“And Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please him. Therefore he said, “What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?” So they are called the land of Cabul to this day” (1 Kings 9:11-13).
Now what Solomon did here was present twenty cities to Hiram as a gift. This kind of thing is a real temptation to the lords of the earth, who tend to view the map as a large-scale game, with the people who live there being just so many interchangeable units. Presumably there was some kind of logic to it — the population in those cities being mixed, or having some kind of natural affinity for Hiram’s rule — although he did not seem to return the affinity. Still, the whole thing comes off like Obama striking up a real friendship with the president of Mexico, and giving him Laredo as a present.
The situation in the Ukraine is impossibly complicated, and the real hazard is presented by those who want things to just be simple again. But the fact that the smart people can just go and do “straightforward” things does not mean that what they do will turn out well. That said, let me make a few quick observations about the whole mess. They may seem somewhat scattered, but maybe I will come back and tighten the whole thing up at some later date.
1. First, it seems obvious to me that Putin has grabbed Crimea, it is now part of Russia, and so we are now in the position of blowing them air kisses as they depart. Moreover, he has managed to do it in such a way as to indicate his contempt for the intelligence and resolve of the Obama administration. As one commentator put it, Putin’s rig is now spinning donuts on the White House lawn.
2. The United States has no business involving troops in any of this business, in any capacity, unless and until the national security of the United States is directly threatened. At the same time, whether or not we should have made the “entangling alliances” in the first place, we should honor any alliances we have made, and we should honor them decisively. The Baltic States, in particular, and Poland, are not irrational to worry about the designs of Russia, and the last thing in the world we should do is flake on them. True responsibilities can arise out of injudicious commitments.
3. Self-determination is a thorny problem, right? Just a few weeks ago, the people of Ukraine were expressing themselves vigorously in Kiev, outside the established channels. They were doing so because of a corrupt oligarchy, and, as one observer put it, if you wanted to find out who the good guys were, you just needed to ascertain who was pulling down the statues of Lenin. Now in the Crimea takeover, Putin was also operating outside established channels. He did what he did with unmarked troops, and not by means of free and fair elections. But if there had been such elections, does anyone doubt that the Crimeans would have gone Russian?
4. Affinity for “the West” is not as morally clear as it might have been a generation or two ago. Many of the protesters in Ukraine were sincere believers, and they were agitating for greater religious freedom and related freedoms. This is why my sympathies were entirely with the protestors. But others among them wanted the kind of freedom represented by iPhones and same sex mirage. Freedom in the modern world is more of a jumble than it ought to be. We are not helping the Church over there if we refuse to make such distinctions.
5. And last, after that long hiatus in the Cold War, it is good to have the Russians be the bad guys again. Things have somehow righted themselves.
If we are to infer from that that the U.S. is the good guys again, I cannot agree.
“But if there had been such elections, does anyone doubt that the Crimeans would have gone Russian?”–this is disputed, and I would like more information, but English language media doesn’t give it the attention I would like.
If I’m China, I wondering why I haven’t rolled through Taiwan yet.
Here’s the thing. I think the West is having a hard time believing that anyone in their right mind would willingly go to Russia. I think we’re so prejudiced we have to make Putin a defacto bad guy. (I’m not saying he’s a good guy, I like Doug’s label of a ‘competent thug’) Look at it from 40,000 ft up. Crimea is an Autonomous Republic. This, to me is like saying you’re legally separated but not divorced and living under the same roof. You’re all but out the door. Putin doesn’t have to even lift a finger to have Crimea… Read more »
Charlie,
The U.S. Seventh Fleet. :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Seventh_Fleet
But the US and Britain actually have a duty to the Ukraine. It dates to the Budapest Memorandum (1996), signed by the UK, USA, Ukraine and Russia, where the Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal, receiving assurances about its territorial integrity.
I’m sorry, but the US is bound by agreements to oppose the Russian move.
Klasie, thanks for that info.
“The West” should no longer be viewed as the western branch of Christendom, but as the judaized part of the world. Because of this, Putin should be seen as our hero and potential liberator. The Russians are not the “bad guys again” — but perhaps you were being facetious.
Klasie,
The challenge will be in proving that Moscow did this, and not that it was instigated by the Crimeans. Add to that that Moscow can have up to 25,000 troops there will n Svastapol by treaty, and I agree with Doug that we’re left blowing kisses.
