It would seem war-mongers win again.

[another_liberal]

Looks like another win for fatcats of the military/industrial complex and the many war-mongers who love them so. Our increasing military activity in the Baltics and Eastern Europe has alarmed the Russian Federation sufficiently, and they are going to respond in kind with more military deployments and readiness exercises on their side of the border. If this madness of reciprocal escalation continues, soon all that will be needed is a single spark to set-off the conflagration. I guess that may be what our arms merchants and their pet generals think they want? Lets just hope they never find out how mistaken they truly are!

A Polish soldier stands in front of U.S., Polish and NATO flags (Reuters)


Moscow Will Respond to NATO Military Buildup Near Russia's Border - Lavrov


NATO military buildup near Russia's border does not contribute to the restoration of trust in the Euroatlantic space, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday. "We have confirmed our stance that military buildup near our border does not contribute to the restoration of trust in the Euroatlantic," the Russian foreign minister said during a news conference with his Spanish counterpart.

Lavrov added that "we are forced to react in an adequate way, but we are sure that these problems need to be solved through an equal dialog based on mutual respect."

Following Crimea's reunification with Russia in March 2014 and the start of an internal armed conflict in Ukraine’s southeast in April, NATO has been boosting its military presence near Russia’s borders, including in the Baltic states.

On February 5, NATO defense ministers agreed to set up a new high-readiness force dubbed Spearhead Force as part of the NATO Response Force. Altogether, the enhanced Response Force will be increased and count up to around 30,000 troops. The ministers also decided to establish six command and control units in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania tasked with “ensuring that national and NATO forces from across the Alliance are able to act as one from the start” if a crisis arises.


Read more at: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150310/1019290192.html

[AverageJoe90]

1. Despite Putin's continued aggression, however, the likelihood of a NATO/Russia shooting war......

remains lower than even the very last days of the Cold War, when Perestroika was in full force and the USSR was beginning to really fall apart.

[another_liberal]

5. If that rosy point of view really does it for you, wonderful!

Just don't throw the dice for everyone else.

[AverageJoe90]

12. Not "rosy", but rather, realistic.

With that said, however, I do realize this is a mess that isn't too likely to resolve itself completely in the short term(and almost certainly not permanently!), especially not with the hardcore nationalists on both sides causing trouble of their own.

[another_liberal]

61. Lets just be sure our leaders aren't stupid enough to take the chance of opening hostilities . . .

There are any number of Bible-thumping, flag-waving mega-patriots who are just dying to start a war with the Russian Federation, "On the behalf of the American people!" Quite stupidly, they appear to see that as a good way to advance their interests and achieve personal prominence in a big hurry.

[uhnope]

50. the view from the Orwellian world of Putin's fascist Russia is fascinating

total bullcrap, and an insulting in-your-face pro-fascist, America-always-wrong splat on a board that is for liberal Democrats, but still fascinating. The warmongering by the pro-Putin crowd was nonstop while Putin invaded and occupied Ukraine, but now they whine about "warmongering" when NATO isn't firing a shot--just helping the other countries to feel more secure against more Russian aggression, soldiers, thugs and mercenaries. Pretending to be against "warmongering" in this way is really shameful and disgusting. But that would pretty much describe anything about Putin's gov't at this point.

[Nye Bevan]

2. "Crimea's reunification with Russia"?

Nice euphemism for invasion and conquest.

[another_liberal]

3. That may be your opinion . . .

The Crimean people know better.

[SidDithers]

4. There are only 2 million people in Crimea...

are you say in all of them side with their Russian occupiers?

Edit: Nice edit. LOL.

Sid

[Nye Bevan]

11. LOL, thanks for the heads-up on the edit (nt)

[MattSh]

32. Nah, only 93% +

German sociologists on Crimea’s choice

A few days ago an interesting study, “The Socio-Political Sentiments in Crimea,” was released by the Ukrainian branch of GfK, the well-known German social research organization, as part of the Free Crimea initiative. Intriguingly, the primary objectives of this project, launched with the support of the governmental Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, were to “debunk aggressive Russian propaganda” and to “reintegrate Crimea into Ukraine.” Thus the researchers can hardly be suspected of being Russian sympathizers. So let’s take a look at the results.

