Community Affairs Consultants

I submit today, that Russia has taken Crimea, part of Ukraine sovereign territory, and that Russia will keep it. Last week, I warned that this action by Russia was coming and I also revealed further advances the Russian Federation will attempt. The events unfolding in Ukraine are not part of any Oscar-nominated film, they are real, they are far reaching, they are alarming, they are insights of crises that will continue to unfold from time to time. The disrespect and the disregard Russia has displayed to International laws, conventions, organizations and warnings from the United States, is blatant and combative; yet, they shouldn't be. Russia, with its human rights issues, was able to negotiate an Olympics event from the IOC, despite concerns from environmentalists and human rights organizations. Russia got its Sochi games. Why wouldn't the Federation test the international community farther? China has, and continues to do the same, yet, the international community inks mega deals with China every day. Putin sees this, he is no fool; one could just imagine the conversation he and Xi Jinping of China had at Sochi recently. With regards Ukraine, someone there must have been able to sense that the East of the country would represent an impediment to Westernization and closer ties to the European Union. On this Blog on December 19, 2013, under the title: In Solidarity With Ukrainian Freedom Lovers; I cautioned and asked of Ukraine "...to pay attention to the demographics of your beloved land: many of you who amassed in Kiev and demonstrated your aspirations for greater ties with the European Union(EU) were from the western part of Ukraine...conversely, many who voiced their preferences to master Russia were from the East. Is it possible that you will reconcile? Or do you need to study in looking forward a possibility of a Western Ukraine and an Eastern Ukraine as separate nation states?" That was last year, this is March, and Ukraine must now confront this scenario. However, what's done is done. Russia must be held fully responsible for its aggression into Ukraine sovereignty territory. The international community needs to send an explicit message to the Russian Federation that it will pay a price for its actions into Ukraine. In solidarity, the EU, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom should join the United States and immediately withdraw from upcoming G8 summit in Russia. In the US, the 113th Congress, could give to President Obama, a united stacked-deck of cards so that he may deal with this crisis and strengthen US interests and national security.