Vladimir Putin has not slept much lately. So have the Malaysian Airlines officials. Among others who have suffered from insomnia recently are the people of once-upon-a-time-Ukraine and the UN delegations of Sri Lanka.
On the contrary, Barak Obama is sound asleep.
In light of recent turmoil around the world, the majority would tend to believe in a fantasy tale where Uncle Sam plays around, with a candy bar in one hand and a bottle of poison in another, feeding into the open mouths of the world communities as he chooses. Palestinians gulp down the poison while the Israelis enjoy the candy. Vladimir Putin frowns at the poison bottle dangling in front of him while Arseniy Yatsenyuk sits on Uncle Sam’s palm, dreaming candy-filled dreams. And so on and so forth.
I for one believe in this tale to a certain extent.
Being born to a generation which has had the ‘‘privilege’’ of living in a unipolar world does not trouble me. But I would certainly hold it against my generation if I were to die in a unipolar world someday. For the people who would see me as the average communist, I’m not. If Russia, China or Sri Lanka was at the helm of a unipolar world, let alone the USA, I would not stand it.
Personal fancies apart, the Russian speakers in Crimea seem desperate to make their move. Maybe it is that they see joining Russia as promising because the Protector of the Russian speaking people, Overlord Putin is a firm believer in the concept of Greater Russia. To me, there’s nothing wrong with their view as long as it came from within, and not ‘‘induced’’ at gunpoint.
But then again, long gone are the days when rulers could invade and take over territories as they wished. For one, now you have the UN to deal with.
Or is it the USA? What’s the difference anyway?
So you might say the best move towards the Ukrainian crisis is acknowledging sovereignty. Or simply put, leaving them to deal with their own problems. I wouldn’t even know if that statement is legitimate, because in the 21stcentury, you don’t have a say in your domestic issues. The world does.
And what has the missing plane to do with all this?
As the ‘‘empathetic’’ world communities pray for the lives of the 239 people on board, Malaysian Airlines has geared up to a duel with Boeing, a meticulously planned tug-o’-war, where the media grease their elbows, eyeing returns. Maybe Obama knows beforehand who the winner is, so he might as well enjoy his sleep.
It’s Cold War 2.0, and it’s fought with new tools; sovereign states and missing planes.
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