Are sanctions like taking Russia out of the G8, or removing them from the UN Security council, appropriate?
Mao said war is politics with blood. Politics is war without blood. This is true for the Russians. They think like Asians. If you take them out of the UN or take them off the Security council or in any way limit their ability to negotiate, you only leave the Russians the option of war. Which of late, they seem eager to pursue. On the any kind of economic sanction that can make “father” Putin look bad to the Russian people is a good thing. To the Russian people he is their hero. He has brought jobs and economic prosperity were there was none before. So denying G8 membership, further international loans, boycotting Russian energy and Russian products OR placing very high tariffs on them, though not having an IMMEDITATE effect will in a few months make Putin unpopular at home. But the US can NOT do this alone.
