Russia reveals its desired outcome in Ukraine

I translated the following article from Russian to English.  For all you who thought that the U.S. and the EU were "meddling" in Ukraine's affairs, what do you call this?  

Indeed, Russia is dictating a complete reformation of the Ukrainian state, under implicit threat of arms.  

Russia wants a weak, corrupt Ukraine that will not abide European norms and values.  This old strategy is known as "divide and conquer."  

Russia "has shown its cards"

By Aleksandr Gundlah

March 17, 2014 | 15Minut

The Russian Foreign Ministry calls on an international group of "aid to Ukraine," which should turn Ukraine into a non-aligned federation without the Crimea with two official state languages.

This is stated in the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry, which voiced Russia's proposal.

Russia has once again assured that it is not involved in the situation in Ukraine, which "is the result of a deep crisis of the Ukrainian state that led to the polarization of society and acute exacerbation of antagonism between different parts of the country."

To overcome this "internal conflict" Russia proposes to create a support group for Ukraine.

Russia suggests that this group should implement the agreements of February 21 and surrender "illegal weapons", the release of buildings and streets [from occupation by activists], and investigations of deaths in Kyiv.

And "without delay to convene by a decision of the Verkhovna Rada [national parliament of Ukraine] of a constitutional assembly, with equal representation of all Ukrainian regions to prepare a new federal constitution."

This constitution, according to Russia, should establish a federal system of Ukraine, its military and political neutrality, the state status for the Russian language, human rights of all minorities, the election of local authorities and non-interference in the affairs of the church.

Foreign Minister even told how a constitution should be adopted -- by a national referendum .

After that Russia wants general and local elections for "the legislative and executive authorities in each subject of the [new] federation."

Separately, Russia insists that the group should "recognize and respect the right to determine its own destiny Crimea according to the results of the free will of its population in the course of the 16 March 2014 referendum."

Again Russia proposes that the new territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine will be guaranteed by Russia, the EU and the U.S. according to a UN Security Council resolution.

No to 'humanitarian intervention' in Syria!

Beware "humanitarian intervention!"  Nevertheless, there are significant differences between Syria today and, say, Bosnia-Kosovo in the 1990s. To name a few:

• There was a united, democratic Europe on the borders of the Balkans ready and eager to contain the war;

• Bosnia and Kosovo were separate ethnic-religious enclaves that could be (almost) cleanly separated from Serbia (former Yugoslavia);

• There was UN Security Council resolution 1244 (among others) for Kosovo and dozens of UNSC resolutions for Bosnia & Herzegovina and the Former Yugoslavia that authorized international military action against Serbia, a sovereign state, that had not declared war on the U.S.-NATO;

• Russia was sympathetic to the Serbs but not openly arming and training them and threatening to up the ante;

• There was no al-Qaeda or foreign terrorist presence in the Balkans that couldn't wait to take U.S. arms and use them against us.

Beyond that, Cohen is an unreformed neocon moron who covers it up with a bleeding-heart liberal veneer.  He asks, "Does he [Obama] care that he has let this crisis [in Syria] get out of hand?"  That rhetorical accusation reeks of U.S. arrogance!  As if the U.S. President carries the responsibility of the world on his shoulders, even when U.S. strategic interests aren't at risk!

Even worse, Cohen is a dirty hypocrite. He goes further;

The operative philosophy is that you do what you can when you can. The United States has the muscle. There are few grander causes than the saving of human life.

Oh really?  Is that why Cohen urged on our war of choice in Iraq, (and before that supported the deadly decade-long embargo of Iraq), to savehuman lives?!?  In 2011, Cohen admitted he was wrong to cheer on the Iraq invasion; he said he supported it out of emotion.  Well Cohen is wrong again, he just doesn't realize it yet.  Good thing we don't make war on the advice of hot-headed pundits tapping away on their Macs in their safe, cozy offices.

I'll say it again: Obama's decision to arm the rebels is wrong.  It's another Obama half-measure meant to kind of please everybody.  But at least he's not sending them rockets and heavy artillery that will wind up in the hands of terrorists!

Obama’s increasingly muddled Syria policy

By Richard Cohen

June 18, 2013 | Washington Post

URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/richard-cohen-obamas-increasingly-muddled-syria-policy/2013/06/17/6be2a17e-d77b-11e2-a016-92547bf094cc_story.html