Full text of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s statement here.
60 Replies to “Crisis in the Ukraine”
// Harper is an amiable lightweight and a fool.
He did Canadians no favor.
He ought to have kept his mouth shut. //
+
But does it really matter what he said? Being irrelevant gives one freedom.
It’s more an electoral thing.
All politicians throw money at a problem they have no hope in hell of fixing. That way they can say they did something no matter how useless. I wish PM Harper was above that. I’ve actually met him three times and believe if left to his own devices (no handlers) would more often than not get it RIGHT. 🙂
Mr. Harper stepped up. Who else has?
All afraid of calling out Russia?
Bad behaviour must be addressed.
It was a good 1st step.
“Best Solution is to redefine the borders in the area, perform some ethnic cleansing to get all the players back into their own territory and start anew. Let their be a Ukraine, where Ukrainians can run their own affairs and the foreigners aren’t in the government of their country.”
Almost. Best solution is to recognize that every Russian in every ex soviet republic is a remnant of occupation and in need to being marched to the border with razor wire around their neck if they do not leave on their own. They can stop being Russian or they should be expelled, no third choice. You cannot pick up a turd by a clean end any more than you can have a sane country where former occupiers form a fifth column constantly ankle-biting and looking for ways to undermine the country from within and creating excuses for Kremlin to intervene.
The anti-Harper screeds are not working so a slide-by Ronald Reagan smear is tried. You have several joiners with muted anti-Harper comments.
Hans expressed my thoughts well. Your thirty old some Monday Quarter-backing just does not stand up to the facts. It is not the C.C.C.P. (Soviet Union of Socialist Republics) moving into to take back the gift of the Crimea from Khrushchev. It is the Russian nation and a couple of “rump” nations.
Move on or back to the CBC or the Red Star or the Toronto Post; Red jeff.
Cheery bye;
By invoking the UN, Harper was cleverly bringing a segment of public opinion ( the left ) over to his side that is not a part of his natural base- at no cost in terms of policy or obligations. Btw, any money given to Ukraine will be sure to – overwhelmingly – come from European, not Canadian (probably German) pockets.
Harper’s statement puts pressure on every other Western power to intervene, and on Russia to withdraw. The fundamental power of a leader is to persuade, and in his very carefully drafted statement, Harper is doing that deftly.
What evidence is there that the Russians of Ukraine want to live under the corrupt rule of Puty- Poot?
At a minimum, every male between 18 and 50 will be subject to Putin’s draft. Not a very enticing thought for mothers who have heard anything about life in the Chekist’s neo- Soviet Army.
Frankly, what kind of future can Putin offer, except a return to the bad old days? Putin has bitten off far more than he can chew; he will choke to death if he tries to subjugate Ukraine. Russia is yesterday, and becoming more so every day.
The Russians don’t hold all the bargaining chips in this, and indeed aren’t really in a position of strength. The fact is, Putin is shit-scared of having a democratic, economically modernising Ukraine on his western border. If the Ukrainians can eventually pull themselves up by their bootstraps, ordinary Russians will begin asking themselves why they have to suffer poverty and oppression.
And Ukraine isn’t evenly split down Ukrainian/Russian ethnic lines. Most of the members of the current Ukrainian government are Russian speakers, Vitaly Klitschko, who is most likely to win the Presidential election in Ukraine is a native Russian speaker. Putin will not be able to count on the unanimous support of ethnic Russians in the Ukraine.
Also, while I think Putin can get away with occupying the Crimea (which didn’t become part of the Ukraine until the 1950s) if he were to invade Ukraine proper he would risk escalating the conflict into a regional war. It’s easy to think, from a vantage point in North America, that the West won’t get into a shooting war with Russia over the Ukraine, and for Canada, the US, Britain, or France, that may well be true. On the other hand, the Poles, Czechs and other Eastern European nations have a good recollection of what Russian rule is like. Poland in particular has taken a keen interest in what is happening in the Ukraine(the Poles and Lithuanians ruled Ukraine long before the Russians did), and the Polish government has been very supportive of the Ukrainian protesters over the past few months. If Putin were to invade Ukraine beyond Crimea, I think it is entirely possible that Poland and other Eastern European states could send military units in support of Ukraine.
