Ukraine: Recap and Thoughts

I'm just trying to organize my thoughts with this post.  I hope it helps others trying to make sense of this Russia-Ukraine thing.  Let me know if I've missed something.

Events:

1) February 2010 - Ukrainian President Yanukovych wins election on a pro-West platform.

2) November 2013 - Russia outbids the Western alliance option and the Ukrainian president, ignores history and goes with Russia.

3) November 2013 - Pro-Western Ukrainians rise up, proving us wrong.

4) February 22, 2014 - Pro-West protesters succeed and a deposed Yanukovych flees to Russia.

5) February 23 - The Sochi Olympics end.

6) February 28 - Russian forces occupy two Crimea airports.  Wikipedia:

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an autonomous parliamentary republic within Ukraine and is governed by the Constitution of Crimea in accordance with the laws of Ukraine.

Russia's military buildup in Crimea, and outside the borders of Eastern Ukraine, continues.

7) March 7 - ZH: An unmarked plane moves Ukraine's 40 tons of gold to the US.

8) March 13 - Secretary of State John Kerry tells Congress that the US and European nations will impose sanctions on Monday, March 17 if Russia takes Crimea.

9) March 14 - ZH: Russia sells $105b in US Treasuries.

10) March 15 - WSJ:

Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that calls on nations not to recognize the results of Sunday's referendum in Crimea on whether to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.

11) March 16 - The Crimea people are sympathetic to Russia.  They have an military alliance agreement through 2042 that allows for thousands of Russian forces to be based there. And, they are voting today to turn over their sovereignty to Russia. 

The unknown:

1) Does the Ukrainian constitution allow for Crimea to secede, let alone turn over their territory to a foreign country?

2) Will Russia "Liberate" Eastern Ukraine where they are also invited?

3) What are the goals of the threatened sanctions?  And will sanctions work?    

Win a Commie Obama Hat! (limit: 1): Name a time when sanctions alone achieved the exact foreign policy goals they were supposed to achieve.

Fine print:  We won't recognize the sanctions on S. Africa as the sole reason for ending apartheid.

4) Will Crimea be better off with the Russians?  Here is a ZH article that suggests it will.

5) Will Obama 'stir the pot' (aka escalate) in order to distract from Benghazi, IRS, and other crimes and policy failures?


Observations:

1) It appears US voters are not the only ones ignorant of history and who vote for Hope, Change, and Free Stuff.

Like Obama voters, maybe the Crimean and Ukrainian voters deserve what they get...  Twitter Photo from ZH:

2) John Kerry, America's traitor from the Vietnam era, botox aficionado and now the Secretary of State, has given the Russians a deadline for tomorrow.   This.  Is.  Embarrassing.

Does the Secretary of State not know he is a Democrat in a long line of Democrats who have failed at every foreign policy venture tried?  Does he not remember the failed deadlines preceding Iraq wars #1 and #2?  Does he not remember Obama's failed "Red Line" in Syria just a year ago? 

Putin is not Saddam Hussein.  Putin's military might not be up to snuff, but it doesn't have to be.  Putin rules the largest nuclear power on the planet.  Putin can poke the West in the eye all day long.  So long as he avoids a hot war, he will prevail in everything he sets his mind to do.  And sanctions will fail as Europe will cower when Putin threatens to turn off their gas supply.

The only positive to come out of John Kerry's threat is the price of gold.  Gold appears to be the ideal investment for people who have concluded that those in government are there because they couldn't do anything else.

3) We stick by our March 14 predication:

The world will still be here in October, and we'll all hear how we should vote Democrat because Obama saved us from World War III.

4) Let's give credit where credit is due.  Mr. Putin was smart to not store some of his gold in the US.  Remember how the Germans asked for their gold back last year and received only 5 of the expected 30 tons from the US?  By dumping US Treasuries and keeping one of Mother Russia's key assets at home, he has strengthened his hand in foreign conquests like those in Ukraine and Crimea.

5) This is what 20 years of lowering standards has wrought.  In 1991 a US president responded when a country invaded its neighbor.  The US kicked that tyrant out in a 100-hour ground war.   In 2014 we get words, flexible red lines, and threatened sanctions that won't work.


UPDATED 7pm:

Time:

The Crimean Central Electoral Commission announced that 83% of the peninsula’s registered voters had cast their ballots, and 95% of them had voted in favor of becoming a part of Russia.

Question #6:  Why sanctions when nearly the entire country wants to join Russia?

And AP:

The White House said Obama told Putin the Crimean vote violates the Ukrainian constitution and occurred under duress of Russian military intervention.

Observation #7:  In case you didn't catch it...  Our dear leader, who our glorious healthcare program with mandatory enrollment is named after, is lecturing another president on constitutional matters.


UPDATED 8pm:

Found at WZ:

 Hey Everybody - Let's try Communism again! 

Question #7:  What's the worst that could happen?

Of course, Communism won't happen here in the US.  Right?

Uhh, let the record show - and our records at the NSA will back us here - that we just found this article at LewRockwell:

Are you tempted to speak out against US policy in Ukraine; are you tempted to criticize the new Ukrainian regime?

Be careful what you say. Be careful what you write. President Obama has just given himself the authority to seize your assets.

According to the president’s recent Executive Order, “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine” (first reported by WND’s Aaron Klein), the provisions for seizure of property extend to “any United States person.”

UPDATED 3.17.14 Noon:

Obama's sanctions:  he freezes the US assets of 7 Russians who apparently do not have assets in the US.

Photo from Drudge.