UKRAINE ON THE BRINK – AT 8:34 A.M. ET:  The freshly minted truce in Ukraine has broken down.  From Fox: 

Violence between Ukrainian security forces and anti-government protesters broke out again Thursday in the capital, Kiev, leaving at least 22 people dead, as a truce called by President Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leaders fell apart.

An Associated Press reporter saw 21 bodies Thursday laid out on the edge of the sprawling protest encampment in central Kiev’s Independence Square. In addition, one policeman was killed and 28 suffered gunshot wounds Thursday, Interior Ministry spokesman Serhiy Burlakov told the AP.

Sky News later reported that 11 bodies had been laid out in the lobby of the Hotel Ukraina, which is close to the square and is also where many foreign media members are staying. All of the bodies were reportedly civilians.

The deaths Thursday brought the week's toll to at least 50 in Kiev, with hundreds injured. Protesters dispute those numbers though, claiming that the true toll is much higher. Yanukovych announced the truce late Wednesday after two days of fierce street fighting.

COMMENT:  This is exceedingly serious.  Ukraine physically symbolizes the new struggle between a weakening West and a bolder, stronger Russia. 

We seem powerless to influence events.  If I had to bet, I'd say that Ukraine will probably become a Moscow satellite again.  Obama has made some grand statements from the White House, telling the world that America "expects" the Ukrainian authorities, who are under the thumb of their Russian masters, to behave with restraint.  And the world responds by properly ignoring the president of the United States.

Meanwhile, Ron Paul, father of Rand, informs us that we should stay as far away from Ukraine as possible.  Cool idea, Ron.  And it's absurd to think that Japanese carriers could reach Pearl Harbor.  At the very minimum, America should be using this crisis to reassert our leadership, strengthen our defenses in Europe, and reassure, with substantive acts, our European allies that they can count on us to stand with them.  Not a bad strategy:  It was key to winning the Cold War without a world war.

February 20,  2014