The attitudes of Crimeans were studied in January 2015. This representative sample included 800 respondents living on the peninsula, from all age and social categories. The poll had an error margin of 3.5%.

In answer to the most important question: “Do you endorse Russia’s annexation of Crimea?” 82% of the respondents answered “yes, definitely,” and another 11% – “yes, for the most part.” Only 2% gave an unambiguously negative response, and another 2% offered a relatively negative assessment. Three percent did not specify their position.

.....

Ukrainians continue to question whether this was a credible outcome, but it is now backed up by the data obtained by the Germans. The 82% of the respondents who expressed their full confidence in the results of the Russian election make up the core of the electorate who turned up at the ballot boxes on March 16, 2014.

Those few respondents who disapproved reunification were then asked “Why do you fully or mostly disapprove annexation?” Only 20% of them (i.e., less than 1% of the total sample) claimed that they preferred to live in the state of Ukraine. The most common response, offered by 55% of those who opposed reunification, was “Annexations was not fully legitimate, it should be brought into accord with the international law.” Which means that, in theory, they do not object to the idea of living in Russia, but rather question the legitimacy of the transition.

Complete story at - http://orientalreview.org/2015/02/10/german-sociologists-on-crimeas-choice/

[Adrahil]

7. All except those who don't, of course.

The Tartars? Screw those guys, amiright?

And the those who opposed annexation? Nationalize their businesses.

It doesn't surprise me that you support Russian fascism.

[LanternWaste]

13. Your revisionism is consistent, if little else.

Your revisionism is consistent, if little else.

[Bluenorthwest]

18. Deportation of the Crimean Tatars must be part of any discussion about 'the Crimean People'

The forcible deportation of the Crimean Tatars from Crimea was ordered by Joseph Stalin as a form of collective punishment for alleged collaboration with the Nazi occupation regime in Taurida Subdistrict during 1942-1943. The state-organized removal is known as the Sürgünlik in Crimean Tatar. A total of more than 230,000 people were deported, mostly to the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. This included the entire ethnic Crimean Tatar population, at the time about a fifth of the total population of the Crimean Peninsula.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_the_Crimean_Tatars

[another_liberal]

22. Don't forget to include discussion of "The trail of Tears" . . .

Last edited Tue Mar 10, 2015, 01:55 PM - Edit history (1)

Whenever you talk about Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi.

(sarcasm)

[Adrahil]

6. Yeah.... Russian military drills on the borders of the Baltic states...

are A-OK and completely non-threatening, but if NATO does something.... WARMONGERS!!!

You are a piece of work.

There is No F'ing Way the Russians really think NATO is going to invade. And anyone who professes to believe it is a fool or a liar.

[another_liberal]

27. I guess you're right . . .

The Russians really have nothing (Serbia) to fear. The United States (Panama) and NATO never (Afghanistan) ever invade (Iraq) anybody (Lybia) do we (Yemen, Somalia)?

[NuclearDem]

28. Russia, Serbia, Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Somalia.

One of these things doesn't belong.

I'll even give you a hint:

[another_liberal]

35. Good point . . .

I would suggest, however, you listen a little more to what today's war hawks are actually saying. They seem to consider a willingness to flirt with limited nuclear war as one of the requirements for being taken seriously in their little club regarding foreign policy.

[Comrade Grumpy]

49. Hmmm, I wonder if Iran is paying attention.

[davidn3600]

9. They are the ones annexing countries, not us.

[another_liberal]

20. Territorial annexation is not the only way to take over another country . . .

In fact, it is not even the most common way.

[bemildred]

10. No, they lost, at least for the moment.

This is all posturing and butt-covering now.

Now we get to see if Ukraine can organize itself as a unified nation again, or not.

[another_liberal]

31. Honestly . . .

If outside interference ended, I think Ukraine might, in time, become a unified nation again. I doubt, though, that Western interests who have already sunk billions into realizing a Western-dominated Ukraine will ever allow the wounds to heal, not as long as neo-fascist street fighters are available in sufficient numbers to maintain war-party power in Kiev.

[Agschmid]

15. Apparently it's okay to post this crap...

Carry on.

[SidDithers]

16. Das Komittee has spoken...nt

Sid

[Capt. Obvious]

17. Good job hosting

[another_liberal]

19. Crap?

You don't have to be so hard on yourself. Your graphic, for example, is really kind of classy.

