The same people who blinked on The Crimea, during the Obama-Biden era of international retreat, may now be blinking on the whole of Ukraine. By nature, they are defeatist politicians who see no value in protecting democracies few thousands away from home no matter how imperative their actions might be to our national security. That mindset produces reactionary strategies played in a vacuum of self-indulgence. And who knows this better than Vladimir Putin who, watching his enemies negotiate with themselves, can’t wait to visit the same well again to draw from its water.
The Ukraine fiasco we are about to witness will be of grand proportions. Behind it lurks the engineering of a new Russian empire America has no will to stop. When Joe Biden first announced his foreign policy imperatives, he ignored Russia almost exclusively to concentrate on China. This strategic mistake is coming back to haunt his administration today even though he lived through The Crimea invasion as the Vice-President of the United States.
In the meantime, NATO is wholly reticent to confront the threats of a NATOized Ukraine, and the truth of the matter is that there is no political will behind every threat America issues against those who wish us mischief. We have been masochistically radicalized to the point where self harm makes sense to us. This explains fully the public abandonment of the Ukraine during Biden’s press conference of January 19.
As for Europe, two big wars have not only neutered its colonialist ambitions, but it has rendered the continent totally impotent. Hide and seek describes best European diplomacy.
Hide and seek describes best European diplomacy.
DEVASTATING EUROPEAN WAR IS PROBABLY COMING
War against Russia is certainly not the answer. Not by the US, nor its NATO allies. But arming the Ukrainians to defend themselves against Russian aggression is our duty.
Recently, a story circulated that the U.S., as a result of Russian troops massing on the Donbass borders, the United States increased its aid to Ukraine by $200 millions. When you want to know how serious is a country about a certain matter, watch for the level of its financial commitment. $200 millions is an open invitation for Putin to invade.
This amount buys you one fighter jet with its support infrastructure. It’s an insult to Ukrainians.
During the Russian invasion in 2014, President Obama, when the Ukrainians frantically asked for military aid to defend themselves, sent them MRE’s, or Meals Ready to Eat. How we respond is the message we send.
The same people who blinked on The Crimea are repeating their mistakes today.
Some people never learn the lessons of history, let alone their own history.
CONGRESS REACTS
Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced Defending the Ukraine Sovereignty Act of 2022, which attempts to mitigate the risks of an invasion by making it quite expensive for Putin. Surface-wise, the Bill, if it passes both Houses and the President signs it into law, would accomplish the following:
One would think Putin has already considered tough US reactions in his calculus. One would think that invading the Ukraine may provide the Russians with more possibilities to blackmail Europe to block such laws from ever impacting his reach.
In short, Biden is reacting to the Ukraine, and Putin sees it as an opportunity to expand the old Soviet realm.
Some people never learn the lessons of history, let alone their own history.