Quote:
Originally Posted by Shnabdabber
How much of what is being played out in the Ukraine has, in your opinion, to do with US policy in Middle East countries?
I ask because it seems like the US could do whatever it wished in setting up puppeteer states in oil rich regions, but once they tried playing that game in Syria, Russia tossed their hat into the ring.
Do you think perhaps Russia feels threatened by what appears to be US expansion into Russia's oil rich neighbors to the south, being surrounded as it were?
I'm not defending Russia's actions, just trying to play a little devils advocate. Ukraine being aligned with the EU, the possibility of Russia losing their warm water navel ports, no buffer nations between western allied countries and Russia's borders?
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I think it has something to do with Russia feeling threatened to the south, more to do with a feeling that NATO has to big of a and a expanding influence to the West, combined with Putin's desire to recreate the greater Russian empire, and Putin taking the people's focus away from internal corruption and economic issues.
This is really his rally to the flag moment as he "protects" innocent Russian civilians living abroad.
The Chinese negotiations is pretty cagy, because it moves his European energy exports to a not so important part of the economic picture.
When I said the playbook was written, right now Putin is building up a strong case of self interest in doing his "International Duty"
He also knows that he has a pretty weak west up against him and he is trying to see how far he can push this.
If he ends up with the Black Sea ports that he now owns. A fractured loose confederation of states in the rest of Ukraine that he can individually influence and manipulate into his sphere of influence, that ends up becoming his victory conditions.