Referring to the official announcement that Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych had won the Ukrainian presidential elections, Secretary of State Colin Powell declared that the U.S. "cannot accept this result as legitimate, because it does not meet international standards and because there has not been an investigation of the numerous and credible reports of fraud and abuse." I wonder how Americans would have reacted had foreign statesmen declared in 1960 that they could not accept the election of John F. Kennedy as president "because it does not meet international standards and because there has not been an investigation of the numerous and credible reports of fraud and abuse" in Cook County, Illinois, and Texas. The U.S. government should butt out of the controversy over the Ukrainian elections and leave the commentary to private individuals in the U.S. And the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and other European politicians should likewise leave the commentary to private individuals in Europe.

Powell also threatened that "If the Ukrainian government does not act immediately and responsibly, there will be consequences for our relationship, for Ukraine's hopes for a Euro-Atlantic integration and for individuals responsible for perpetrating fraud." Which being translated means that economic sanctions will be imposed on private individuals in the U.S. who wish to do business with Ukrainians.

Arnold Shcherban - 11/28/2004

You are right Chris.
Illegitimizing govermnents/regimes the US and other Western powers don't not want to succeed (on different reasons) happened before, happen as we speak and will happen in future, as the direct consequence of the explicit and implicit imperialistic policies of those powers.
I don't think you really believe "the US imperial regime"
would have changed to any significant measure under Democrat presidency, do you?
Clinton, e.g. was just infinitesimally lesser war criminal than Bush the Lesser, just recall bombing of civilian targets in Belgrad and other Serbian cities and farmaceutic factory in Sudan.

chris l pettit - 11/25/2004

I like the point that Justin Rainando makes on Antiwar.com yesterday that the reason the opposition is up in arms is because the final voting results dont match the exit polls that were gathered by pro-US Western media. How funny is that? Cynical, yes...but this whole electiuon stinks of outside interference from both the Russians and the Americans. Kind of a throwback Cold War battle over resources and that oil pipeline. What a joke that imperialistic powers can still rule little puppet oligarchies all over the map...not good for Ukrainians just looking to live in peace. I guess sincE US exit polls had Kerry ahead, all those silly ABB people can now get out on the streets, strike, and force the US government into turmoil? If only we were so lucky (not that I like Kerry at all, but the downfall of the US imperial regime is definitely a good thing for peace and human rights globally).

CP
www.wicper.org