Putin in Eastern Ukraine, and photos appear to show his special forces as the protesters and militia? It is the same tactic he used in Crimea, except now he has been caught. I do not believe the current economic sanctions will work, and the increased sanctions will probably flounder also. An article the other day said sanctions of this size have never been tried without the threat of military force, and when large sanctions have been used in the past the military option had to be used to stop the conflict. Russia is also a lot more organized then the type of nations we usually sanction. It comes down to using a weak/ineffective tactic in small use and then applying it wholesale to an even more powerful state and hoping it somehow works.
ReplyDelete