The strong words are always ready:
President Barack Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, was asked on U.S. television about the possibility of Russia sending troops to Ukraine, which President Vladimir Putin had hoped Yanukovich would keep closely allied to Moscow.
"That would be a grave mistake," Rice said. "It's not in the interests of Ukraine or of Russia or of Europe or the United States to see a country split. It's in nobody's interest to see violence return and the situation escalate."
So what makes it a mistake? Would we make it a mistake? Or is this just one of those, "in the fullness of time, karma will get you" sort of mistake?
Or would a Russian intervention just be met with an angry administration retort, "What difference, at this point, does it make?!"
We're not about to go to war with Russia over Ukraine. So I'm not suggesting we back up words with force.
But I don't think Putin defines Russian interests the same way Rice does. What do we do if Russia--bizarrely in Rice's view--sends in troops?
