Ukraine: On the Edge of Empires

Crowds toppled a statue of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin in the Ukrainian capital

and attacked it with hammers yesterday in the latest mass protests against President

Viktor Yanukovich and his plans for closer ties with Russia.

STRATFOR ... "My father lived on the edge until the Germans came in 1941 and swept everything before them, and then until the Soviets returned in 1944 and swept everything before them. He was one of tens of millions who lived or died on the edge, and perhaps nowhere was there as much suffering from living on the edge than in Ukraine. Ukraine was caught between Stalin and Hitler, between planned famines and outright slaughter, to be relieved only by the grinding misery of post-Stalin communism. No European country suffered as much in the 20th century as Ukraine. From 1914 until 1945, Ukraine was as close to hell as one can reach in this life."  Read more.
"Ukraine: On the Edge of Empires is republished with permission of Stratfor."

Viewpoint: Obama right to support Ukraine protesters   "Viewpoint: Los Angeles Times (excerpted):
"To its credit, the Obama administration has condemned the crackdown on demonstrators in Ukraine and is suggesting that further repression might lead to economic sanctions."
....
"That doesn't justify Russian interference in Ukraine's internal affairs or attempts to muscle it into joining a Russian-dominated trading bloc. But it does call for the sort of sophisticated response U.S. and European officials have shown in recent days, one that supports Ukraine's sovereignty, democratization and self-determination but doesn't ask that country to take sides in a new Cold War."
The above article refutes the opinion of former UN ambassador John Bolton, whose point of view is expressed in this next column after the video:

Lenin's statue comes down! Picture this happening on an American campus? I think not ,what with numerous Che-T-shirt-wearing students protecting it.

Ukraine's drama, Obama's weakness
... "Statesmen are responsible for seeing beyond today's issues to protect larger U.S. interests well into the future. And if America lacks such leaders, we face no higher priority than finding new ones, and quickly.
"Ukraine's turmoil shows why."  Full Article
Judith Miller is an author and a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter formerly with The New York Times. She also is an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of its magazine, City Journal.

Obama Snubs Ukraine; Ignores Russia Bullying  By Judith Miller in Newsmax.   ... "While the State Department has been promoting Ukraine’s integration with Europe, Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission are on the verge of taxing, and effectively banning steel pipes, one of Ukraine’s key imports to America, partly at the behest of a company owned by Russia.
"Critics say the conflicting policies by State and Commerce at this delicate juncture reflect strategic drift by President Obama. " ... More.
Judith Miller is an author and a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter formerly with The New York Times. She also is an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of its magazine, City Journal.