Crimea’s annexation is a reality, and the U.S. has neither the desire nor the means to change this. It may be wise for all parties to return to the negotiating table, since taking a step toward increasing sanctions will only make matters worse for all parties involved.
The Americans leave and, in a macabre substitution of circumstances, appear to be in chaos and state of disorientation. We have been waiting for a multipolar world, with counterweights and various powers, but we only see a retreat in which we inherit a vacuum.
They want less government protection of people's health or the environment, or help for the poor, but they want more government when it comes to life-affecting decisions — abortion and marriage, for example — precisely the areas of life in which no one wants the government to intervene.