Stand up to the bullies

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, to give him his Sunday name, is as sly as a fox.

He knew exactly what he was doing when he massed Russian troops on the border with Ukraine.

He was testing: testing the will of NATO and testing the unity of those countries that make up the alliance.

And now he knows that what should have provided an opportunity for NATO to show a united front in the face of his perceived aggression, has instead shown the alliance to be divided in how to deal with his threats of invasion.

It was a missed opportunity, for despite all the talk of a negotiated, diplomatic solution, the Russian leader, like so many other bullies, knows nothing but tough talk and the will to back it up with military might.

Appeasement, as Neville Chamberlain found out when trying to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, doesn’t work.

Just as Hitler occupied the Sudetenland in 1938, and was allowed to get away with it, so Putin has pocketed Crimea.

The USA has reacted to Russia’s latest threat in a way you might have expected, and good on them for it; they have shown a resolve, in this instance, to try to maintain the status quo in Europe that has prevented widespread conflict on that continent since the Second World War.

However, if the other NATO countries (okay Britain talked tough on sanctions and the like) are serious about their role in the alliance, they need to stand up to Putin and let him know they are willing to agree upon a military option.

The more he gets away with, the more Putin will want; just remember what happened to Poland and the rest of Europe and beyond when Hitler was allowed to get his own way!