Now, before anyone might question my patriotism, be it known that I voluntarily entered military service in May, 1940, and participated in the World War II battles of Kwajalein, Guam, Peleliu, Leyte, Luzon, and Iwo Jima—and Korean War too; and while I respect patriotism, I reject the program of the "war-hawks", ever searching for trouble off-shore, even with use of "agent-provocateurs". Do I know more than "the experts? Well, I certainly hope so.
Ukraine, like its Catholic Slavic partner in Poland, can be seen as a hodge-podge of differing racial pockets and religious loyalties—over the centuries caught in the middle of the cross-traffic of East-and-West—pushed-around by Mongols, Turks, Jewish-Khazars, Swedes, Russians, lately the Marxist-Soviets, and now the European Union's over-seer, NATO. Concerning Crimea and nearby areas to the northwest, Russian language groups dominate, with old pockets of German and Greek speaking populations, still here and there. By no means is all of the Ukraine purely Ukrainian.
Fertile Ukraine was once the proud "Bread-Basket of Europe". It takes a hearty race to survive in this disputed area. But like so many today, the Ukrainians seemingly have softened, let down their guard, and allowed internal oligarchs to siphon-off their production, take political power, and degrade their proud culture and religion. Then when town-square protests suddenly and strangely turn to violence, it's difficult to know who's who in any resulting political "coup" in Kiev.
From TV it appears that the "mob" initiated the violence which produced deaths. Perhaps there's more involved here than just Putin (who now goes to Sunday Orthodox Divine Liturgy). Such "mini-wars" in the Near East can be seen as skirmishes in advance of the New Order's One World. After all, Israel is not all that far away, and so, every American "bipartisan" politician will have to consult Tel Aviv for final instructions.
In any event, it would be unusual, if not unnatural, for Putin to just ignore political coups on his very doorstep. As Chicago "pols" would say, it's normal to take advantage of every crisis. By the way, what of the old American Monroe Doctrine—Europe, stay out of my hemisphere! And we must avenge the sinking of USS Maine in Havana Harbor,1898--a coal-dust explosion—not done by Spanish intrigue. In the Spanish-American War, our prize was Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Teddy Roosevelt's "charge up San Juan Hill" was glorious indeed, but needlessly fought under false pretense. This was an example of "big-stick" diplomacy at the end of a gun barrel—still renewed today—"When can their glory fade?" If our ever-present war-hawks can't get us into another Near East war, maybe a little coup in Venezuela will do for now. Fortunately, the American public is tired of war—war for what!
In any event, Ukraine has no historic right to the Crimean Peninsula, in recent centuries, long in possession of the Ottoman Empire and Imperial Russia. In the Crimean War of the 1850's—East vs. West in the Black Sea and Arial Sea—political vultures in Europe sought parts of the collapsing Islamic Ottoman Empire, and opposed expansion of the Russian Empire of the imperial Czars.
Basing the Ukrainian claim on a 1954 NATO document, wherein Ukraine would swap abandoned Soviet nuclear weapons in Ukraine in exchange for the Crimean Peninsula, is like telling Al Capone he's free from jail if he would only pay his income tax…or like telling the Sioux Nation they can have South Dakota if they would only pay federal tax on their gaming parlors. This NATO "treaty" seems a political contrivance which lacks historic diplomatic relevance.
So the American political war-hawks are at it again—proposing another "Charge of the Light Brigade" (Crimea,1854). But, the majority of American patriots are finally fed-up with futile and phony "wars-for-peace". For those war-hawks wanting American or European involvement in a new Crimean war, the military recruiting office is just down the road. Avoid the rush. Sign-up now!