The seventh fleet? Pshaw. That’s the point. If the US will stand aside and not lift a finger for Ukraine (despite treaty obligations), then it’s reasonable to assume the US will also stand aside and not lift a finger for Taiwan.
So one of two things happens. Either we abandon all our allies in their time of need, or else we honor our obligations finally (after making the world think we wouldn’t) and end up in a war.
Ukraine gave up nukes for US promises? Should we offer them some nukes?
Tim, what does it mean that the western part of the world has been Judaized? I think that people are mistaken if they believe that Putin will be a true ally of the Protestant church. The blasphemy laws are so nebulous a fundamentalist Christian who criticizes the Orthodox use of icons could find himself in trouble. The Russian government committed to exempt churches from the NGO legislation, yet the past year has seen numerous investigations of churches looking for signs of “extremism”. Pentecostals have had trouble in Putin’s Russia. The search for allies in the family values struggle should not… Read more »
There has been concerted effort to get Iran to give up nukes without having to go to yet another bloody war in the Middle East. Regardless of ones opinion about these efforts, the flagrant disregard of the Treaty by Russia, followed by inaction by the West, will certainly let Teheran’s theocrats think “Give up our ambitions? Heck no!” The long tern geopolitical outfall is too horrible to contemplate. As to the Russian orthodox, the Patriarch is Putin’s Puppy. They are selling a version of Exceptionalism that makes US evangelical exceptionalists look amateurish. The Crimea might be Putin’s Sudetenland, though I… Read more »
An additional comment: If the Crimea is Putin’s Sudetenland, we must also remember that Vladimir is a master of the long game. In this week’s editorial, The Economist suggests that his 2008 Georgian adventure in favour of the Ossetians was partly as payback for Kosovo in 1999. The logic is a bit convoluted, but it works in that peculiar Russian grudge holding tradition.
The Crimea is a pretty unique situation. If Russia were making a play for the entire Ukraine (and they might still) that would call for a concerted Western response. Crimea is not historically Ukrainian, it is historically Tatar. Stalin deported the entire Tatar population during WW II, and demoted Crimea from a region to an unaffiliated county (Oblast). Later, to appease the “nationalities” Khrushchev was reluctant to annex it into Russia so they appendaged it, oddly, to Ukraine in 1954. Not ancient history here. In the early 90s it was widely anticipated that they would pull it back into Russia… Read more »
Peter Hitchens has been posting some interesting history as background to the current situation – http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/
“Pro-Crimean Militia (i.e. Pro-Russian) could be equipped or given the money to buy uniforms complete with ski masks (which are about as easy to get in Russia, as it would be to buy US military uniforms here). “–I think it’s generally accepted there are Russian troops there, there is even footage of one of the vaguely uniformed guys saying “I am a Russian soldier”. As for Taiwan, the relationship is different–the Ukraine was Soviet during the cold war, The Republic of China/Taiwan has been our ally longer and lacks many of the complications found in the Crimean situation; I think our willingness to fight… Read more »
Ian,
Agreed, and that’s just the point. Generally accepted, but not proven. In the end what does it matter if the troops are Crimeans with Russian passports (i.e. dual citizenship in Ukraine & Russian Federation) or Russian Army troops?
I don’t think anyone will be able to prove that there was/is a treaty violation. A soldier says, “I’m Russian” which could mean many things, be true and still not be outside of the treaty.
In the end its a difference that will make no difference.
The ordinariness of that statement is amazing; 30 years ago, this conversation could not exist–now we take it for granted. The Cold War happened before this was possible. Pens and Swords.
You are certainly right Doug, my ex-wife and son live in Riga and she said last night they are very worried about a Russian takeover over
there. About 40 % Russians there. After WWII we again abandoned them to the Russians who took one of five out of country, most of who were never heard from again. Then they ” imported ” masses of Russians into the country, who still have allegiances to Russia.
Jill, I mean that the foreign policy of virtually every western nation is dictated by Israel and/or international judaica (just one aspect of which is the neo-con movement and its thousand amen-corners such as most commenters on this blog). This is the common theme in all the bizarre wars we have been involved in and/or threatened for the last 30 years. Putin may be our only earthly hope of escaping this death grip — though it is troubling that he still hasn’t completely eliminated the jewish so-called “oligarchs.” // As far as Orthodoxy as a national church settlement, I cannot… Read more »
Wait, I’m confused. We’re morally obligated to uphold some treaty to protect the Ukrainians when we just got finished helping to overthrow their democratically-elected government?