We must understand that if Russia decides to move into Ukraine there is very little we could do to stop them. If they are willing to risk negative world opinion and economic sanctions then all but military action is pretty much rendered ineffective. Face it. We are not going to get into a shooting war with Russia over Ukraine. NATO cannot respond quickly enough and the risks of expansion are too great.
We are still involved with Russia exerting influence on negotiations in Syria and Iran. Without the input from the Russians those negotiations stop. There may be some benefit in the US/Russian dynamic to upping the ante with the threat of military action in Syria and Iran to draw the Russian attention to a new front but that would have a negative effect on both of those countries and our desire to handle those problems without war.Most Westerners do not realize the intense relationship of Russia and Ukraine over the past thousand years. At times they have been virtually inseparable. In addition, the US often falls into the trap of not understanding or taking into account the cultural history of the people and what hidden buttons there are to avoid. Take the time to follow this link for a visual demonstration.
Changes of Russia/Ukraine over 1000 years
I give President Obama credit for seeing these things hence his reluctance to rattle the swords. However, there is a significant coterie of Neocons that believe we should be forceful with the hard edge of our might and bring military force to bear. Get this now. Russia, while not the power it once was is still capable of being very effective at defending its borders. A military attack would come at great cost and I don't mean money.
I watched an interview with the Russian Foreign Minister on Charlie Rose and Charlie pushed him pretty hard. The Russians have a narrative that is vastly different from the version we hear on the domestic news. We must be very cautious and accept that we can't dictate results in the short term.
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