After watching President Obama’s “Chicken Kiev 2” speech, I wonder how much he knows about my country and its contribution to U.S. security.
So I decided to put together a short quiz.
1. How many warheads and delivery vehicles did Ukraine give up when disarmed by Washington in the mid ‘90s?
A. Ukraine? Oh, you mean the Ukraine?
B. The Ukraine, uh, sorry, Ukraine, had nukes? Are you serious?
C. Come on! Ukraine had simply inherited those nukes from the Soviet Union!
D. Ukraine sacrificed the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal (176+24 MIRVed ICBMs+600 ALCMs+≈3,000 tactical nukes≈5,000 warheads), much of it produced by Ukraine’s industry, labor and environment.
2. What did Ukraine get in return?
A. Ukraine is as prosperous and secure as its neighbors Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (NATO and EU members).
B. The Kuchma family made an overnight billion-dollar fortune and donated $5M to the Clinton Foundation.
C. Ukraine is one of the poorest countries in Europe, with a GDP per capita of $6K (PPP).
D. “Sweet harvest”+“change we can believe in.”
Note: More than one may be correct.
3. What did Ukraine get in exchange for walking out on a $50M deal for the supply of nuclear power plant turbines to the Iranian reactor in Bushehr in 1998?
A. In Bush what?
B. Don’t push it!
C. How can you be so ungrateful after all the aid we’ve provided you with? We hired our best consultants and paid them our best rates!
D. Nothing. Losers like you deserve nothing.
4. How much aid did Ukraine receive from the U.S. to process 5,000 tons of highly toxic rocket fuel from its scrapped nuclear arsenal?
A. Some personnel training+$30M+some “open burning” and “detonation” advice from Thiokol Corporation.
B. Once you scrapped those missiles and stopped being a threat to us, it’s your problem.
C. Don’t ever mention it again!
D. OK, we’ll probably give you some more money, but only if you beg.
Note: More than one may be correct.
5. How many troops did Ukraine contribute to the coalition forces in Iraq and how many of them died?
A. Let’s change the subject.
B. 1,650 at peak (deployed 08/03, withdrawn 12/08), 28 dead.
C. Russia contributed more.
D. The war in Iraq was the wrong thing to do in the first place, so STFU!
6. How many U.S. Air Force aircraft used Ukrainian airspace during 10/9/01-03/24/03 alone?
A. 4,358
B. 0
C. Russia will allow us to fly 4,000 sorties per year over its airspace (savings of $133M) and will have the right to inspect them.
D. You’re a neocon puppet!
Note: More than one may be correct.
7. Mr. President, can you reciprocate Ukraine by treating our security on its own merits, not on the merits of your relations with Russia?
A. Yes, I can.
B. No, I can’t.
C. I don’t know.
D. Putin knows best.
Thank you!















