Alexa Thein source 3

This week I wanted to see what the citizens of Ukraine thought about the current situation. This is important to my issue because their thoughts and opinions are valued since they are in the middle of the  issue and experiencing it first hand. My question this week is what the citizens of Crimea think and if they really want U.S. involvement. 

Washington Post. "Explaining the Crimea Disagreement." Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d.      Web. 02 Mar. 2015.   

This article talks about some background information about Crimea and then delves into whether or not they want to be apart of Russia or apart of Ukraine. There is diversity in the area that makes it challenging to answer these questions though, as different groups want different things. I learned that there was actually a vote that Crimea had and said that they did want to be apart of Russia, but that the results may not be an accurate representation of the area. Some groups in Crimea, like the Tartars, who fear becoming part of Russia because they have a bad past with Russia. The Tartars are a Muslim group who were forced to leave Crimea in the 1940s because of Russian rule. Becoming part of Russia would be very bad for this group. I also learned that the United States has gotten slightly involved already, just not in the terms of fighting. Obama has said that Crimea's vote to be apart of Russia was illegal and that what Putin is doing is an "illegitimate move". This article takes the side that America might not always make the right calls, and that maybe we should let this more or less play out. Overall, the article was interesting and gave some good information.

I wonder what people outside of Crimea in Ukraine think about this, and also what people in Russia think about this. I also feel like Crimea has expressed interest and a majority vote to be apart of Russia so who are we to stand in their way and tell them they can't be? Is it really fair of the United States to play this "god-like" role and decide who gets to be in which country? This article does make a good point about how some minority groups, like the Tartars, will not benefit from something like this, but if it is what the majority of the area wants shouldn't we, as a democratic nation built on majority rule, support that? 

This article would probably agree most with the second author because they thought America shouldn't get involved. There is no sure way to know if America involvement will actually help or if it could hinder any kind of ties we have with Russia, or if it could spark an even bigger conflict. This author would not agree with the author of the first article though since they were more into involvement. I agree with this approach most right now, that we should just let Crimea do Crimea and that we as a nation don't need to get involved in every little conflict. 

Next week I plan on looking into Putins motives for taking over Crimea. It will be good to see his perspective and to find an article that has something to say about the conflict from his point of view.