That was a weak rebuttal. Though foreign troops were stationed in Afghanistan, post-WW2 Germany, etc., they did not vote to annex the country to those foreign nations. There is a clear distinction when you are sending troops into a sovereign nation, and within weeks there is a vote of questionable legitimacy giving that country to you. The resemblance is slight at best.
it wasn't a rebuttal...I don't have enough respect for that guy on this subject to waste my time with a proper 'rebuttal'. It was a 'whatever'.
Also, so where is your link to factual, unbiased proof that those troops had zero influence on those votes in those other countries?
If you are saying that Iraqi's or Afghani's were not in any meaningful way influenced by their countries crawling with foreign troops (with their leader's own agenda's) then you are very naive, IMO.
Also, those Russian troops were not all over the Crimea. They were in and around their Black Sea naval base. Sure, there were other troops in key locations that people assume were masked Russian troops...but there is no proof of that. Evidence, yes...proof, no.
Besides, the polls long before the whole mess began were - to my knowledge - for rejoining Russia.
Which would you rather be a part of...a country that is broke that is falling into apparent chaos that just erased Russian language as an officially recognized language (Ukraine) or a politically stable (though quite corrupt), financially much more secure nation that many of your descendants came from (Russia)?
The answer is obvious.
Anyway, this is all moot...I don't really care what people 'feel' about this. I have an opinion and so do they...why waste time debating it? I doubt I will change their minds and the same goes for me...so why bother? I am really just interested in facts.
All I want to know - and I still have not got an answer - is what was the official UN reason for their decision?
Not theories or guesses..the OFFICIAL reason.