Gregory Clark's March 11 article, "Contradictions over Crimea," and Kevin Rafferty's March 12 article, "Ukraine batters a broken world," are like two sides of the Crimea coin and very helpful to the reader for showing a three-dimensional picture of the crisis rather than the single dimension filtered through Western "free media" by instant experts. Both articles discern the hypocrisies of the powers.
Leaving aside the question of who is right and who is wrong, nations are driven by national interest. Like it or not, Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to talk in terms of realpolitik whereas Obama indulges in "virtualpolitik" (my word). Putin has drawn a real red line for doing what it takes; Obama has drawn a virtual red line that might shift.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.