There are plenty of non-military responses the West can engage in as well, particularly economic. The simplest would be freeze/seize western-based assets belonging to Putin, his cronies, and the oligarchs who support him. Putin alone is thought to be worth as much as $70+ Billion, and a lot of that is stashed away in western bank accounts. Wealthy Russians living in Europe and North America could have their visas revoked and be sent home. Their children can be thrown out of the expensive Western private schools that they attend. Take these measures and Putin will suddenly be facing a litany of complaints and unrest at home. He’ll also be a lot poorer. Economic sanctions can also be imposed on Russia, (though this becomes a bit tougher as it supplies Europe with most of its natural gas).
Beyond economic sanctions but short of war there are all sorts of things the West can do to make Putin pay for his aggression. Saudi Arabia could probably supply and direct the Syrian rebels to attack the Russian naval base in Tartus. Likewise the Chechen rebels could be provided with some money and arms in order to stir up unrest within Russia’s border. The Russian troops currently occupying Transnistria could easily be blockaded in their barracks and Putin would be able to do nothing to support them.
At the end of the day, Putin is walking a tightrope – one misstep and he could lose everything.
Frankly, I’m not interested. Whomever dreamed this action up, like that “Arab Spring”, especially once the Olympics started and didn’t think the Russians would do anything about it, or of the unintended consequences, should be kicked in the nether regions. The precedent was set in Georgia a while back. Some people never learn. Barry should have his hands full with problems over here, same with the EU in their own balliwick. But no, we gotta kick a wasp nest, just because.
To answer Harper, Putin should issue a Red Line warning to the US about meddling into Canadian economic and political territory. Send a naval courtesy call to Halifax. A Russian sub. There are Russins here. Do the same thing to BamBam as is currently happening in Ukraine.
It’s all biker gang posturing in any event. Well, someone could put an eye out. We don’t have a dog in this fight. We have more issues with the US than is talked about in public.
Surprise!! Putin will not put up with the West meddling in Russia’s traditional sphere of influence…no more than the US would put up with, for example, Mexico joining an in alliance with China. In any case, by fomenting dissent in Ukraine, the US ignored the fact that Russia is a real country with nukes, and the West will never risk going to war over Ukraine. As for sanctions, all Putin has to do is shut off the gas to Europe and let them freeze in the dark. China will be happy to buy that gas.
// Harper is an amiable lightweight and a fool.
He did Canadians no favor.
He ought to have kept his mouth shut. //
+
But does it really matter what he said? Being irrelevant gives one freedom.
It’s more an electoral thing.
All politicians throw money at a problem they have no hope in hell of fixing. That way they can say they did something no matter how useless. I wish PM Harper was above that. I’ve actually met him three times and believe if left to his own devices (no handlers) would more often than not get it RIGHT. 🙂
Mr. Harper stepped up. Who else has?
All afraid of calling out Russia?
Bad behaviour must be addressed.
It was a good 1st step.
“Best Solution is to redefine the borders in the area, perform some ethnic cleansing to get all the players back into their own territory and start anew. Let their be a Ukraine, where Ukrainians can run their own affairs and the foreigners aren’t in the government of their country.”
Almost. Best solution is to recognize that every Russian in every ex soviet republic is a remnant of occupation and in need to being marched to the border with razor wire around their neck if they do not leave on their own. They can stop being Russian or they should be expelled, no third choice. You cannot pick up a turd by a clean end any more than you can have a sane country where former occupiers form a fifth column constantly ankle-biting and looking for ways to undermine the country from within and creating excuses for Kremlin to intervene.
The anti-Harper screeds are not working so a slide-by Ronald Reagan smear is tried. You have several joiners with muted anti-Harper comments.
Hans expressed my thoughts well. Your thirty old some Monday Quarter-backing just does not stand up to the facts. It is not the C.C.C.P. (Soviet Union of Socialist Republics) moving into to take back the gift of the Crimea from Khrushchev. It is the Russian nation and a couple of “rump” nations.
Move on or back to the CBC or the Red Star or the Toronto Post; Red jeff.
Cheery bye;
By invoking the UN, Harper was cleverly bringing a segment of public opinion ( the left ) over to his side that is not a part of his natural base- at no cost in terms of policy or obligations. Btw, any money given to Ukraine will be sure to – overwhelmingly – come from European, not Canadian (probably German) pockets.
Harper’s statement puts pressure on every other Western power to intervene, and on Russia to withdraw. The fundamental power of a leader is to persuade, and in his very carefully drafted statement, Harper is doing that deftly.
