I think Obama should make W. Bush a special envoy. Yeah, let's send ol' Mumbles over to have a chat with Vlad. He can explain to him that one thing that the U.S. will not stand for is one sovereign nation invading and occupying another sovereign nation on a trumped up premise. Coming from Mumbles, I'm sure that will carry a lot of weight and save the day.
Is Putin a bad dude? Yep.
Is what he's doing wrong? Yep.
Will the Europeans do jackshit about it? Nope.
Do they (again) expect the U.S. to take the lead? Of course.
Do they want to get involved and risk Russia cutting off their supply of gas (still cold over there, is it?)? Hell no!
And lastly, just what solutions have the crazy-brave, armchair warriors in the U.S. come up with so far? World War III! :nanner: World War III! :nanner: World War III! :nanner:
And what is my solution? I believe I'm going to finish this roast beef & Swiss sammich and wash it down with a Diet Coke. I feel bad for the people of Ukraine... Egypt, Syria, on the Gaza Strip, Somalia, Rwanda, North Korea and every other place in the world where there is a corrupt government or war and conflict. I really do. But I'm fucking tired of people looking at my country (our soldiers and and my tax money) every time there is a problem and asking, "what are we going to do about it?" We?! What "we"?! Do they have a mouse in their pocket?! We can't (won't!!!) build roads, bridges, schools, transportation systems or power grids here because we (supposedly) don't have the money. But now I hear that Ukraine may need as much as $35 billion (U.S.) dollars over the next 3-5 years. Now, call me paranoid, but I just wonder who is expected to foot the bill for that? Hmm? Well, we can always borrow it from China and do a wire transfer, I suppose.
Not one fucking cent! Not one fucking American boot on the ground! Not one fucking Air Force jet in the air! If Poot-In moves into Alaska and makes Sar@h Palin his hostage/love slave, then maybe we start to mobilize some troops... or just put a price on Alaska and throw her in as a booby prize. IMO, all he's doing is showing off to the Russian nationalists (and some Russian teen age girls he has his eye on) and solidifying his power domestically. Too much of his immense wealth is in the West. He may be crazy but ol' Vlad ain't (that) stupid.