Peter Storey asserts that if the West is to succeed in the Ukraine crisis then it must comprehend the system the Kremlin uses to maintain power in Russia and how this relates to the conflict.

Colonel (Ret.) Philip Lisagor argues that the provocative terrorist violence used by ISIS in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere should not distract us from other political violence nor be the deciding factor on if, when, and where the U.S. decides to act.

Brandee Leon on why a small breakaway republic in Moldova could be a factor for Russia in the Ukraine conflict as well.

Ike Cagan, active in the struggle for democracy in the former-Czechoslovakia, explains why Vladimir Putin is not a mystery or suffering from mental illness. Rather it is the West who has thus far failed or refused to see him clearly.

Lionel Beehner asks why we take the military solution off the table when it comes to countries like Russia, but turn to it first when it comes to groups such as ISIS.

Chris Miller argues that suggestions of turning Ukraine into a 'buffer state' as part of an effort to appease Russia will embolden Vladimir Putin to employ the same tactic again in future. America and the West should not suggest a new 'Ukraine Wall' be built in Europe.

Chris Miller argues Vladimir Putin is following Khrushchev's "surface tension" strategy in Ukraine, bringing Washington and Moscow "eyeball to eyeball" again. But so far, the West is doing the blinking.

As Russia rolls out aid convoys and the same R2P rhetoric it did before its 2008 invasion of Georgia, Lionel Beehner warns that the West must be clear in its support for Kiev.