Higgins86
DP Veteran
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- Oct 13, 2011
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So I'm working my night shift, I'm a little bored lol and I was reading through some of the threads regarding Ukraine. What struck me was the range of opinions in regards to who should respond and how we should respond. Got me thinking and I wondered what the forum thought about this issue?
The Ukraine crisis has been ongoing for a few months now, has put the region on the verge of war and most importantly has brought back an enemy who for the last few decades has been forgotten by the West. Obviously the region is very fragile and one wrong move could plunge the region into chaos that being said I do believe that someone has to stand up to Russian aggression because history has taught us that much. My question to you is who do you think should be the ones standing up to Russia?
1. USA the obvious choice for many reasons. Largest military, one of the worlds economic superpowers, has the most to lose from an economic/ social world breakdown, champion of freedom and of course the top dog on the playground who would rather not go back to the days of the Cold War. However many would argue that the US is weary of any kind of conflict whether it be militarily or diplomatic and many American voters would rather stay out of the conflict all together.
2. The EU who wanted to entice the Ukraine into the fold and in doing so pushed some parts of the country away and into the arms of Russia. Germany/France have worked hard to try and make the EU into a stable union with a shared currency and shared interests. You could make the argument that if the EU were to stand by and allow parts of the Ukraine to be absorbed so easily that they could lose many other members/ potential members because of the fear that the EU can not protect their borders. I reluctantly include the UK in this section because even if we are at odds with the EU politically I still think its in our interest to put Russia in its place and continue to build on progress that has been made in Europe since the end of the Cold war. However thus far the EU has not stood united and could struggle with any kind of " show of force" against Russia.
3. NATO who's reputation has been damaged by the complete lack of respect for the Budapest treaty and the continued Russian aggression in the region. Similar to the EU however NATO'S members might struggle to agree on the right course of actions and there is always the danger that any NATO engagement could rely too much on the US to carry the burden and might not have the support of the US in general.
4. The Ukraine itself, many would argue that its their territory and if they were to call Putin's bluff they could deter any more Russian involvement especially with vocal support from NATO. However for this to happen we would have to assure the Ukraine of our support which they might be skeptical of given our actions thus far and obviously they wouldn't last long standing alone.
5. No one should stand up to Russia because they are just protecting their borders and Russians speaking people from what they see as western aggression. So far most of the crisis has been blown out of proportion by the Western media who are eager to paint Russia as the "old enemy".
6. Do nothing and see how this plays out.
The Ukraine crisis has been ongoing for a few months now, has put the region on the verge of war and most importantly has brought back an enemy who for the last few decades has been forgotten by the West. Obviously the region is very fragile and one wrong move could plunge the region into chaos that being said I do believe that someone has to stand up to Russian aggression because history has taught us that much. My question to you is who do you think should be the ones standing up to Russia?
1. USA the obvious choice for many reasons. Largest military, one of the worlds economic superpowers, has the most to lose from an economic/ social world breakdown, champion of freedom and of course the top dog on the playground who would rather not go back to the days of the Cold War. However many would argue that the US is weary of any kind of conflict whether it be militarily or diplomatic and many American voters would rather stay out of the conflict all together.
2. The EU who wanted to entice the Ukraine into the fold and in doing so pushed some parts of the country away and into the arms of Russia. Germany/France have worked hard to try and make the EU into a stable union with a shared currency and shared interests. You could make the argument that if the EU were to stand by and allow parts of the Ukraine to be absorbed so easily that they could lose many other members/ potential members because of the fear that the EU can not protect their borders. I reluctantly include the UK in this section because even if we are at odds with the EU politically I still think its in our interest to put Russia in its place and continue to build on progress that has been made in Europe since the end of the Cold war. However thus far the EU has not stood united and could struggle with any kind of " show of force" against Russia.
3. NATO who's reputation has been damaged by the complete lack of respect for the Budapest treaty and the continued Russian aggression in the region. Similar to the EU however NATO'S members might struggle to agree on the right course of actions and there is always the danger that any NATO engagement could rely too much on the US to carry the burden and might not have the support of the US in general.
4. The Ukraine itself, many would argue that its their territory and if they were to call Putin's bluff they could deter any more Russian involvement especially with vocal support from NATO. However for this to happen we would have to assure the Ukraine of our support which they might be skeptical of given our actions thus far and obviously they wouldn't last long standing alone.
5. No one should stand up to Russia because they are just protecting their borders and Russians speaking people from what they see as western aggression. So far most of the crisis has been blown out of proportion by the Western media who are eager to paint Russia as the "old enemy".
6. Do nothing and see how this plays out.