Maybe the first step to prevent escalation is to not undermine and overthrow legally elected leaders in foreign countries. This continued practice by the U.S. hasn’t seemed to bring about anything but death, suffering and long-term loss of credibility for America. Chile, Nicaragua, Iran, Viet Nam, Iraq come to mind as prime examples.
Are you really that woefully ignorant of history? Are you unaware of the history of CIA involvement in the overthrow of multiple foreign leaders? Have you never even heard of the United Fruit Company?
That has nothing to do with Ukraine. One may well ask why you’re so willing to find excuses for V. Putin’s AC of aggression and all the war crimes that have accompanied it.
Astounding ignorance on display by someone that claims to have an MA in history. Then again, given the state of higher education today, not surprising. The Victoria Nuland’s and Dick Cheney’s of the world need shills like you. Keep up the good work.
You can call your interlocutor ignorant ten more times. This will not add credibility to your words, and ignorance to your interlocutor.
What happened in Ukraine in 2014 was the result of the Ukrainian people's dissatisfaction with the puppet government that Putin's regime installed in Kyiv and Russia's desire to subjugate Ukraine.
All the actions of any American figures did not influence the events in any way, but only served Russian propaganda as accusations of interference.
Has it ever occurred to you that the version of American interference in the events in Ukraine is used only by Russian propaganda. Ukraine has never complained about this.
You can't produce a speck of evidence that the US had anything to do with the Revolution of Dignity. Not a speck, an iota, an atom of evidence. Tell me, though, why are you so eager to see V. Putin win his war of aggression against Ukraine?
Escalation against a major nuclear power that feels backed into a corner is a very different proposition than escalation against an irregular group that is outmatched in weapons, training and intelligence resources.
Russia felt that Ukrainian entry into NATO was a dangerous threat and reacted quite differently from what the United States would have done if, for example, Mexico entered into a military alliance with China.
Israel could have obliterated the Gaza Strip on Oct 8 with minimal military consequences (where obliterate means 200 F16 with 12 Mk82 500lb bombs each, followed 30 minutes later with artillery strikes on each target).
(1) V. Putin is a bad man, but he’s not a fool. He realizes that if he resorts to nuclear terrorism in Ukraine, it will spell the end of him and his regime. But he also knows that America is currently governed by a cabal of poltroons. Hence the nuclear saber rattling. I’ve delt with this issue some time ago:
(2) NATO poses no threat to Russian national security and Putin knows it. What bothers him is that NATO stands athwart his drive to reestablish the defunct Soviet imperium. As regards Ukraine specifically, Putin has made no secret of his view that Ukraine is a fake country, not entitled to an independent national existence because it rightfully should be part of Russia. His invasion of Ukraine was launched with the objective of making that view a reality. It all follows in the tradition of Stalin and the Bolsheviks, who had similar ideas about Ukraine—and acted on them in the most brutal manner. I’ve written about that historical background:
"NATO poses no threat to Russian national security and Putin knows it"
I wouldn't presume to know with certitude what Putin does/doesn't know; it's impossible to delve into someone else's mind.
Ukraine never existed as a country before 1991: split between Cossacks and Poland, the current territory was annexed, in stages by Russia until Catherine the Great finished the job in 1780. Crimea was a gift to Ukraine from Nikita Kruschev in the 1950s.
One thing current Russian nationalists most detest about the Soviets was their creation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the 1920s (Stalin was Commissar of Nationalities), which let to the growth of Ukrainian nationalism and language.
The great Ukrainian writer Nikolai Gogol referred to Ukrainians as "Little Russians"; I believe Anton Chekov did too.
You have just recounted the content of Russian instructions for Internet propagandists. I am well acquainted with the works of Gogol and Chekhov, and they certainly knew about the existence of Ukraine, and Gogol repeatedly admired the Ukrainian nature and way of life. The problem is that everything at that time was imbued with Russian imperial ambitions, which have greatly increased in our time.
Putin knows that NATO does not pose a threat to Russia, and this is evident from his actions, which completely ignored these threats, preparing exclusively for aggressive colonial wars.
The term Ukraine itself appeared several hundred years earlier than the term Russia. Today's Russian imperialists are now again raising banners and portraits of Stalin, who destroyed millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s.
I am not saying this because Ukrainians are better or worse than Russians, but because you have an incorrect idea of these two peoples
Not everyone who disagrees with you on Ukraine is a Russian propagandist.
