It's hard to know which is worse: a Europe that is still caught in a Cold war stance between the bear and the eagle, or a Europe that allows itself to adopt Fascism, as if World War II had never happened. Notwithstanding the strength of its economy, Europe in this position because it never took its place among the other four Eurasian giants: Russia, India, China and the Mulsim world, preferring a less challanging role as Washington's junior partner.
Catherine Ashton's lack of surprise and horror upon hearing that the government she helped put in place had hired snipers to fire upon both protesters and police reveals the true nature of the West's campaign to detach Ukraine from Russia: F. William Engdhal's "Full Spectrum Dominance" is not just about ruling the world; it's about adopting fascist methods to do so.[tag]
During the Cold War, Europe was cowed into supporting the United States by constant warnings of Soviet tanks about rolling across the Danubian plain- or at the very least Europe's "Finlandization': a peaceful takeover by economic means. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the EU breathed a sigh of relief and signed up for Russian gas. Now it has to choose between being warm and becoming part of real war Fascism.
The conflict is still between the left and the right, even if the labels are not exactly the same. Ukrainian demonstrators who pulled down statues of Lenin may have been fighting yesterday's battle, but I suspect they also reject the socialist ethos that informs many of Putin's orientations - including the reluctance to use force in Crimea and his request for a special session of the Security Council to discuss the crisis in Ukraine.