DUNBASS….. THE TSAR’S NEXT MOVE WAS PREDICTABLE.

So the Tsar institutes a decree? The people of the Dunbass region of the Ukraine now have “recognized” Identifications to include Birth Certificates! Now, I am sure that over the weekend the academic wine drinkers had very enlightening conversations on the Tsar’s latest move. “Soft Power”!  They love to talk about “Soft Power”! Not the buzz topic it was just a few years ago, but when I read the DC “Academics”, that term still pops up, especially when the conversation revolves around Russia and the Ukraine issue.

THE DANCE:

With the US Vice President in Europe, trying to calm the fears on the NATO issue along with the US Secretary of Defense, the timing of the Tsar’s “Decree” was not unpredictable.

Two things are going on here.

1.      The Tsar is letting the US and Europe know the issue of the Ukraine is still one of his top two.

2.      The Tsar is past the stage of anticipating The Donald’s impact on Europe and he has moved into the phase of, “let me push a few buttons and see what reaction I get”. It’s a game where the Tsar is undoubtedly the undisrupted Word Campion!  

Yes, what is taking place in Europe in the past few days is far more complicated than that and if you love to read complicated, redundant babble, then you just need to pull up the DC blogs and editorial sites!

So, is it really news that Russia recognizes some level of independent identification from the Donbass region? Yes…….yes it is and the fact the Western Media was clueless to this topic speaks volumes as to their understanding of the severity of the topic. If you are worried about the plight of Refugees from Syria for something as simplistic of the Syrian Civil War, then you would simply not comprehend what a Europe at war would lead to.

A REOCCURRING STORY:  

Once again, the totality of the issue has to be weighed if you want to understand why the Tsar would recognize Donbass documents. The Ukraine was sliced away from the Russian sphere of influence by the West. That’s the way the Tsar sees it and by the way, that is almost the way I see it. Why, “almost”, on my part? As I’ve said time and time again, the Western stance on the issue of the Ukraine is based on, “We didn’t pull them away, but we did accept them when they made their push to the West”! That “push” is the contentious issue between the Russians and the West. What percentage of the population drove the revolt in Ukraine? Does anyone really know? The West will tell you the majority and the Russians will say a small minority. At the time, the Progressive, Liberal administration of the US was more than happy to see yet another socially driven uprising. The Obama team was in love with the concept of the Arab Spring as they saw it as nothing more than the youthful resistance to corrupt government. How the Tsar saw the event was ether not taken seriously enough or some group of “experts” on the Obama Team didn’t understand the value of the Ukrainian region to the Russians! Either way, it was a stupid….stupid mistake.  Honestly, it was a mistake that has destabilized all of Europe and set in motion the collapse of the European Union.

NEXT STEP:

What is the next step? The Trump Team is in Europe trying to mend fences. The Tsar has the Ukrainian issue smack dab in the middle of his desk. The two world leaders are early in the game of learning what the other truly wants. Europe is hearing, “we are with you” from the US, but what is the level of confidence? If there is one thing a politician knows, it’s not to trust the word of another Politician and that goes double for issues on the international relations level.

Can the US convince its European partners they are committed to Europe? Back to one of my favorite quotes, “Deeds before words”! That is what Europe will be looking for. You can bet that is what Putin is watching for.

The Tsar played his next card with the identification issue and he did so at just the right moment in time. Europe is on edge and that edge is getting smaller and smaller to stand on. La Pen is an event that has them holding their breath. With la Pen, Europe gets the end of the EU. Yes, the card game is getting far more serious than most in the West know. The dealer is winning and some at the table are close to folding and walking away. Remember this. The Tsar has been in the Casino business for a long time and his next bet may be the one that makes some fold. Can the US “call” his hand?

Side Note:  The story attached is from sputniknews. Notice the photograph? Passports? Is the Tsar’s News Team sending a message about Donbass?

https://sputniknews.com/world/201702201050861017-russia-putin-ukraine-donbass-passports/