Ukraine and Russian History

Many Americans, including President Obama and his Socialist pals in government know nothing of world, or even US history.   These are often the Low Learners that vote for Socialists.   In any case, specific to what is happening in the Ukraine, we should tread lightly.  For more than 500 years, Russian rulers, be they Czar's, Communist Commissars in the old Soviet Union, or current quasi dictator Vladamir Putin have moved to establish a Greater Russia that has always included the Ukraine.  The Ukraine is not only the bread basket of Russia, it is of strategic interest to Russia because of their major naval base on the Black Sea in the Crimea.  All Russian Rulers for the last 500 years have recognized that Russia needs a warm water port to be a great nation, since their main port in the Baltic is frozen for half the year, hence the reason control of the Black Sea is so important to them.     

As a result, naive and inexperienced, Socialist President Pinocchio Obama should not be drawing any more silly lines in the sand that are not sustainable anyway.  The fact is that Russia and Putin will enforce their Vital Interests in the Ukraine one way or another, the same way the US would do so in our backyard.  Remember the Monroe Doctrine, which made clear that the time for foreign powers in the New World was over by the early 1800's.  President Monroe established hegemony over the entire New World with the stroke of a pen early in American history.  Politicians in the Ukraine better understand that they must straddle two fences; maintaining friendly ties to Russia, while at the same time developing closer ties to Western Europe.   This is possible and in the best interest of the Ukrainian people. 

The bigger issue is the oil and gas that Russia sells to both the Ukraine and Western Europe.   British Prime Minister Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher was totally opposed to Russian pipelines into Western Europe that would make those countries dependent on Russia.   Thatcher predicted that rather than integrate Russia into Europe, the Socialist goal, Russian Rulers would use their energy power as an economic weapon, which Putin has already done.   Putin can turn off the faucet any time he wants and he has done so to exert economic pressure.  Ukraine, which is bankrupt, is particularly susceptible to this economic black mail.  Most important, all should understand that what we see happening in Russia and its former satellite countries has been happening for centuries.  This is all old news.