http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/15/ron-paul-crimea-russia-sanctions-act-of-war
In the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution much is at stake. The ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych and his facilitation in Russia, after the violent Euromaiden protests in the Ukraine, has led to the U.S.’s offer of $1 Billion in aid to the Ukraine’s new government. The Libertarian and former congressman Ron Paul, has denounced the US’s offer of aid to the Ukraine saying, “It is just like when we when we go out and try and throw out [Syrian president Bashar al-] Assad, we end up working with al-Qaida. Now we’re likely to give money to Ukraine so they can pay their bills to Russia. That is the insanity of it all.” In Crimea, locals voted for the region to be annexed by Russia, with the results being in favor of annexation with a 90% tilt. Both the Ukraine and the White House refuse to legitimize nor respect this vote by the Crimean people. Paul comments that the Crimean people should be allowed to break away from the Ukraine, and says that it should be a self determined process.
I share a lot of the same sentiments with Ron Paul when it comes to this crisis. The U.S. should maintain a position of neutrality in this conflict until grievous crimes are committed. The Ukraine has no intentions of letting Crimea slip away, so this money could be used towards military escalations. Russia was wrong to invade Crimea and the legitimacy of this referendum has to be questioned, especially the overwhelming votes in favor of annexation, because they tie directly into Russia’s ambitions. Crimea is a region whose residents largely hail from Russia, so in that respect they should be able to determine their own future through a fair and democratic process. I find it highly ironic that Russia is using the same justifications for the occupation of Crimea, as the US used for its military campaigns in the middle east, which were to “protect our interests”. More recently, Russia has crossed the lines of Crimea, going further into Ukraine in an effort to protect their oil lines from “acts of terrorism”. Familiar rhetoric, no?
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