Europe And New Leaders Are Ukraine’s Only Salvation

Yes, Ukraine must focus on its immediate financial crisis and counter Russian machinations and threats, but its fate hinges on, to use hackneyed phrases, the creation of a rule of law and a stable democracy. Ukraine’s political elite and bureaucrats, of all political persuasions, have shown themselves incapable of these tasks in the past. Ukraine must turn to new and youngleaders – patriots not politicians —  willing to follow guidance and discipline from their neighbors to the West.

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Putin’s First Move After Ukraine: 2 ½ Years For Throwing A Lemon

In Putin’s Alice in Wonderland, it does not matter whether white is black or up is down. Exonerating evidence is either ignored or not permitted. The sentence is phoned to the presiding judge from the Kremlin, while Putin denies any influence on the courts. They make their own independent decisions, he asserts with a straight face. (Stalin would also tell wives of victims that we would like to help but the courts have decided).

 


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Olympics Host Putin Protects Mother Russia From A Tangerine-Tossing Student (And A Teenage Girl Too)

As Olympic athletes and world media bask in the sentiment and goodwill of the Sochi closing ceremony, they should be aware that their host will within a few days sentence eight young Russians to prison terms for exercising their constitutional rights to free assembly for acts that would merit a mild reprimand on any school playground throughout the world.

A Moscow court declared eight young defendants guilty of “application of force against representatives of authority” last Friday. The Moscow court conveniently delayed their sentencing until after the Sunday closing ceremony.  The eight – in their late teens or early 20s — were convicted of attacking heavily-armed, padded, and brawny special security forces at a May 6, 2012 demonstration on the eve of Putin’s inauguration to his third term as president of Russia.

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Despite Western Insistence, Ukraine Demonstrators Can Accept Nothing Less Than Yanukovich's Removal

Western media outlets give the impression that the astute diplomacy of Europe saved the day, if that is indeed the case. Wrong. The bravery, heroism, discipline, and national pride of the Ukrainian people defeated an entrenched, corrupt post-Soviet autocracy as they camped out in sub zero weather, endured beatings by riot police, and braved sniper fire that killed more than fifty of their fellows. The Yanukovich regime, egged on by Putin’s demands for a brutal crackdown, underestimated the tenacity of their opponents. They did not anticipate the outrage of all Ukraine, even in Yanukovich’s eastern regions, at the specter of deliberate sniper fire and bodies with bullets to the head in makeshift morgues in nearby hotel lobbies and churches.

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Ukraine Proves That Obama Has Led The United States To Irrelevancy On The World Stage

A chastened Barack Obama, who once naively believed that his intellect, personal charm, and multicultural understanding could sway Ayatollahs, post-Soviet dictators, Muslim fanatics, and Korean loons, is left with kicking the can down the road to prevent his initiatives from collapsing before his term is out. Despite tough talk of red lines and serious consequences, our enemies know he will not use American power. Time will tell whether Obama’s power aversion served the nation, but it does mean that to he will be ignored in those situations where it is in our national interest to show resolve, have a stiff back, and be willing to carry through on threats. This is the lesson that the Ukrainian crisis is teaching us.

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The United States and Europe Dawdle While Ukraine Goes Up In Flames

Deadly violence claimed at least 18 lives in Kiev on Tuesday as riot police moved on activists’ encampments in the center of the city after protesters stormed the Ukrainian parliament. Inside the building, fights broke out as pro-government deputies blocked the opposition’s effort to submit a draft resolution to reinstate the 2004 constitution that would limit President Yanukovich’s power.

As protests against Ukraine’s pro-Russian president enter their fourth month, it is clear that the battle cannot be resolved by compromise. Both sides are employing scorched earth polices from which there will emerge one winner and one loser. The United States and Europe have so far abdicated the opportunity to provide real assistance to the opposition. Putin, on the other hand, will leave no stone unturned to insure that his allies emerge victorious.  In such confrontations, the street fighter wins and the gentlemen lose.

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