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Pulsar_t wrote:

Blu wrote:

Pulsar_t wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_invasion_of_Panama

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Grenada

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Afg ... %93present)

Honestly at this point I just hope Russia is there to maintain peace and order. Any provocations or human rights violations by a foreign force is going to spark NATO, EU, or US response.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Ossetia

Like this, but worse.

Right, that's still fresh on our minds, but yet nothing was done other than outcries from a few governments. Russia just strolled into the place and set up shop.

You don't hear much about the Ossetians' quality of life, I'm curious.

South Ossetians overwhelmingly voted to be independent from Georgia and are pro-Russia, which caused the conflict. So I guess they're pretty chuffed now? I don't know. No one aside from Russia, Venezuela and a few island nations recognize their independence anyway for what it's worth.

The difference in the Crimea though is that who is pro-Russian and who isn't as clear cut. And in South Ossetia, Georgia fired the first shots, whereas demonstrators are still camping out in the square in Kiev.

Not a lot we can do about it though in the west, it's just a bit chilling.

Well, President Obama has made a stern statement and then not bothered to attend National Security meetings, so...good luck, Putin. Seems your post-Olympics present will be Crimea. And considering you've requested military authorization to protect Russian citizens and soldiers throughout Ukraine, you might be getting even more. How about that?

One can only hope China doesn't see the complete lack of repercussions and attempt war with Japan over fishing and oil reserves around some otherwise worthless pieces of rock in the middle of nowhere. Otherwise we might have to come up with some kind of "red line" or something.

Oh, wait, there's already a red line comment from out of Russia:

New York Times wrote:Yuri L. Vorobyov, the body’s deputy chairman, said Mr. Obama’s warning on Friday was a cause for Russia to act. “I believe that these words of the U.S. president are a direct threat,” he said. “He has crossed the red line and insulted the Russian people.”

Now that's just cute.

Blu wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Afg ... %93present)

Honestly at this point I just hope Russia is there to maintain peace and order. Any provocations or human rights violations by a foreign force is going to spark NATO, EU, or US response.

All super powers have military bases around the world "to maintain peace and order" . Its not a form of colonialism as many make it sound like

Adam wrote:Meanwhile, the Russians are pushing inland.

I don't think they are. Some reports say they are digging trenches near the Crimean border, but no Russian troops have been spotted outside of Crimea, an area that already had a sizable chunk of Russia's army and navy stationed within.

Adam wrote:The Chinese are now awoken and are now directly involved in the War on Terror.

China has had problems with the muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang province essentially since it became the People's Republic. It's quite controversial, many people including Amnesty International consider that China has adopted the USA's rhetoric on terrorism to suit their goal of keeping Xinjiang a part of China. So I wouldn't say this is the point China jumps into the war on terror. The attacks are awful and barbaric, and shouldn't be condoned though.

WoT has become synonymous with gross human rights violations in the Russian Federation and large parts of central Asia, where despots are still the norm there. China's track record for collective punishment doesn't bode well for the inhabitants of troubled areas either.

Regarding annexation and separation, we all know international law is a joke, realpolitik will always be the modus operandi for most nations capable of imposing it, but when does a region from an ethical/anthropological perspective become an ingrained part of a nation? Are demographics more important than resources and geopolitics? We're such a mess of a species. At least cats urinate on their zones of influence

Russia has issued an ultimatum to Ukrainian forces in Crimea to surrender by 5 AM tomorrow or they will face a "real assault."