John McCain Calls For A ‘Fundamental Reassessment’ Of U.S. Relations With Russia.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) predicted that Russia would hold onto Crimea and called for a “fundamental reassessment” of America’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.
McCain, who had recently returned from a trip to Ukraine, said Sunday’s referendum in Crimea on whether to split from Ukraine was “a bogus thing,” comparing it to the plebiscites held in the days of Hitler and Stalin. “It’s a done deal,” he said.
He supported economic sanctions as an important step in the U.S. response to Russia’s actions.
“Russia is a gas station masquerading as a country,” McCain told Candy Crowley on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “It’s kleptocracy, it’s corruption, it’s a nation that’s really only dependent upon oil and gas for their economy.”
But he also said that wider action was necessary.
The U.S. has to “have a fundamental reassessment of our relationship with Vladimir Putin,” he said. “No more reset buttons, no more ‘Tell Vladimir I’ll be more flexible.’ Treat him for what he is. That does not mean the reignition of the Cold War. But it does mean treating him in the way that we understand an individual who believes in restoring the old Russian empire.”
Olduvaiblog: Musings on the coming collapse 
My comment:
For those quick to judge (either side), consider the historical observation that war benefits few. It is beneficial for the oligarchs of the ‘winning’ side (even sometimes for those on the losing side depending on the post-war ‘treaty’) and the financial-military-industrial complex. It is the 1% who not only benefit, but usually are the warmongers.
I believe one of the first things we have to do to get off this destructive path is for the 99% to reject the narrative of the elite, on both sides. It is a tale that goes beyond geopolitics. We are caught in a chess match where the players are motivated by power and greed, yet the masses are ‘informed, through massive propaganda, that it is about right and wrong, democracy and tyranny, etc.. It is none of these. Remember, the first thing that is usually lost in these situations is the truth (whatever that may be in a dynamical complex system).
If the 99% can stand up to the 1% by rejecting their myths (political, economic, sociocultural), then maybe we can begin to dismantle, before it’s too late, the war machines that will inevitably lead to our destruction; well, at least the destruction of the 99%.