The Russian Connection

This blog has considerable readership in Russia … which has always puzzled me since my politics are mostly antithetical to the brand currently being practiced there.  Perhaps the KGB (its secret police whose famous graduate, Vladimir Putin, is currently attempting to restore the Bear to a much larger den) believes that my opinions are somehow representative of America.  Shh, don’t tell them how askew my political thinking is.

Nevertheless, Russia is in the process of taking back the Crimean peninsula and the warm-water Black Sea port of Sevastopol, … which Nikita Khrushchev so thoughtlessly gave to the Ukraine way back in 1954. This might cost Russia more on the world stage than it expects. Even our fearless leader, Obama, might throw a snit on his 19^th hole. This aggression is occurring despite the fact that both the United States and Russia had guaranteed the integrity of the Ukrainian borders (including the Crimea) back in both 1994 and 2009.  Oops!

So far the United State’s response has been subdued and rather wandering. As a result, talking heads and Op-Ed pundits are climbing over each other offering our “leadership” much and varied advice. Here are a few ossified opinions on this whole brouhaha (not that my opinions aren’t.)

Henry Kissinger believes that the Ukraine is not worth any hostilities and must become a “bridge” between Russia and the West  (I think kind of like Switzerland’s status during WW II) … for his specific recommendations see: Washington Post Op Ed.

Zbigniew Brzezinski (President Carter’s chief appeaser … err, adviser) thinks Russia may be trying to duplicate Hitler’s seizure of the Sudetenland before WW II.  He, surprisingly suggests that the West should risk hostilities and bolster the Ukrainian military with armaments ... but also simultaneously seek rapprochement with Russia over the Ukraine's future … see his suggestions here: Another Washington Post Op Ed

But the opinions that I respect the most swirl around that Diplomad blogster, W. Lewis Amselem, and those that comment on his writings … see: The Diplomad Blog

A few comments in this link that I particularly like are:

Putin of course knows what realpolitik is and uses it to advantage, act first, allow limited diplomatic discussion after. He has also perceived that a country that will not secure its own borders is unlikely to assist others to secure theirs (think UK, Germany, USA, the entire EU) -- "Cascadian" commenter 

"Despite his upbringing as a Communist, he is now devoutly religious and wants to see religion restored to Russian life. As the jihadis have discovered, they have in Putin a rival as ruthless and religiously committed as they, and not bound by the conventions of political correctness." I believe you [the Diplomad] have put your finger on Putin's next international gambit once the dust from the Crimea mess has settled. I've been wondering lately who, if any, is going to stand up for the persecuted Christians of the Middle East and Africa. It certainly won't be the pro-Islam Obama or the post-Christian leaders of Europe. I believe it will be Vladimir Putin. He will speak out on behalf of the persecuted Copts and Nigerians. He may even begin sending them aid and weapons. And Christians around the world will flock to his banner, bringing the idea of Moscow as the "Third Rome" to fruition. -- “Anonymous” commenter

My own simple suggestion would be for the United States to immediately reverse itself and place its anti-ballistic missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic ... to which we had previously committed (and Obama had reneged on).  This way Putin will quickly see a real cost to his colonial expansionism.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Other than the Boca Raton Presidential debate, last night was another special occasion.  It was the 50th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis ... the night when John F. Kennedy went on national television to stare down the Russians and try to force them to remove offensive nuclear missiles from Cuba.  I won't go into the gory details here, but, suffice it to say, most of the world believed that the U.S. and Russia were only hours away from a nuclear Holocaust. If you want more details, see: History Channel.

The purpose of this blog entry is to relate my personal story of this evening full of national angst.  I was, at the time, attending New York University's Graduate School of Business at night working toward an MBA.  This night I had a course in Marketing 101 and I still remember the Professor's name, Hector Lazlo.  Professor Lazlo always passed out a mimeographed outline at the start of each class with bullet points for each topic he would be covering.  This night's topic was The Survey Process.  I was sitting about half-way back in a crowded classroom.  A short way into his lecture, Professor Lazlo got to a bullet point titled "Telephone Survey."  He then, in all seriousness, said: "A telephone survey is when you do a survey over the telephone."

Given the tense atmospherics because of the upcoming JFK speech, this lecture point appeared to me the epitome of inanity.  Basically I said to myself: "The world might be coming to an end tonight and I'm sitting here listening to some asshole tell me that 'a telephone survey is when you do a survey over the telephone'" ... and I started to laugh.  In fact I got a little hysterical.  I was laughing so hard I had to crouch on the floor behind the other students so the Professor wouldn't see me (although he certainly could hear me.)  After a few moments I composed myself and retook my seat.  And I fortunately escaped this incident unscathed

After class, I went home and saw JFK trump Nikita Khrushchev ... and the Ruskies removed the missiles a few days later.  That night, the U.S. also fortunately escaped a nuclear war unscathed.