Read the whole thing.

Recognizing the valid concerns of your adversary in an effort to resolve disputes is, of course, a standard negotiating tactic, whether in marital counseling, business, or diplomacy. But recognizing invalid, made-up concerns is likely to be counterproductive. Administration critics have argued from the beginning that Putin’s alleged eagerness to protect ethnic Russians was merely a pretext for his aggression. They were right. And if most Russian-speaking Ukrainians don’t take Putin’s claims seriously, why should the United States or its European partners? 

Among the most interesting findings of the IRI poll is the response to a question echoing the one posed in the referendum held in Crimea on March 16. That vote, eagerly sought and arranged by the Kremlin, was supposedly decisive, with 96.8 percent of Crimeans voting to separate themselves from Ukraine and join Russia. But the IRI poll found that a majority of Ukrainians in each of the four regions believed Crimea should remain part of Ukraine, with 57 percent in the south and 52 percent in the east supporting the status quo ante. Just 23 percent of Ukrainians surveyed thought the referendum was a legitimate expression of the views of Crimeans. 

As Green said, “These results are in stark contrast to the alleged 97 percent of the voters in Crimea who ‘voted’ to join Russia.”

Confucius, Œc. Vol.

Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu.