Oaledonia wrote:Constantinopolis wrote:Eh? Is there anyone on NSG actually
denying the fact that Russia is supporting the rebels? Not that I know of.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'd support a full-scale Russian invasion to depose the Kiev regime if necessary. I'm not pro-Russian because I think Russia is sweet and innocent and playing by the rules. I'm pro-Russian because I think Russia is doing what needs to be done. And with regard to Putin, the phrase "he's a son of a bitch, but he's
our son of a bitch" comes to mind.
Right, because that wont escalate into a war Russia couldn't hope to win.
It wouldn't. I doubt any country loves the Kiev regime so much that they're willing to go to war against Russia for its sake. If Russia played its cards right, found a plausible
casus belli, and made it absolutely clear that it has no intention to do anything beyond the borders of Ukraine (i.e. no more funny antics around the Baltic Sea, no more feeding Estonian paranoia, etc.), then the worst that could happen from an invasion of Ukraine would be a complete Western embargo. Which would be very bad, but (possibly) less bad than allowing the situation in Ukraine to degenerate further.
The fact is, Russia's future depends on the Eurasian project, and the Eurasian project largely depends on getting Ukraine on board. If Ukraine joins the EU, Russia is finished anyway. So they don't have much left to lose at this point. They should go all out.
Saiwania wrote:Constantinopolis wrote:I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'd support a full-scale Russian invasion to depose the Kiev regime if necessary. I'm not pro-Russian because I think Russia is sweet and innocent and playing by the rules. I'm pro-Russian because I think Russia is doing what needs to be done.
Would you care to explain why you feel that Russia invading Ukraine is "what needs to be done"? Russia has gotten Crimea back, so they should be happy with that and not try to destabilize Ukraine any further.
Ok, here's the list of reasons:
1. Ukraine currently has one of the most hardline right-wing governments in Europe, at least on par with Hungary, and it's set to shift even further to the right. Nationalist and fascist gangs control the streets in many cities, they can commit violence with impunity, and they can successfully pressure the government to do what they want. Furthermore, I am personally convinced that they will attempt to take power by force some time in 2015 and 2016, and may well succeed. In brief, Ukraine is facing a Weimar-Republic-style situation. This is
extraordinarily dangerous not just for Ukraine but for the entire European continent, and military intervention is justified.
2. If Ukraine joins the EU or NATO - and remember, NATO has had far-right dictatorships among its members before, so a fascist takeover would not be a problem for Ukraine's membership - that would enormously strengthen an already-too-powerful US-dominated alliance. If you are concerned about excessive American power in the world (which you should be), and especially if you don't want the US controlling Europe even more than it already does, it is imperative to prevent Ukraine joining NATO. Oh, and as for the EU, if Ukraine joins - with its very large and very right-wing electorate - you can kiss any hope of a liberal/center-left/social-democratic EU goodbye. Ukrainian EU membership would ensure solid right-wing control of EU institutions for
decades at the very least.
3. The Kiev regime has adopted an extremely neoliberal austerity agenda that will impose massive suffering on the Ukrainian people, especially the working class. It will be even worse than Greece, if nothing is done to stop it.
4. There is a witch hunt atmosphere in Ukraine right now directed against leftists of all stripes, from the center-left to communists like myself. Communists have been violently attacked, threatened, intimidated, kidnapped, and in a few cases even murdered. And it's getting worse. Foreign intervention seems to be the only thing that can end this, so I support it out of solidarity with my comrades, because I want them to be safe and I want those who attacked them to be punished.
5. The long-term survival of Russia as an independent country (i.e. not an appendage of the future European Federation that will grow out of the EU) depends on Russia being able to stop the eastward expansion of the EU and create an alternative to it - something like the proposed "Eurasian Union". And in order for Russia to do this, it is absolutely essential to get Ukraine on board. In fact, ironically, even
Ukrainian culture has a greater chance of survival as part of an Eurasian bloc than as part of the EU. The prospects are rather bleak either way, but the EU certainly means long-term annihilation for separate national cultures; that much is certain. Now,
I don't particularly care about national cultures, but I can understand people who do.