Whilst Merkel and others who desire to see peace return to Ukraine try to diplomatically solve the problem the war-monger Obama disrupts the whole process before it even begins with the declaration that should the peace talks fail then the U.S will have no choice but . . . The European leaders know quite well that arming Ukraine [since they have no intention in sending their troops to help the Ukrainian government because they have nothing to gain from that] would mean the Russians openly send their troops into Ukraine to protect ethnic Russian speakers. Putin vowed he'd do that. Do you think the U.S is making a mistake or is it a ploy to sustain the crisis in Ukraine to bleed Russia?
Its never a idea to arm any group, since that means that the number of weapons in a specific area increases and consequently the ability for people to kill and maim, and prolong the conflict. I also do not believe that 2 wrongs make a right, so if Vladimir Putin is supplying guns and soldiers and we say that he is wrong, what the of us who are proposing to do the exact same thing? Much more useful I think is to be ready to have some difficult conversations and to be ready to solve any conflict from the root up, as opposed to from the surface. It is patently obvious that borders that were drawn a long time ago (before our understanding of social groups was such) should be up for discussion, since we're seeing so many conflicts in which a native from a country goes to war with a native from the same country. Often these groups are lumped together under an umbrella, and often the umbrella is not big enough and conflict for shelter arises.
When it comes to war-related stuff, I tend to listen to the high-ranking US military retirees I often see on tv. They usually know more about these things than the political hacks and talking heads.
I do think that we should give the Ukraine "lethal" weapons and whatever other assistance that they may need help with. This was a SOVEREIGN country that the Russians just took over because they wanted to with little to no repercussions for it from the rest of the world. Does no one remember WW2 and Germany? That was how they got started....it sets a bad precedent for everyone else in the world to just sit idly by and let it happen. Just my two cents worth.
The economic sanctions seem to be biting in quite well. I'd say give it some more time, Russia can't go against the rest of the world forever. Sending in weapons is always a difficult decision and can lead to all kinds of trouble both now and afterwards, I think it's better to let Russia figure out that in this economic situation it is simply best for them to give up rather than to provoke them.
No USA should only give Ukraine non-lethal weapons. What type of weapons are non lethal I have no idea. Probably it is not a good idea for USA to give Ukraine weapons judging by their past record. It did not work to well in other countries like Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and now the latest country Syria. For some reason US weapons always end up in the wrong hands. Most of ISIS weapons have originated from USA.
War is not always the solution to everything. After some peace talks, Russian president assured the European leaders that he'd exert some pressure on the separatists and have the honor the ceasefire agreement. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31435812 "An agreement aimed at ending the fighting in Ukraine has been reached, following marathon talks in Belarus." Should Poroshenko screw up again, he'll have no one to blame for anything that might follow.
They also tend to have their own agendas, affiliations and crucially paymasters. So whereas talking heads may be just that, at least they're by definition impartial and unbiased, and the truths they speak/uncover are just that, truths. Not truths that have been through the spin doctor's office.
I think that the people in Ukraine deserves to be armed by the US and NATO countries to face Russia, they deserve their independence back.
Ukraine getting arms from NATO wouldn't aid them much in their cause. Unless NATO declares war on Russia and that's not going to happen any time soon, then Russia can, when they please, invade Ukraine, oust Poroshenko and leave the country shattered. Without a central government Ukraine would end up being like Somalia which recognizes no central government.
