Editor:

Diplomacy, not the military, will be the solution in Ukraine. Russia's GDP is heavily dependent on energy exports, including shipments to Europe via Ukraine. Europe can't do economic sanctions against Russia given their need for gas. Russia's GDP is slightly bigger than California's. The Russian population is in steep decline with obvious consequences for their military might. Putin lived in Germany and speaks the language, so let German Chancellor Angela Merkel lead on resolving the Ukrainian crisis. She can use the fact that no German military will ever be used in the region to build peace. We would be better served by finding a clean way to frack so we can export gas to Europe. Saber rattling and (think Iraq, Afghanistan) bluster about how wrong it is to invade a country and make demands at the point of a gun plays into Putin's need for an external enemy to maintain power.

What role for the U.S. military? Really none; let them rest.

Greg Brock
Statesboro