Inviting Russian Intervention

The Ukraine is clearly in Russia's sphere of influence. Russia's leader may be a dictator, but Vladimir Putin has something Western leaders lack, that being a backbone. Putin did not threaten to punish the Assad regime in Syria for using chemical weapons, as the United States did, then have his foreign minister say a strike against those committing crimes against humanity would be "incredibly small". Barack Hussein Obama's Secretary of State John Kerry did, going on to say, "unbelievably small, limited kind of effort", and then damaging US credibility further by not taking action at all after promising American retaliation against Syria if Assad crossed the "red line" and used chemical weapons. If the West, NATO nations, and the US could not restrain a dictator in Damascus, then how can they expect to hold Putin back in the Ukraine? If Putin sees it in Russia's interest to take all or part of the Ukraine, he will. The West is weak now, and lacks the will to assert itself even against minor regional powers. Putin demonstrated strength in dealing with Muslim terrorists and protected the Sochi Olympics. Once before in history, a determined leader hosted a relatively successful Olympics on a path of attempting world domination, and those who have any knowledge of history, know how that worked out. The more the West threatens Russia over events in Kiev, the more certain I am that Putin will see it as waving a red flag in front of a bull, and react against what is becoming clear provocation by those in the Ukraine who seek a Western alliance, and those nations in the West that actually fancy themselves as powers who can impose their collective will on Russia. If the US and the old NATO alliance could not hold Assad back in Syria, how will they prevent Putin from acting in Russia's national interest in an area that was an integral part of the former Soviet Union?