Looking at Politico application on my cell phone March 5, 2014, I was confused by reading that the United States did not expect that Putin would make a move into the Crimea.  Some reports state that the United States intelligence agencies did not pick up on this.  I am a bit confused because this should have been a real possibility if anyone took the time to look at a map and read some recent past history about the Crimea.  Putin is a pragmatic, self serving, ambitious oligarch.  The possibility that the Ukraine might attain freedom could spark a parallel outcome as the Arab spring and unravel Putins ambitions for a new Soviet Union where Putin plans to put all the former Soviet empire pieces back together.  Just imagine if the Ukrainian people were to be free of the oligarchs, have close ties to Europe and cut their Russian puppet strings.  Those factors would be unthinkable for a dictator like Putin.  The next factor is the Black Sea Naval base is at the southern end of the Ukraine.  Military logistic requirements may necessitate that a reliable causeway for men and materials be secured for the supply of that military base.  In short, Ukraine is a problem for Putin if he fails to fully control its politics and its people.  Any oligarch wants to maintain his fortune and power. Both go hand in hand.  Putin could not allow the resident oligarch, Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych , to fall because oligarchs typically have the same goals, to pillage the country for its wealth for as long as possible.  Both men worked well together because they shared the same values of suppressing freedoms, controlling media, controlling the sham government process and dictating the direction and policies of the nation and eliminate any opposition.  Another factor that few have picked up on is that Putin is a bully, a liar and seeks self aggrandizement and will do anything to attain the goals for making himself a Czar for an expanded Soviet Union. Invading the Crimea is so fitting for Putin as it seems to solve his immediate concerns which are quit logical and predictable.  It is up the rest of the world to teach this dictator that his apparent clever invasion will make for a worse situation for him and his country if he comes out looking foolish by his people.  We can only hope that the Russian people will make a move against Putin if this plays out well for the Ukraine people.