Make no mistake about it. We are not fans of Vladimir Putin. He has consolidated
power in his country by suppression and imprisoning those that disagree with him. The
desire that he has, to expand the Russian Empire or spheres of influence, have caused him
to invade and take over portions of both Georgia and the Ukraine. He apparently has no
problem telling bold-faced lies and believes that they are true because he says so. Nothing
demonstrates this better than the Russian troops in Crimea, who acknowledged that they were
Russian troops, yet he disavowed the same.
By and large the American press sees him in this same way. Whether it be MSNBC
on the left or Fox News on the right, or the myriad of broadcast media in between, there
really has been one voice against what Russia has been doing with Ukraine and the Crimea.
The only difference is Fox News seems to champion Putin’s dictatorial and aggressive
behavior as a sign of strength and a sign of Barack Obama’s weakness, while MSNBC enjoys
showing the hypocrisy shown by Fox News.
For example, Fox News and those they wish to quote have previously called Barack
Obama a tyrant, a dictator, a consolidator of power and a destroyer of democracy. However,
now that it suits them, Barack Obama is weak, he wears women’s jeans, he is indecisive and
Vladimir Putin is the example of a strong leader.
Yet no one seems to be analyzing what Russia is doing in the Crimea with what our
country has done over the last 20 or so years. It seems almost taken as fact that when we do
actions, they are done for good cause and if mistakes were made, at least the intentions of
goodness were there. On the other hand, cloaked with the old Soviet Union aura, Russia
does things for improper purposes and against international law.
Russia went into the Crimea on a falsehood that the people of the Crimea of Russian
descent were in danger, yet 60% of the people in the Crimea are Russian and there was no
incident recorded of these people being in danger. Rather, the Muslin Tartars fled from the
streets and stayed within their homes to avoid confrontation with the Russian masses. The
Russian justification obviously was a fabrication and our media was more than happy to point
this out.
However, some of you may have memories of our invasion of Granada which formed
the basis for the great movie classic Heartbreak Ridge. Our justification for invading this
tiny island centered around that we had medical students going to college there and we were
scared that they were in danger because of the great Cuban influence on that country.
Our country and our press have championed the idea that the vote of the Crimean
people to leave the Ukraine and become part of Russia not only violated the Ukrainian
Constitution, but International law. No part of a country has a right to secede from that
country without a vote of all the people within the country. Therefore, the Crimean vote was
illegal and Russia’s adherence to it, the same.
Yet, again, some of you may remember our military aid in Kosovo and of our air
forces role in Kosovo’s fight with Serbia. There is no doubt that the Serbians were
committing atrocities in Kosovo. Yet, under International law, Kosovo still would have had
no right to break away from Serbia. When it did, not only did the United States, but the rest
of the world, in clear opposition to International Law, recognized Kosovo and its right to
self-determination.
The United States has attacked both Iraq and Afghanistan, countries half the way
around the world from ours. We have done so in the name of national security. We have
gone so far as installing new governments in both those lands. Yet, we and our media cannot
understand why Vladimir Putin believes it is his country’s national security and best interest,even if it calls for use military might, to make sure that Ukraine does not become a western nation and that it’s warm-water port at Sevastopol remains in Russian hands.
There is, however, one major distinction. In the United States we are able, because
of the First Amendment, to write this article without any fear of physical or penal
repercussions from the Government. Although some journalists within Russia may write
articles such as this one, they do so because they are much more brave than we are and are
willing to risk physical, economic, and penal retribution. The media here in the United
States, without wittingly doing so, is a cheerleader for our country because of many factors,
including, regardless of the political slant, we are all Americans. The same may be true for
Russian media and newspapers but dissent is much more difficult to come by in a country
that does not have a First Amendment or its protections, as we do.
