Comments by "oolong2" (@oolong2) on "Putin Takes Russia’s First Step Into Ukraine" video.

Yeah, I think a lot of people growing up in the wake of the Iraq war has really slanted people's views towards foreign policy. The fact is sometimes being friends with the biggest kid in class, who is a little crazy, prevents you from being picked on by the bully sitting next to you. Like it or not, the US plays that role for some countries and if we don't "saber rattle" every so often, then countries lose their sovereignty. We can't exactly say "We're still not going to start a war if you march into Kiev", because that just gives Putin a green light to invade. Simply saying "tut-tut" to someone who wants to consolidate power and secure his legacy doesn't do anything. Also, if you don't have sanctions that effect the Russian people, then you're not going to have sanctions that effect Putin's popularity.
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@robm6645 That really doesn't matter to the kid who is about to be killed by the bully sitting next to them. It's easy to sound sanctimonious about who not to side with when it's not your home on the precipice of being invaded. There is no country in this situation that are "good guys". The US wouldn't even exist today if the American revolutionaries didn't side with unsavory countries that happened to be our "enemy's enemy". YES, sometimes you have to make alliances to preserve your sovereignty. YES, people and countries work in their self-interests. It's not "psychopathic", that's called "life" and at some point, people need grow up and face tough decisions that don't always have fairy tale endings. Sanctions don't always work, but they often do. Hurting people economically is a heck of a lot better than people dying by the millions in a war later. If you don't give strong reasons for Putin to stop, then millions of people could die and millions more displaced.
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