Few people even bother to question where the Pentagon acquired the ‘right’ to extend its military dominance even to outer space or spend billions developing ‘global strike’ missiles that can hit any country or target in the world. To point this out doesn’t mean that Russia, China or any other country has the right to conduct their own forms of imperialism. But really, when it comes to ‘bullying’, military aggression, violations of national sovereignty, invasions and occupations, arbitrary disregard for international law and institutions, the actions of the United States and its allies have set a very high benchmark that other less powerful countries cannot even hope to match. What the Crimean referendum demonstrates however, is that the US is increasingly unable to use its vast global military and financial power to achieve its aims, and has once again set itself objectives that it isn’t willing to pursue through military force. Putin has clearly taken something of a gamble, based on the belief that Russia can withstand sanctions and that neither Ukraine nor the West will go to war over this, and will eventually accept secession. We better hope he’s right, because a war over Crimea would open up an explosion of ethnic violence that would tear Ukraine apart and unleash some very dark political forces across Central Europe. That’s the last thing that Ukraine, Russia or anyone else needs, but given some of the ultra-nationalists in the Ukrainian government, and some of the loons and war hawks who have been conducting US foreign policy for the last decade or so, don’t be surprised if there are those who will seek to provoke one.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 20:11:05 +0000
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