[FSogol]

21. I would have said, "Total Crap", but I suppose I'm not as concise.

[Throd]

23. Yes. Crap. Everything you post is a Putin press release.

[MattSh]

33. Yep, everything must meet this criteria to be posted on DU.

[NuclearDem]

36. This post is useless without a Saker link.

[another_liberal]

40. Thank you!

I love that one!

[Throd]

42. Putin says it, RT repeats it, you believe it.

See? It's cute either way.

[SidDithers]

44. Hehe...

Sid

[zappaman]

47. I like this one...

" title="made at imgflip.com"/></a>

[SidDithers]

41. Fixed it for you...

Sid

[MattSh]

62. Do you have any original thoughts?

Didn't think so....

[zappaman]

54. Lol!

I didn't see yours before I did mine.
Well done!

[NuclearDem]

24. I agree with the original lock.

[FSogol]

25. Same here. WTF? n/t

[NuclearDem]

29. The title of the OP takes on new meaning after the unlock.

[FSogol]

30. Yup. n/t

[Agschmid]

48. Yup.

[NuclearDem]

26. Putin started it and you know it.

Don't blame NATO for reassuring its members that they won't be next on the chopping block.

[another_liberal]

39. No, they won't . . .

However, they may well be called upon to do a sizable part of some very bloody fighting if our little proxy war suddenly turns into a real one. As a consequence of simple geography, they would very likely have no choice in the matter.

[BainsBane]

34. They are sending a message to Putin that he should not move his troops beyond the Ukraine

That is why they are engaged in military exercises with forces in the stans and Belarus. They want to make sure Putin knows he cannot reconstitute the entirety of the former Soviet empire.

The irony is you continue to fall over yourself to justify Russian imperial aggression and it's military industrial complex while decrying the West's. People are dying in the Ukraine, yet somehow you think dead doesn't matter if it is at Russian hands rather than American. Pretending to be anti-war while engaged in war apology for Russia isn't exactly convincing, and it certainly isn't principled.

[another_liberal]

37. I see only one expanionist power (let alone "Empire") in the World today . . .

That expansionist power is our own.

"We have met the enemy, and he is us."

[NuclearDem]

38. I can see how adding South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Crimea, and potentially Donbas

makes Russia qualify as contractionist.

[another_liberal]

43. I thought Abkhazia and South Ossetia were both indenpendent . . .

When did their official status change?

[NuclearDem]

46. Only four countries recognize them as independent.

They're a part of Georgia, meaning Russian forces now occupy nearly 20% of another country's land.

[another_liberal]

51. What the people who live there want matters not at all, right?

We, as the World's only Superpower, get to decide?

[NuclearDem]

59. What on earth are you talking about?

Only four recognize them. That's 200+ countries that don't.

While we're on the topic, what's your opinion regarding Chechnya?

[Adrahil]

52. I have come to doubt that you are an "us"

AS for expansionist... I can only think of one nation that has recently annexed the territory of another sovereign nation.

This thread is disgraceful.

[another_liberal]

56. Mindless obedience to the authorities . . .

Is shameful.

[Adrahil]

57. Get over yourself....

I am HARDLY mindlessly obedient.

You, OTOH, are swallowing Putin's fiction hook, line and sinker.

You even posted that RIDICULOUS claim about an Su-25 being responsible for MH-17. That was your "jump the shark" moment.

You will clearly post ANYTHING anti-West the Kremlin feeds you.

But I noticed no denial.....

[another_liberal]

60. The Kremlin feeds me nothing, my fantasy-indulging friend . . .

I also do my best not to be "fed" anything by the masters of our own Pentagon and State Department. Perhaps you should try that latter practice yourself?

[one_voice]

45. Spunik news agency..

wholly owned and operated by the Russian government. Pro Putin; anti Western.

I don't even want to hear about our news, it's no where near this shit. At least we have other options, like the internet. You can read & post this shit (as well as any other shit you want) here. So. No. It's. Not. The. Same. At. All.

[Adrahil]

53. If they don't hate the West, a_l won't post it. n/t

[another_liberal]

55. How splendidly scatological!

And since I now know exactly how you feel, we won't have to see that again.

[hobbit709]

58. I wonder how that boot polish tastes.