McCain Heads to Ukraine with Seven Other Senators; Let's Hope They All Stay; Ugly is Beautiful

Here's the question of the day: What can senators John McCain (R-Az), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) do for Ukraine?

The answer of course is simple: Nothing.

So, why is that group of eight senators wasting money going there? The only possible answer is some combination of arrogance, political foolishness, and support for warmongering.

McCain Leads Delegation to Ukraine

The Hill reports McCain to Lead Delegation to Ukraine.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and a group of senators are slated to travel to Ukraine on Thursday to show support for the new interim government there.

The meeting comes ahead of a planned referendum in Crimea on Sunday to secede from Ukraine and join Russia — something the U.S. has said would violate the country’s constitution.

McCain's office said the group would be meeting with members of the interim government and other stakeholders Thursday through Sunday.

The delegation will be made up of a group of eight senators from both parties. Aside from McCain, those traveling to Ukraine are Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

In additional waste of money Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk will meet with President Obama and members of Congress on Wednesday. Then Secretary of State John Kerry is set to meet in London with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday.

In Favor of McCain's Action If...

Actually, I am all in favor of sending McCain, Durbin, and the rest to Ukraine, provided they stay there.

I will even do a fundraiser on this blog to pay for it. Should insufficient money come in, I would pay for the tickets myself.

Other Comments

ZeroHedge commented "It is of course possible the McCain simply doesn't know where Ukraine is to begin with ...And just in case McCain isn't senile enough to provoke the start of another world war, moments ago the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did its best to further antagonize Russia when it approved legislation granting aid to Ukraine and authorizing sanctions on Russia in a 14-3 vote."

I am rather certain McCain knew where Ukraine was before this mess started. However, I highly doubt all of the rest of his warmongering consortium did.

As for senility, I propose McCain is not senile. Instead, I propose McCain is a war-mongering fool, supportive of provoking WW III at every opportunity, regardless of cost.

This may sound like a disagreement with ZH but it's not. The spirit of what ZH reported is nearly perfect: We have no business in Ukraine.

Regardless, the useless political grandstanding continues.

G7 Warns Russia Over Crimea Occupation

In another symbolic but useless action G7 Warns Russia Over Crimea Occupation.

The Group of Seven industrialised nations, led by the US, on Wednesday delivered a warning to Russia over its occupation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea, setting the stage for a tense diplomatic stand-off over this weekend’s independence referendum in the breakaway-minded province.

In a statement, the G7 leaders said they “joined together to condemn the Russian Federation’s clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in contravention of Russia’s obligations under the UN Charter and its 1997 basing agreement with Ukraine”.

How Ugly Can it Get?

Inquiring minds just may be wondering "How ugly can this get?"

That's a good question. I bring it up because Secretary of State John Kerry stated "[This] can get ugly fast if the wrong choices are made, and it can get ugly in multiple directions".

Please consider US Warns of Reprisals if Crimea Poll Goes Ahead.

The stand-off between Russia and the US over Ukraine reached its gravest point on Wednesday as the US and its allies warned Moscow that proceeding with Sunday’s Crimean independence referendum would bring reprisals.

Andriy Parubiy, secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, said Russia had deployed more than 80,000 troops, up to 270 tanks and 140 combat aircraft near its border, creating the “threat of a full-scale invasion”.

The sabre-rattling came as John Kerry, US secretary of state, and Sergei Lavrov, Russian foreign minister, agreed to hold talks in London on Friday in an effort to avert a diplomatic rupture over the Crimean vote.

“[This] can get ugly fast if the wrong choices are made, and it can get ugly in multiple directions,” said Mr Kerry.

Ugly is Beautiful

Given that McCain is clearly itching to start WW III, it's safe to point out that for some "ugly is beautiful".

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com