It seems like Jones is the only person with a sense of history here.
This has absolutely nothing to do with US defense cuts, which are long overdue, IMO, but Putin's desire to restore the Soviet Union to what he sees as its former glory. It may also have a little to do with his apparent insanity, as well.
Even wkmac, who I thought was actually somewhat educated, thought that the Ukraine was succeeding from Russia (see Budapest Memorandum thread).
This is a replay of 1850, and Putin is overplaying his hand. Look at what happened to the Russian markets today.
A steady hand, and sensible movements are much more preferred than facing down a crazy man with a huge nuclear arsenal that is very desperate.
One wrinkle is that the neocons are still in charge of State and Defense.
If anyone really cares, there are some very good articles explaining a lot of the nuances, just don't look for them on CNN, Fox or NBC, or wkmac's favorite, RT.
Thank goodness McCain or Romney aren't President. We'd be in a heap of crap right now if they were.
Putin is willing to pay for his move, just like China was back at Tiananmen. This is more about Russia than the Ukraine, and even more about Putin's power in Russia. He would love for the West to be the aggressor right now.