U.S. Sanctions Will Not Deter Russia: Former Pentagon Chief Gates

[Purveyor]

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Xinhua) -- As the U.S. considers implementing additional sanctions against Russia over the latter's recent moves in Ukraine's Crimea, former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday that such measures will not deter Russia.

The U.S. has been taking steps to impose sanctions on Russia for its military intervention of Crimea, although Russian President Vladimir Putin said his actions were an effort to protect millions of ethnic Russians in the region.

"Some of the sanctions that are being discussed and the actions being taken, whether it's limitations on visas or on travel or on potentially freezing assets of specific individuals, frankly I don 't believe are going to be any deterrent for Putin," Gates told host Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday.

The former defense secretary called for actions that would ensure delivery of gas to Europe without Russian involvement, as Russia supplies a large chunk of Europe's energy.

"I think the Europeans, with our support, should now press ahead very aggressively with a southern pipeline that would get gas to Europe outside of Russian and Ukrainian territorial space," he said.

more...

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-03/10/c_126241964.htm

[bemildred]

1. Quite. nt

[RKP5637]

3. Exactly! He's playing hardball IMO like the old USSR. n/t

[bemildred]

8. I think he'll compromise, it's better for him, if they make nice.

If they don't, yeah, they get nothing. He wants his status resolved, friend or foe? He's not listening to any more moralizing lectures, if he ever did. Those are for us.

(No, I'm not defending or supporting him, I discussing his motivations, this can come in very handy, just ask the NSA.)

[RKP5637]

10. Yep, "He's not listening to any more moralizing lectures, if he

ever did. Those are for us." He plays a cold hard game of chess. Somehow he will need to feel he won, whatever that means at this stage.

[bemildred]

11. He's already won. The negotiations will be over how much.

And they better pay attention this time.

[RKP5637]

13. Yep! He also knows none are really going to go to war or something over this, so,

he's gauging how far he can push ... "The negotiations will be over how much."
BTW, and this is probably a dumb question, but the unidentified troops, like duh, who else would this be than Russian troops?

[bemildred]

17. A purely semantic distinction, they are all Russian and they will (mostly) follow Putin.

They will wear what he says to wear. This sort of grovelling over legalities is pounding sand at this point.

[RKP5637]

18. Yep! n/t

[RKP5637]

2. Putin doesn't give a F what the US says/does. He has an agenda, Ukraine is just the beginning. n/t

[2banon]

7. If "Ukraine is just the beginning", what do suppose is Putin's End game? n/t

[RKP5637]

9. I'm no expert in this, just talking, but my hunch is he was fond of the old USSR and

would not mind some semblance of that.

[2banon]

15. He might.. On the other hand people like Robert Gates doesn't think he is interested in doing that.

He seems to be considered as a credible expert by the M&M on the history of Russia, and of course the Soviet Union. I listened to what he had to say on Charlie Rose last week. If memory serves, something about not wanting to be responsible for economic security of most of those countries... which sort of made sense. But logic will hold i think, that it would be advantageous to Moscow if these other countries remained autonomous from EU/NATO.

Don't know if Gate's analysis is at all on the mark, but has a ring of logic for me.

[RKP5637]

16. Yes, I think especially this > "But logic will hold i think, that that it would be

advantageous to Moscow if these other countries remained autonomous from EU/NATO."

[L0oniX]

4. Expect Russia to pull out of all co-op sanctions.

[2banon]

12. I think i read in the nyt that Moscow sees previous agreements no longer valid due to defacto coup..

something to that effect.

I tried hunting down that article from this morning, but cannot now locate it vis a vis headline which went something to the effect of: "Moscow Signals Crimean Annexation"..

it was somewhat in depth, citing agreements i wasn't previously aware of.

[HereSince1628]

5. So Gates wants to revisit Nabucco?

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/07/eu-nabucco.html#

[2banon]

19. there is that. hmm n/t

[TwilightGardener]

6. The goal isn't to make Russia leave Crimea. The goal is to make it an increasingly

expensive proposition to invade Ukraine, by whatever means necessary.

[bemildred]

14. I was reading some German fellow a few weeks back. Wish I could find it again.

Anyway, I won't go into it all, but he said Putin didn't have the troops to take it all now. Not enough combat ready. And taking it all guarantees a guerilla war, probably with a jihadi element. Sounds great huh? And if he squats in Crimea with no resolution, there will still be attacks.

So I don't think he wants to go there.

He wants a stable, non-hostile Ukraine, protection for Russian citizens, and autonomy for Crimea. He's said so. We should call him on it.

If he doesn't get it, he will squat there in Crimea and start making "adjustments" to remove his vulnerabilities to the West. And that is a very foolish place for us to go, for us and for Ukraine.