The West Forgets History. Putin Repeats It

By outsourcing the Ukraine problem to Germany, the U.S. echoes 19th century mistakes that led to repeated conflicts.

Hapless in response to Vladimir Putin's wars, successive American leaders are left puzzling over the Russian's place in time. "Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century," said President George W. Bush in August 2008, after Russia's invasion of Georgia. When the Russian force of "little green men" took Ukraine's Crimea last February, Secretary of State John Kerry exclaimed, "You just don't in the 21st century behave in 19th-century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pretext." Mr. Putin has proved impervious to complaints about his outdated behavior. On Monday morning, Ukraine reported that a column of 10 Russian tanks and a couple of armored vehicles charged over Ukraine's southeastern border into areas held by Russian rebels. Russian artillery now fire at Ukrainian military positions from inside Ukraine's territory, NATO said on Friday. Ignoring objections from Kiev, Russia announced its intentions to send a second "humanitarian aid" convoy in a week of military trucks dressed in white, bringing and taking who knows what. As the military pressure grows on the pro-Western government in Kiev, the Europeans are adding their own. Plainly anxious that these latest escalations risk a replay of 20th century wars, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday turned up in Kiev to push for an accommodation with Moscow. The chancellor pressed the Ukrainians to cease fire and ruled out new EU sanctions against Russia. So Mr. Putin comes into talks Tuesday in Minsk with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko with fresh leverage.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/matthew-kaminski-the-west-forgets-history-putin-repeats-it-1409008065