In the USA, instead of "boots on the ground," we have 'humanitarian advisors' on the battlefield - because it's so important to manage the iPad -fiddling public's perception of how hawkish politicians are. However, for the various nations opining upon the ongoing events in Ukraine, finding just the right word is simply stunning... as descriptions of the conflict soften as one more from East to West.
You say "Invasion", I say "Incursion": pic.twitter.com/HRI0fxin6R [10]
— Michael McDonough (@M_McDonough) August 28, 2014 [11]
As Bloomberg notes,
The Description of the Ukraine Conflict Softens From East to West
For Ukraine, it's a "full scale invasion."
For Latvia and Lithuania govts, Russia has invaded Ukraine and the 2 countries are now at "war"; head further west, and they’re less sure what to call it.
U.S and NATO officials prefer to speak of an "incursion."
French and German leaders have warned President Vladimir Putin of further sanctions without defining what Russian forces have done.
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“In the past 48 hours, we have tipped into a formal invasion,” Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer says in Bloomberg TV interview.
“Russia and Ukraine as sovereign countries are now at war and it’s going to be very difficult for the United States and Europe to deny that reality.”
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Alternatives are running out...
Bremmer notes that calling it war or an invasion would force U.S., EU to consider steps they’d never be willing to take, such as committing military forces
“The EU appears to have exhausted its politically feasible options in the previous round” of sanctions, says Ievgen Vorobiov, an analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs in Warsaw
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But remember, none of this invasion, incursion, visit has been proven...
