Ukraine’s Poroshenko says he wants direct U.S. military aid

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Washington Post

Petro Poroshenko, the newly elected president of Ukraine, inherits a low-grade civil war against separatists backed by Russia, an economy rapidly descending into recession and a fragmented political system in which most power lies with a lame-duck, unrepresentative parliament. But as he sees it, he does have one thing going for him: For the moment, at least, a decisive majority of Ukrainians are behind him.

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If so, it will be a political tailwind that Poroshenko badly needs. As president, the 48-year-old billionaire businessman, who made his fortune manufacturing chocolate, will have direct authority only over defense and foreign affairs. His first challenge will be to rebuild a demoralized and decrepit Ukrainian army on the fly while trying to eliminate the threat posed by the heavily armed mix of militants and Russian agents holding key infrastructure in the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk.

For that, the new president thinks he will need more help than he has been getting from the United States. “I don’t have the impression that [sanctions] are strong enough — I think more aggression is possible,” he told me, speaking softly and fingering a string of beads after a long post-election day. “And when aggression starts, no sanctions help.”

What would help, Poroshenko says, is direct U.S. military aid. He brought up Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Lend-Lease program during World War II, paraphrasing Roosevelt’s argument as “when your neighbor’s house is burning, you should lend him your hose.”

“Now we should create a new security treaty exactly like Lend-Lease,” he said. “We should cooperate in military technical assistance and in advising assistance. We are ready to fight for independence, and we should build up the armed forces of Ukraine.”

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jackson-diehl-ukrainian-president-elect-wants-direct-us-military-aid/2014/05/27/20c0be88-e567-11e3-afc6-a1dd9407abcf_story.html

[Jesus Malverde]

1. Shocking....

[ballyhoo]

2. Oh, that'll work...Cold war?

It won't be cold at all.

[bemildred]

3. Still no clue at all. Pity. nt

[Fred Sanders]

4. The fascists want arms? America IS the primary gun trafficker in the world, so this just normal.

[penultimate]

6. The number one position actually goes to Russia.

The US is #2.


*edit* Well, I may have been looking at wrong information. It looks like the US is #1 USA USA USA! But Russia is pretty much right behind the US.

[ballyhoo]

7. No. Not even close........

http://origins.osu.edu/article/merchants-death-international-traffic-arms

[Bosonic]

9. Putin goes to #1 with a bullet

2013 rank.........Supplier.............Arms exports (millions of U.S. dollars)
1.....................Russia.................8283
2.....................United States.......6153
3.....................China..................1837
4.....................France.................1489

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arms_industry#World.27s_largest_arms_exporters

[ballyhoo]

11. With the US attacking country after

country almost at random, I can understand that rapid movement by the Russians, if it indeed checks out.

[freshwest]

13. Entering the next phase of 'Doan Wants 2 Mak Wars No Moar.' Good for us, bad for Neo-Cons. Thanks.

[JackRiddler]

21. Impressive.

The U.S. once held 2/3 of the international mass murder market. What happened?

[jakeXT]

24. Maybe it fluctuates,

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/08/26/world/middleeast/united-states-arms-sales-rise.html?ref=middleeast

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/R42678.pdf

[JackRiddler]

25. How North murders South without even shooting.

And makes a profit on both: from the arms sales to the "less developed," and from the financing extended to facilitate the purchase.

And sells off its own older generation of arms to make room for the introduction of newer toys at home.

Perhaps later to destroy the arms sold to the patsy nations.

And then to profit from the rebuilding and from the newly captured markets.

And then to rearm the patsy.

The U.S. did all of these with Iraq.

O same old world of "the brave."

Stupid fucking warriors, who go along with it and think it's patriotic.

[KoKo]

30. That's pretty impressive... Thanks!

[penultimate]

10. Well this is what the SIPRi says

http://books.sipri.org/files/FS/SIPRIFS1403.pdf

Between 2009 - 2013, the US had 29% of the sales and Russia had 27%.



Here's an interesting database too
http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php

[KoKo]

29. Looks like a nice read there for history...

Thanks...I've bookmarked to read the article later.

[penultimate]

5. And I want a flying pony with laser eyes.

While unlike many of the detractors on this thread, I wish him luck in uniting his country to defeat the nazi fascists in the east, but that isn't the US' problem. Ukraine is not a member of NATO and as far as I know, there are not any defense arrangements. US involvement would just give Russia more of an excuse to get even more involved anyway. I don't see how that would help the Ukrainian cause in the long run.

[ballyhoo]

8. It is the neocons greatest wish for the US to

get more involved with the US providing whatever needs to be done to cause a war with Russia. Unfortunately, that war is not going to work out exactly the way the neocons and their crypto supporters would like. You can take that to the bank.

[bemildred]

12. They want conflict: "Divide and Rule". nt

[ballyhoo]

15. Exactly. Plus, One World Power. You

name those that tried this before. Didn't work for them. Won't work this
time either. It is absolutely maddening that seemingly intelligent
people who remember the Bush madness don't get what is still
trying to be done.

[bemildred]

16. It is very old. Sometimes it works and sometimes not.

You are right that modern times have not been good to it. A lot more bloody noses than great rewards in it these days, especially when you get out of your own turf. Governments and Empires collapse from within through overreaching and misrule, and the peasants aren't peasants any more and they are armed, and have cell phones.

[ballyhoo]

17. And IP addresses for at least a little

while longer... Well, at least a few know what is happening. They'll have to eventually take us out if we don't shut up and keep picking apples. The Swiss are now going to allow even those without illness get help terminating themselves. That will come here too if Dow and Monsanto can't get the job done faster. Later.

[Fred Sanders]

14. The fascists are in the west, the ones that staged a coup, and no one is a Nazi anymore.

The ones in the East who voted mainly for the ousted President are against the coup, why is that so hard to understand?

[EmilyAnne]

19. Your loaded rhetoric cancels out your argument.

And what is it about the definition of "coup" that is so hard to understand?

[Duckhunter935]

26. and the self appointed ones in the East

That took over the government buildings by force and removed the "ELECTED" officials?

That is more of a coup the the democratically elected Parliament that removed a President that fled with his loot in the middle of the night. Even better his own political party voted to remove him. The interim government said elections would be held in 90 days. Guess what they were and there is now a new President-elect. Even after armed thugs tried to stop the elections in some cities in the east. Way to let people voice their opinions at the polls. He was elected in a free and fair election monitored by many nations observers.

Can you say the same for those self appointed people in the east, be honest now. how many international observers for their election? Oh that's right they just assumed power without one.

the two right wing so called fascist parties got less then 3 percent of the vote.

Cut the crap, one poster has already been discovered and banned for lying and using two accounts to try and pass that same load of crap.

[Fred Sanders]

28. The eastern voters did not vote for a coup and the fascists taking over,maybe they have the right

to take up arms against tyranny...where else have we heard that?

Although they do not have a second amendment and are not all armed to the teeth with easy to get firearms....can you imagine if they had the right to bear arms? The chaos and deaths?

[Duckhunter935]

32. what coup? there was not one

the elected representatives, even most from the east voted to remove the absent President.

The self appointed leaders in the east? How long till they allow a vote?

[Duckhunter935]

27. Amazing how quiet you get when challenged

What happened, do not want to answer my questions?

I guess silence from you means I was right about the non-elected self-selected leaders in the east and you have nothing.

[KoKo]

31. Perhaps some folks feel responding to rudeness is not worth the time?

That might be something you should consider.

[MynameisBlarney]

18. How about

No.

[jakeXT]

20. I think Operation Frantic was stationed in east Ukraine and they flew westward

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Frantic

[JackRiddler]

22. That "Lend-Lease" rhetoric is a great start.

Watch out for Hitler! He's everywhere!!!

[JackRiddler]

23. So far DU opposes the idea...

Poll: Should the U.S. continue aiding the Kiev government?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024944088