The US should not intervene in Ukraine!

[Anomalocaris]

I think at this point, it would appear Russian troops stationed near Ukrainian border is fulfilling its intended function well. Russian troops are not moving to expose Russia to the charge of an armed invasion.

Meanwhile Ukrainian operation to tamp down Russian instigated sedition is turning into a total fiasco, most likely because Ukraine is heavily constrained in what sort of troops it can use to suppress the internal desention thanks the fear of armed Russian invasion. If Russian troops weren't massing on Ukrainian borders, Ukraine would have been able to send in loyal troops willing to crack heads. As it stands Ukraine must send in troops which can be counted on to treat the sedition elements with kid gloves. But these are precisely the troops whose loyalty to Ukraine can't really be counted on.

Again, everyone else tried to apply poker rules to a game of chess, but Russia played by chess rules and is winning.

The west backed Putin into the one corner he could fight his way out of. It was a stupid thing to do.

This is Putin creating an excuse to go into the Ukraine. He'll take it too, under the guise of coming to the rescue of the Russian population there...same tactic Hitler used when he invaded Poland, to protect the German population there.

Barack is in way over his head dealing with Putin.

Bullshit. The unwinnable struggle to deprive Russia of Ukraine (and Balarus and central Asian satellites) was kicked into high gear under Bush and didn't get any winnable since Bush.

Geopolitical, in the long run China would be a far more formifable competitor than Russia. Russia has no love for China, and it would have behoved the US to stir up trouble between Russia and China. But instead we stir up existential trouble for Russia. Next watch Putin run to China, this coming May in fact, then Putin recently scheduled a state visit, in order to offer major concessions to China on Gas and arms sales in return for Chinese financial and diplomatic help for his position against the US.

Russia has in the past taken a studied neutrality in China's territorial conflicts with Japan and other nations of South China sea. This is a struggle which could escalate into war between China on the one side, and Japan and the US on the other. Hitherto China has been alone on this.

Amazingly, Putin suddenly found resurgent Japanese militarism alarming and whole heartedly endorsed China's position.

I think the poorly thought out strategy to strip Russia will continue to have unintended but alarming consequences for years to come.