No bombing, no casualties, no armed resistance, no “shock & awe” – Crimea isn’t so much an invasion as it is a hook-up.
If Russia’s retaking of a region it has held since the days of Catherine the Great is an invasion – and it surely is – then it’s an aggression of a new type. Perhaps we can call it a passive aggression, or even a pacific aggression, which might be defined as an invasion that has the tacit consent of those aggressed against. Even the Tatars – noted in every Western news article as opponents of Russia’s annexation – have apparently reconciled themselves to life in the Russian Federation, and are seeking autonomy within Crimea. That wouldn’t even have been an option had they remained within Ukraine.
It’s not exactly accurate to say the Russo-Ukrainian contretemps has resulted in absolutely no casualties – there were some, but they weren’t in Crimea, and the victims didn’t fall under fire from Russian guns. The first blood was spilled in Kiev, where the "Right Sector" neo-fascists opened fire in the Maidan, wounding the deputy mayor of Kiev and two others. There’s probably going to be more where that came from, as the Kiev coup leaders come into inevitable conflict with the ultra-nationalist militias that provided the muscle for the coup in the first place. Oh, but don’t worry, because Jamie Kirchick says they’re "imaginary" fascists – although I hear they were handing out racist newsletters.
While Crimea, the site of the Russian invasion, is calm, real chaos is enveloping western Ukraine, where the political factions are falling out among themselves and "Right Sector" and its ideological allies in Svoboda are now making their bid for power. The police are nowhere to be seen in Kiev, while armed Right Sector thugs prowl the streets dispensing "revolutionary justice" with crowbars, bats, and pilfered guns. With elections scheduled for May 25, rival oligarchs are maneuvering for position, hoping to win US/EU approval and cash grants from Western "democracy promotion" programs – while the neo-fascists of Svoboda wait in the wings for their chance. Full story...
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If Russia’s retaking of a region it has held since the days of Catherine the Great is an invasion – and it surely is – then it’s an aggression of a new type. Perhaps we can call it a passive aggression, or even a pacific aggression, which might be defined as an invasion that has the tacit consent of those aggressed against. Even the Tatars – noted in every Western news article as opponents of Russia’s annexation – have apparently reconciled themselves to life in the Russian Federation, and are seeking autonomy within Crimea. That wouldn’t even have been an option had they remained within Ukraine.
It’s not exactly accurate to say the Russo-Ukrainian contretemps has resulted in absolutely no casualties – there were some, but they weren’t in Crimea, and the victims didn’t fall under fire from Russian guns. The first blood was spilled in Kiev, where the "Right Sector" neo-fascists opened fire in the Maidan, wounding the deputy mayor of Kiev and two others. There’s probably going to be more where that came from, as the Kiev coup leaders come into inevitable conflict with the ultra-nationalist militias that provided the muscle for the coup in the first place. Oh, but don’t worry, because Jamie Kirchick says they’re "imaginary" fascists – although I hear they were handing out racist newsletters.
While Crimea, the site of the Russian invasion, is calm, real chaos is enveloping western Ukraine, where the political factions are falling out among themselves and "Right Sector" and its ideological allies in Svoboda are now making their bid for power. The police are nowhere to be seen in Kiev, while armed Right Sector thugs prowl the streets dispensing "revolutionary justice" with crowbars, bats, and pilfered guns. With elections scheduled for May 25, rival oligarchs are maneuvering for position, hoping to win US/EU approval and cash grants from Western "democracy promotion" programs – while the neo-fascists of Svoboda wait in the wings for their chance. Full story...
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