Ukraine as a country only existed briefly during the Russian Civil War under the murderous regime of Simon Petlyura, regardless of its presence in literature.
Neo-Nazi influence in modern Ukraine was extensively documented before 2022
I do not talk to Russian propagandists, and those who disagree with me about Ukraine are simply susceptible to the influence of Russian propaganda.
It was not for nothing that I wrote that I have been interested in events in Ukraine since the very beginning of the conflict (2014). This means that I was not only there, talked to the Ukrainians and Russians, watched thousands of reports on Russian and Ukrainian television, but I also know well how Russian propaganda works, all the tricks and ploys, narratives and their influence on the Western press and media, as well as the influence on Western society.
The narrative about Ukrainian "neo-Nazism" was built since the early 2000s and over a quarter of a century has become generally accepted for many.
Yes, there is nationalism and anti-Semitism in Ukraine, but this is a marginal movement that exists in every country in Europe, and in Russia it is widespread on a much larger scale. For example, I can say that in Israel there are many people from Ukraine, and many of them are familiar with the everyday anti-Semitism that was widespread in Soviet Ukraine, despite this, the overwhelming majority of Israelis - immigrants from Ukraine are now for Ukraine, because they know not from newspaper articles how much Ukraine has changed in 30 years.
But they know even more what Russia is, which is trying to create a semblance of the Soviet Union, and its aggressive policy. Russia is an ally of Iran, North Korea, China, Syria and any dictatorship and autocracy.
I do not know who wrote the articles you cited, but I would fire them for incompetence. In both cases, individual cases are taken and presented as a mass and routine phenomenon.
So Ukraine has far-right extremists. So do many other countries, e.g. Russia—whose government is far more neo-fascist than the government of Ukraine. Harping on this string only serves V. Putin’s purposes, giving credence to his lie that the invasion of Ukraine is a fight against Nazis. The USSR ran that same scam during the Cold War, charging West Germany was a hotbed of Nazi revivalism. That was b.s. and so is Putin’s propaganda.
And, of course, the list of Nazis in postwar Germany is endless, many pardoned by our very own J.J. McCloy: Erich von Manstein, Frederick Krupp, Karl Krautsche...
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but nobody is entitled to their own facts"
You know what? Screw Russian nationalists. Ukraine today is a sovereign country. Its government and people are fighting heroically to stave off an invasion by a hostile foreign power. Russia could have chosen to establish good relations with independent Ukraine but instead, under V. Putin, it chose to launch a war of conquest.
You know what? Screw you and all supporters of the MIC. Americans in increasing numbers are fed up with the neocon bullshit that has put us thirty-five trillion in debt, divided us internally and made the puppets in DC filthy rich. Fuck you all.
I have been following the events in Ukraine and Russian aggression since day one, have many sources on both sides, and also observe Israel's war against all its enemies. Therefore, I can say that your view and analysis very accurately reflects everything that is happening. You have not made a single mistake or inaccuracy, which usually happens with professional journalists.
P.S. How can one be afraid of further escalation if it has already begun and there are no signs that it will stop if the victim of anression is contained? I still cannot believe that they are so mistaken.
And if they do, it means that they do not want the war to be won.
All their actions indicate that they are not trying to end the conflict, but to freeze it on one side, the one they can restrain, but the other side, which they cannot influence, is not limited in any way in its actions.
" culture of mediocrity is so prevalent that Americans no longer ask for competence"
Well said!
For details, look no further than the USAF disastrous search for an air-refueling tanker (Boeing KC-46) to replace the fleet of 1960s tankers. 20 years ago Airbus/Lockheed won the competition with their MRTT tanker, Boeing lobbyists contested the award and got a it rescinded, leading to a Boeing win. 20 years later the KC-46 is still not fully operational while the MRTT is in use in many countries, including UK, France and Singapore.
Where is the outrage at this shameful taking of taxpayer funds at the cost of impairing a major USAF capability?
Maybe the first step to prevent escalation is to not undermine and overthrow legally elected leaders in foreign countries. This continued practice by the U.S. hasn’t seemed to bring about anything but death, suffering and long-term loss of credibility for America. Chile, Nicaragua, Iran, Viet Nam, Iraq come to mind as prime examples.
That’s not what happened, and you know it.
Are you really that woefully ignorant of history? Are you unaware of the history of CIA involvement in the overthrow of multiple foreign leaders? Have you never even heard of the United Fruit Company?
