Keller @ Large: Russia Part Of The Problem
BOSTON (CBS) - So, let me see if I have this straight – according to our government, the evidence points straight to Russia and its militia friends in Eastern Ukraine as the culprits in the largest mass murder of civilian airline passengers since 9/11.
Making sure to dispel any doubt about it, the militia thugs have refused to secure or allow full outside inspection of the crime scene.
Why, Sec. of State John Kerry said the worst thing about Russia that any aging relic of the '60's can say about anyone – that they are at risk of becoming "part of the problem," not "part of the solution."
The slaughter of the passengers is just an extension of the violent game Russia's been playing in Ukraine in hopes of destabilizing the Western-oriented government there and, maybe, if the West is as timid and impotent as Putin hopes they are, engineering a political coup.
Meanwhile, the US has thrown a lot of hand-wringing and some sanctions at the problem; Europe can't even manage that much.
It's not that there isn't plenty of alarm. If Putin gets away with the invasion and the Malaysian Airlines murders, what's next, wonder those who feel they've seen this movie before.
But here's British Prime Minister David Cameron, decrying the "reluctance" to "face up to the implications of what is happening in Eastern Ukraine" among countries like Italy and Germany with strong economic ties to Russia.
Does money matter more to those governments than national sovereignty and international law?
We're about to find out.
History suggests that whatever the cost of all-out financial war against the Russian oligarchs pulling this power play, it's cheaper than other kinds of war.
And history also tells us the consequences of backing down would be even worse.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
Keller at Large July 21 2014
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
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