Obama draws another line in the sand

Again, Obama makes makes a threat with no one believing it carries any weight.  This, just a few days after Obama asked aides "about various options that may or may not exist" regarding the three year old crisis in Syria, where Obama warned the Syrian government not  to  cross his red line.  The Syrian government crossed the red line with no real consequences.


Obama on Ukraine: ‘There will be consequences if people step over the line’

By David Nakamura and Aaron Blake  Washington Post  02/19/14

President Obama said Wednesday that the Ukrainian government would face "consequences" if it crosses the line in cracking down on protesters in Kiev.

Obama said the government is "primarily responsible" for ensuring the protests remain peaceful, but also warned that protesters need to demonstrate without resorting to violence.

"I want to be very clear, as we work through these next several days in Ukraine, that we’re going to be watching closely, and we expect the Ukrainian government to show restraint, to not resort to violence in dealing with peaceful protesters," Obama said. "We've also said we expect peaceful protesters to remain peaceful, and we'll be monitoring very closely the situation, recognizing that with our European partners and the international community there will be consequences if people step over the line."

Obama added of the consequences: "And that includes making sure the Ukrainian military does not step into what should be a set of issues that can be resolved by civilians."

It's not the first time Obama has referenced a "line" when it comes to civil unrest in a foreign country. Obama infamously set the so-called "red line" in Syria, but once the Syrian government crossed that line, Obama found little support in Congress for military action.