Ukraine (closed; covers till August 2014)

[OUTLAW 09]

Oh, you meant the blog.
Well, again - I don't see much of a difference between paramilitary and military. Neither was legally allowed to be there, so I'm not downplaying anything. I wonder why you see much of a difference between a military man with an AK-74 and a paramilitary man with an AK-74. The difference is especially marginal in Russia with its USSR traditions. The KGB operated a coast guard that included anti-submarine and air defence systems, after all. Warsaw Pact 'worker militias' were always meant to be auxiliary military forces in the event of war.
German paramilitary Cold War border guards were by defined as becoming combatants in the event of war.
There's really not that much difference between military and paramilitary.

And frankly, I'm not inclined to look up unreliable sources only to see whether the one or the other word is more accurate.
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The Slawjansk hostage episode was a show for the media. I doubt that the foreign politicians were stupid enough to fall for it and spend much time and effort on it.

What's going to be interesting is what the Ukrainians do once they have FSB guys captured. We might see some old school "confession"-style videos which could be very dangerous to Putin's racket and I think he might be very concerned about this.
I noted that the reports about the fighting in that town mentioned that the town was encircled. I wonder whether the encirclement is tight enough to really use it as a trap for the FSB personnel. They will likely not fight to the last man, after all.


I suppose right now it's about time to offer Putin a face-saving way out. He's already at his culminating point.
Let him build some more on his Crimea success (for Crimea is gone for good anyway), give him some political victory (such as Svoboda kicked out of government, something which the EU should like to see as well) and then he gets to write off the continental Ukraine.

Then in the next years the West can demand concessions from Putin for not inviting the Ukraine into NATO (but merely equipping its army). Such as a satisfactory (to us) solution to the Abchasia and South Ossetia conflicts, ratification for the border treaty with Estonia, withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria, no S-300s for Iran and no arms exports to the Caucasus that could fuel a new war over Berg-Karabach.
The best about this is that the threat of inviting them could be held up indefinitely. It's a self-regenerating bargaining chip.

fuchs---you know you are an example of the European education system of the last ten years when you quote the below as you do but then again I have heard the same style of German left arguments in the 1969 timeframe meaning hey if it does not fit my definition of what I am explaining then it does not count---co me on fuchs paramilitary does not mean much in Russia.

1. German paramilitary Cold War border guards were by defined as becoming combatants in the event of war.
There's really not that much difference between military and paramilitary.

2. And frankly, I'm not inclined to look up unreliable sources only to see whether the one or the other word is more accurate.
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3. The Slawjansk hostage episode was a show for the media. I doubt that the foreign politicians were stupid enough to fall for it and spend much time and effort on it.

1. The BGS was in fact during the Cold War actually a federalized police force with military ranks as was say the French Gendarmerie in peace time and since there was no war they never did become "combatants"-- BUT are in fact Russian Cossacks holding a active Russian military/police reserve commission as an officer of the GRU actually not really military or just "paramilitary" however you define paramilitary OR--would you call a German reserve MAD unit paramilitary or military---come on fuchs

2. typical German student attempt to sidetrack a debate that one does want to agree with/nor listen would you not admit? You are as bad a responder as is mirhond. Hopefully if you have an actual blog for yourself you do not act in this manner.

3. If the OCSE hostage event was a media show---then for who?-- the proRussians in eastern Ukraine meaning hey EU/OCSE we here in eastern Ukraine can do what we want because we are an "independent republic"---(first of all they are neither independent nor a republic or for that matter democratic) and we can even ignore diplomatic passports if we want to --OR "we will talk with Russia on this event" just after taking the bostages and what then had to happen again for a propaganda show-- Russia sends a personal envoy and it took him a long while to get basically should have been an immediate release under the internal agreements handling of diplomatic passport holders.

So again fuchs do not be a typical German left student who hates another opinion other than their own voices being heard.

AND where are all of those German 1968 left students today in the German culture---all quiet chasing the Euro and handling their own kids in an authoritarian manner driving Ferraris and Audi 8s.

My biggest critique of the current "European"---you guys would demo up to about 1994 for anything if it crossed your value systems and beliefs ---where are the demos today in Germany, Italy of even France? The only thing that seems to motivate some of the left are when the neo Nazis march.

Where are the critical voices in European political parties, where are the critical voices in the culture or in press comments--so fuchs just what is a European these days?

By the way why would you support a position of wanting to help Putin dig himself out of a hole---is it not the current German Grundschule model of allowing the pupil to learn how on his/her terms one gets out of a hole-so why help him as that is not a way for someone to learn and grow--come on fuchs.

Part of the problem you are avoiding in getting to a lower threshold for Russia to understand is in fact the disunity among all 28 European EU members who are more concerned about the loss of profits and taxes from sanctions than setting a lower threshold.

If German students can never get to a common opinion then just how do you proposed getting a total consensus with 28 countries.