By 
American taxpayers demanding the U.S. stay out of the current Ukraine-Russia mess in Europe may be in for a shock. The U.S. already is hip-deep in the Ukrainian political quick sand and may be involved even deeper as the May 25 Presidential election approaches.President Barack Obama has confirmed the U.S. is providing an $11.4 million "aid package" to help the Ukrainians keep the voting kosher. That sum is unprecedented in U.S. foreign aid annals, especially funds earmarked for pre-election purposes.
An estimated 20 million registered voters out of a population of 45 million are expected to cast their ballots at 33,000 polling stations on May 25. The vote count is expected to take a month to complete. There are 23 candidates, a joke among international election pundits.
On top of the $11.4 million, the U.S. Congress also is providing a $1 billion loan guarantee to the Ukraine for economic assistance, although the amount for direct military assistance has so far not been spelled out.
Compare that number with the $273 million the U.S. provided to the Ukraine in fiscal 2012 for total economic and military assistance.
But wait. There is more. The Congress is supporting Ukraine's application to the International Monetary Fund for a further loan program estimated at close to $18 billion. Last week, the IMF approved the loan.
The American dollars involved in this global political fiasco pales when compared with what the results of the May 25 election will immediately mean to Ukrainian citizens. The results will be a huge negative.
For example, on Sunday, May 12, the Separatists staged what might be characterized for want of a better name, as a typical Bud Abbott--Lou Costello comedy routine. Nobody knew who was on first, second or third base in a bizarre political scenario.
The Separatists had staged a so-called referendum, asking voters their views on three issues: breaking away from the Ukraine altogether, setting up their own regional government or agreeing to be annexed outright by Russia.
When the referendum vote closed, the Separatists, of course, claimed at least 90 percent of the voters in eastern and southern Ukraine opted for becoming independent regions, especially in highly-populated Donetsk and Luhansk. After declaring their independence, the citizens would ask Russia to absorb these two regions. At least, that's how the Separatists' playbook goes.
The comedic aspects of the referendum included no official vote count, no monitoring of voting stations, no comments on alleged votes cast by legally deceased voters and a lukewarm view of the entire exercise by Russia's Vladimir V. Putin.
Stay tuned as Mr. Putin clears the chess board to start a brand new game.
