Vladimir Putin: The Darth Vader of The 21st Century

The downing of Malaysian flight MH17 by a Russian missile system reveals President Putin's true colours.  While other world leaders showed restraint and asked for a full investigation, Mr. Putin immediately blamed Ukraine as "the government on whose territory this occurred".  What a hypocrite!  It was Vladimir Putin who planned, funded and armed the ethnic Russian separatists who now claim the territory as the "Donetsk Peoples' Republic".  Using twisted logic to somehow blame Ukraine for the tragedy reminds us of the Big Lie Technique used by tyrants throughout history and perfected by Adolf Hitler and Josef Goebbels before World War 2.

What does Vladimir Putin really want?  All evidence points to the creation of a Greater Russia, reminiscent of the defunct Soviet Union.  A Greater Russia that would be the dominant Eurasian power.  Look at the facts.  The real Putin revealed himself in 2008 with the invasion of Georgia, a sovereign state.  This year it was Ukraine when the people removed the Russian puppet government under Viktor Janukowych.   Most Ukrainians want closer trade ties with Europe but the tyrant would have none of that.  He annexed Crimea, the first land grab of a sovereign European state since World War 2.  Then Mr. Putin formulated his plan to carve up eastern Ukraine with the support of ethnic Russian sympathizers who lived in that region.  The commander of the separatist forces is a Russian military intelligence officer.  The leader of the separatist government is an ethnic Russian who once lived in Moscow.  The sophisticated Buk surface - to - air missile system that shot down flight MH17 could only be operated by highly skilled technicians, most likely trained by Russia.  And does anyone really believe that the separatists have not tried to destroy all the evidence before international investigators can assemble at the crash site?

The evidence may be clear but the timid response from Europe, dependent on Russian oil and with many business interests in that country;  followed by President Obama's attempt to "reset"  American - Russian relations suggest no action will follow.  Does President Obama really understand the man he is dealing with?  Has he not read any history?  Mr.  President, there are bad actors in the world, not everyone is "reasonable".  Mr. Putin has an agenda, you cannot beg him to back down.  What Mr.  Obama should have done is announce that the U.S.  will provide arms to Ukraine until Putin stops arming the separatists.  Then, he should have reinstated the American plan to set up a missile defence in eastern Europe  (Remember, there are many ethnic Russians living in Poland and the Baltic States and other former Communist Bloc countries.)  Only a show of force and strong leadership can make a tyrant back off.  Even Adolf Hitler might have been contained if the European governments had not resorted to a weak policy of appeasement in crisis after crisis until the blitzkreig of 1939 into Poland.  History has taught us a simple lesson - tyrants keep taking territory until they are stopped.  The reset button won't work.

Perhaps the last word should go to a strong leader who wasn't afraid to stand up to the "evil empire".  In 1983, when a Soviet jet shot down a Korean Air Lines plane, killing 269 passengers and crew, President Ronald Regan called it:  "an act of barbarism, born of a society which wantonly disregards individual rights and the value of human life and seeks constantly to expand and dominate others".  Now that's leadership.