Thursday, March 13, 2014

The Ukraine Crisis Exposes Washington's Shortcomings

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Who Predicted Russia’s Military Intervention? -- Erik Voeten, Washington Post

Other than Sarah Palin and certain Russian astrologers, few people foresaw that Russia would intervene militarily in the Ukraine. The Teaching, Research, and International Policy (TRIP) Project at the College of William & Mary held a snap poll among international relations scholars, which asked: “Will Russian military forces intervene in response to the political crisis in Ukraine?” The results, reported in Foreign Policy, were disheartening: only 14 percent of the 905 interviewed scholars answered affirmatively on the eve of the intervention. (The poll was conducted from 9 p.m., Feb. 24 to 11:59 p.m., Feb. 27. Russian forces controlled the Sevastopol airport on Feb. 28).

These results might reaffirm the beliefs of some that academics have lost touch with reality. Yet, there is little evidence that others did any better. The intelligence community picked up some signs but these were not translated into an actual warning that made it to the top levels of the U.S. or Ukrainian political decision-making structures (although we may find out more about that later). Pundits were writing confidently that Russia would not intervene even as Russian troops were slipping into the country.

Read more ....

My Comment: Comparing Sarah Palin to Russian astrologers .... so typical of the media elite to insult someone who has been proven right .... and the media elite/foreign policy establishment/political elite/intelligence community/etc. wrong. I guess this explains Iraq, Afghanistan, the continuing conflict against Al Qaeda, allies questioning U.S. resolve, and the general political/economic/military/and social decline of the U.S.. The elites in Washington know everything .... knows what needs to be done .... and everyone else is stupid.

1 comment:

James said...

If they ever admit she and others were right, then they've been wrong all along and the jig is up.