Sunday, April 13, 2014

Is the world's newest war in Ukraine?

Before
laughing off this headline, keep in mind that some wars were pretty much
started by nonexistent events, such as the Gulf of Tonkin incident.
The
Vietnam War went from being a low-level insurgency to being a full-scale war
that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, including at least 58,000 American
soldiers.
It
isn’t necessary to constantly return to the old chestnut about Hitler’s seizure
of the Sudetenland or militarization of the Rhineland.
What
has happened so far. It is clear as the rain the Soviets tried to use to
disperse radiation from Chernobyl, that Kiev believes it has been forced into a
corner.
It
has begun fighting back against a Russian-sponsored invasion. The Russian use
is to protect ethnic Russians.
In
the days of Joe Stalin, Ukrainians were forced to learn Russian, and treated as
second-class citizens. That does mean the vast majority of Ukrainians do speak
Russian.
When
acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced early Sunday that full force
would be used against Moscow it was stated on his Website, in Russian.
Don’t
even mention the minority of Tatars in Russian-annexed Crimea. They have
already been told their housing will be used by real Crimeans.
Some
people died Saturday and Sunday in clashes between Ukrainian forces and Russian
militants, whether they are members of Moscow’s army fulltime or part-time.
The
New York Times headline said: “
Ukraine Forces and Pro-Russia Militants Spar at Police Office.”
The
Times claimed the Ukrainian special forces had made little progress in retaking
buildings and police stations from “the little green men” as Kiev refers to
them since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent them in to seize the Crimea
after Kiev ousted the pro-Russian president and began moving closer to
Brussels.
If
the Times analysis is true, it could mean there will be more fighting not less.
The
BBC, referring to a televised address by acting President
Oleksandr Turchynov, reported “Ukraine's president says a full-scale operation involving the army will
be launched in the east after pro-Russian militants seized government
buildings.”
Just as in
earlier historical examples of incidents that led to wars there was controversy
over just what had happened. Were helicopter gunships deployed, as claimed on
Twitter by pro-Russians.
The only
thing that appeared clear, and it could change by Monday, was that Russian had
not sent in troops, at least not in detectable numbers, from the massive
invasion force NATO claims is perched on the Ukraine frontier.
US
Secretary of State John Kerry wasn’t waiting for proof. He said the Russian
troops must back off or there would be “additional consequences.”
Ria
Novosti, the official Russian news agency, said, “
Special forces loyal to government and armed men from the
radical Right Sector movement launched an operation Sunday to suppress
pro-federalization protesters in the east Ukrainian town of Slaviansk.” Since
Putin fired many journalists and ordered media to toe the government line the
Ria Novosti account spoke volumes.
Putin’s government has already
imposed even tighter rules than before on demonstrations.
For the West, Princeton University
professor Harold James wrote: “
US Treasury official Juan Zarate
revealed in his recent memoir Treasury’s War,
the US spent the decade after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks
developing a new set of financial weapons to use against America’s enemies –
first Al Qaeda, then North Korea and Iran, and now Russia. These weapons
included asset freezes and blocking rogue banks’ access to international
finance.” Expect full deployment of them, as well as the biggest cyberwar ever,
if Russia invades Ukraine.
As a character in a recent movie said, “Math beats
guns.” And all those Smartphones are primed to take videos of murdered
civilians.
 
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