It's a whole new year. Let's see if we can get this one right -- push back against the bullies, encourage debate on the issues instead of emotions and keep looking for facts no matter where they lead instead of picking the most comfy opinions to lie on.
And for pity's sake, let's get together with the other civilized nations and figure out how to stuff a cork in Putin's ambitions. Waging wars of aggression was supposedly what the UN was set up to stop. If it's not doing that job -- and it certainly hasn't so far with this one -- the countries that care about peace need figure out something better.*
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* Vlad, no stranger to history, seems to have taken a different lesson from WW II than most people. The Allies won based on two things: the immense natural, industrial and scientific resources of the U.S., Canada and the UK plus the USSR's willingness to throw soldiers at the German army. (The Soviets lost between 8.6 and 11.5 million military personnel, while the U.S., Canada and the UK together barely broke 800,000.) His actions imply that he believes the West will run out of willingness to provide materiel support to Ukraine, from food to infrastructure to weapons, before Russia runs out of fighters. Is he right? I hope not; but even more, I'm hoping somebody on the anti-Russia side is taking an orthogonal approach -- and that enough people within Russia decide it's time to reshuffle their government before it gets even worse.
BUILDING A 1:1 BALUN
4 years ago
6 comments:
Putin learned that if the leadership is brutal and aggressive as they can be, they get to keep everything they grab. The Bolsheviks killed more than 100,000 Poles in the thirties and something like 6 million Kulaks and no body said a thing. The Russians killed all those Polish prisoners and tried to blame it on the Germans, and no one sqwaked. I'd bet that Stalin's thugs killed most of the Jews in the East and that time the blame on the Germans stuck.
I'd bet that ex-KGB Major Putin was stunned when the Ukrainian farm boys put up a fight and the US/NATO helped supply them. That was not supposed to happen. Since the Ukrainians and friends have limited attacks on Russia, Putin is even having trouble getting people to die for him. China has been a great do nothing friend. I'd guess that Russia is reserving a lot of their military strength because of old Chinese claims on Siberia. Putin is already claiming that he is fighting NATO so they are no real threat.
Putin forced the game. He went into the Ukraine to get control of the gas, oil, and coal reserves. NATO missiles, ethnic Russians, etc were just theater to justify a traditional resource war. Romania was next, that is why there are US troops guarding the oil fields around
Happy New Year to you and all denizens of Rosehome Cottage.
73
Putin rolled the dice at Dier ez Zor, Syria and discovered that Uncle Sugar was watching. President Trump unleashed 150 kinds of H-ll that snuck through the valleys and canyons in the south to join the party with a swarm of HIMARS missile trucks rushed in from Iraq. The egagement led to the obliteration of the entire Russian (Group Wagner) column as well as uncounted mass of Shiite infantry. Now, several years later, we see Putin sending an invasion force into the Ukraine. As long as Putin has access to military force, he will follow the old fantasy of an unstoppable Russian/Soviet empire. As long as Putin, or his replacement, has access to military power, Russia will be a threat to its neighbors. It is the Russian disease. Russia could have lived off the sale of grain and natural products while the Russian economy and state were rebuilt. Putin (and Russia) don't rebuild as long as there is an army to steal from others.
That just makes it clear that Russia will be a threat to its neighbors. That threat is made clear by the invasion. Until the Russian army is destroyed along with the ability to raise a new army. It is noticeable that there have been few strikes against Russian targets that might triggera unifying patriotic ferver. TheUkraine wants their territory back and NATO doesn't want this to happen again. The engagement in Syria proved thar RussiNs are slow learners. The War in the Ukraine is designed to make Russia understand that i military aggression is not acceptable behavior in "Europe". It will be a bitter lesson.
I have every bit of confidence that Russia will continue their historic pattern of picking the course of action that does the most damage to Russia.
I think you hit the nail right on the head w/r/t Russia.
I also encourage you to watch this entertaining documentary on Russian History, which agrees with your central thesis (they talk about Vlad in the latter third of the video).
It's free and I think you'll really enjoy it!
Link:https://youtu.be/F0m6uKwobGQ
Roger, I was a little reluctant to give oxygen to something describing itself as "Right wing indoctrination" even in self-conscious humor. The Trumpian Right has brought a very bad odor to that segment of American politics that it will be a long time dissipating. But what I saw of it, while a bit thin and shallow, is a pretty good description of the historical and ongoing problems of Russian politics.
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