What evidence is there that the Russians of Ukraine want to live under the corrupt rule of Puty- Poot?
At a minimum, every male between 18 and 50 will be subject to Putin’s draft. Not a very enticing thought for mothers who have heard anything about life in the Chekist’s neo- Soviet Army.
Frankly, what kind of future can Putin offer, except a return to the bad old days? Putin has bitten off far more than he can chew; he will choke to death if he tries to subjugate Ukraine. Russia is yesterday, and becoming more so every day.
The Russians don’t hold all the bargaining chips in this, and indeed aren’t really in a position of strength. The fact is, Putin is shit-scared of having a democratic, economically modernising Ukraine on his western border. If the Ukrainians can eventually pull themselves up by their bootstraps, ordinary Russians will begin asking themselves why they have to suffer poverty and oppression.
And Ukraine isn’t evenly split down Ukrainian/Russian ethnic lines. Most of the members of the current Ukrainian government are Russian speakers, Vitaly Klitschko, who is most likely to win the Presidential election in Ukraine is a native Russian speaker. Putin will not be able to count on the unanimous support of ethnic Russians in the Ukraine.
Also, while I think Putin can get away with occupying the Crimea (which didn’t become part of the Ukraine until the 1950s) if he were to invade Ukraine proper he would risk escalating the conflict into a regional war. It’s easy to think, from a vantage point in North America, that the West won’t get into a shooting war with Russia over the Ukraine, and for Canada, the US, Britain, or France, that may well be true. On the other hand, the Poles, Czechs and other Eastern European nations have a good recollection of what Russian rule is like. Poland in particular has taken a keen interest in what is happening in the Ukraine(the Poles and Lithuanians ruled Ukraine long before the Russians did), and the Polish government has been very supportive of the Ukrainian protesters over the past few months. If Putin were to invade Ukraine beyond Crimea, I think it is entirely possible that Poland and other Eastern European states could send military units in support of Ukraine.
There are plenty of non-military responses the West can engage in as well, particularly economic. The simplest would be freeze/seize western-based assets belonging to Putin, his cronies, and the oligarchs who support him. Putin alone is thought to be worth as much as $70+ Billion, and a lot of that is stashed away in western bank accounts. Wealthy Russians living in Europe and North America could have their visas revoked and be sent home. Their children can be thrown out of the expensive Western private schools that they attend. Take these measures and Putin will suddenly be facing a litany of complaints and unrest at home. He’ll also be a lot poorer. Economic sanctions can also be imposed on Russia, (though this becomes a bit tougher as it supplies Europe with most of its natural gas).
Beyond economic sanctions but short of war there are all sorts of things the West can do to make Putin pay for his aggression. Saudi Arabia could probably supply and direct the Syrian rebels to attack the Russian naval base in Tartus. Likewise the Chechen rebels could be provided with some money and arms in order to stir up unrest within Russia’s border. The Russian troops currently occupying Transnistria could easily be blockaded in their barracks and Putin would be able to do nothing to support them.
At the end of the day, Putin is walking a tightrope – one misstep and he could lose everything.
Frankly, I’m not interested. Whomever dreamed this action up, like that “Arab Spring”, especially once the Olympics started and didn’t think the Russians would do anything about it, or of the unintended consequences, should be kicked in the nether regions. The precedent was set in Georgia a while back. Some people never learn. Barry should have his hands full with problems over here, same with the EU in their own balliwick. But no, we gotta kick a wasp nest, just because.
To answer Harper, Putin should issue a Red Line warning to the US about meddling into Canadian economic and political territory. Send a naval courtesy call to Halifax. A Russian sub. There are Russins here. Do the same thing to BamBam as is currently happening in Ukraine.
It’s all biker gang posturing in any event. Well, someone could put an eye out. We don’t have a dog in this fight. We have more issues with the US than is talked about in public.
Surprise!! Putin will not put up with the West meddling in Russia’s traditional sphere of influence…no more than the US would put up with, for example, Mexico joining an in alliance with China. In any case, by fomenting dissent in Ukraine, the US ignored the fact that Russia is a real country with nukes, and the West will never risk going to war over Ukraine. As for sanctions, all Putin has to do is shut off the gas to Europe and let them freeze in the dark. China will be happy to buy that gas.