Letters: The growing crisis in Ukraine

Re “Putin plays with fire in Ukraine,” Editorial, March 3

Given our usual state of unpreparedness, the best thing the U.S. can do to address the developing situation in Ukraine is to prevail upon the International Olympic Committee to move the 2016 Summer Olympics to Sochi or somewhere else in Russia.

That way, President Vladimir Putin can grossly overspend building new local facilities for the Games and pretend to be civilized until the Olympics end. Meanwhile, the West will have a few more years to prepare for Putin’s next invasion.

Maybe Secretary of State John F. Kerry can stop by the IOC headquarters in Switzerland to suggest that President Thomas Bach reconsider having awarded the Games to Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilians probably won’t be ready on time anyway.

Jeff Pollak

La Crescenta

Republican Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and other GOP critics claim the current crisis in Ukraine is a reflection of President Obama’s weakness on foreign affairs.

Do they think we should move our Mediterranean fleet into the Black Sea? Who would that intimidate? No one.

Russia is big enough to do as Putin pleases with the former Soviet republics on its border. This has nothing to do with our status as a superpower or Obama’s weakness.

There are armed crises all over the world. We not only cannot prevent them, but in almost no case can we solve anything by force.

I shudder to think of the war we’d be involved in if McCain were our president.

Sol Taylor

Studio City

Most of the world knows and respects power. I too would like to be able to use diplomacy to resolve disputes.

But this sentiment isn’t followed in the real world beyond the West. Putin and his ilk are happy to talk while they build more power or move troops into Ukraine or wherever.

It used to be that the economic, political and military power of the U.S. at least made nations consider the risks of their actions. But Obama’s inaction in Syria after his own “red line” was crossed is just one more example of how America’s declining stature isn’t keeping the world safe.

The administration’s announcement recently that it will shrink the Army to a pre-World War II size may be the final nail in the coffin of America’s former military might.

Mike Napolitano

Burbank

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