Time to say goodnight there Tommy boy. Life’s too short to waste anymore time or energy on brainwashed chickenhawks.
That has nothing to do with Ukraine. One may well ask why you’re so willing to find excuses for V. Putin’s AC of aggression and all the war crimes that have accompanied it.
Astounding ignorance on display by someone that claims to have an MA in history. Then again, given the state of higher education today, not surprising. The Victoria Nuland’s and Dick Cheney’s of the world need shills like you. Keep up the good work.
You can call your interlocutor ignorant ten more times. This will not add credibility to your words, and ignorance to your interlocutor.
What happened in Ukraine in 2014 was the result of the Ukrainian people's dissatisfaction with the puppet government that Putin's regime installed in Kyiv and Russia's desire to subjugate Ukraine.
All the actions of any American figures did not influence the events in any way, but only served Russian propaganda as accusations of interference.
Has it ever occurred to you that the version of American interference in the events in Ukraine is used only by Russian propaganda. Ukraine has never complained about this.
A strange fact, right?
You can't produce a speck of evidence that the US had anything to do with the Revolution of Dignity. Not a speck, an iota, an atom of evidence. Tell me, though, why are you so eager to see V. Putin win his war of aggression against Ukraine?
I heard that Kamala Harris’s National Security Adviser is a bigger hawk on Russia than Biden’s NSA is.
Yeah, we hear a lot. But not from the Bratgirl herself…
One point that the administration seems to ignore is Kaliningrad.
We accept at face value Putin's "fear of encroachment" at the Russian border.
Yet we ignore the huge military force in the middle (not periphery) of NATO.
Good point.
Escalation against a major nuclear power that feels backed into a corner is a very different proposition than escalation against an irregular group that is outmatched in weapons, training and intelligence resources.
Russia felt that Ukrainian entry into NATO was a dangerous threat and reacted quite differently from what the United States would have done if, for example, Mexico entered into a military alliance with China.
Israel could have obliterated the Gaza Strip on Oct 8 with minimal military consequences (where obliterate means 200 F16 with 12 Mk82 500lb bombs each, followed 30 minutes later with artillery strikes on each target).
(1) V. Putin is a bad man, but he’s not a fool. He realizes that if he resorts to nuclear terrorism in Ukraine, it will spell the end of him and his regime. But he also knows that America is currently governed by a cabal of poltroons. Hence the nuclear saber rattling. I’ve delt with this issue some time ago:
https://unwokeindianaag.substack.com/p/vladimir-strangelove-putin?utm_source=publication-search
(2) NATO poses no threat to Russian national security and Putin knows it. What bothers him is that NATO stands athwart his drive to reestablish the defunct Soviet imperium. As regards Ukraine specifically, Putin has made no secret of his view that Ukraine is a fake country, not entitled to an independent national existence because it rightfully should be part of Russia. His invasion of Ukraine was launched with the objective of making that view a reality. It all follows in the tradition of Stalin and the Bolsheviks, who had similar ideas about Ukraine—and acted on them in the most brutal manner. I’ve written about that historical background:
https://unwokeindianaag.substack.com/p/stalin-and-putin-and-ukraine?utm_source=publication-search
"NATO poses no threat to Russian national security and Putin knows it"
I wouldn't presume to know with certitude what Putin does/doesn't know; it's impossible to delve into someone else's mind.
Ukraine never existed as a country before 1991: split between Cossacks and Poland, the current territory was annexed, in stages by Russia until Catherine the Great finished the job in 1780. Crimea was a gift to Ukraine from Nikita Kruschev in the 1950s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#Cossack_Hetmanate
One thing current Russian nationalists most detest about the Soviets was their creation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the 1920s (Stalin was Commissar of Nationalities), which let to the growth of Ukrainian nationalism and language.
The great Ukrainian writer Nikolai Gogol referred to Ukrainians as "Little Russians"; I believe Anton Chekov did too.
You have just recounted the content of Russian instructions for Internet propagandists. I am well acquainted with the works of Gogol and Chekhov, and they certainly knew about the existence of Ukraine, and Gogol repeatedly admired the Ukrainian nature and way of life. The problem is that everything at that time was imbued with Russian imperial ambitions, which have greatly increased in our time.
Putin knows that NATO does not pose a threat to Russia, and this is evident from his actions, which completely ignored these threats, preparing exclusively for aggressive colonial wars.
The term Ukraine itself appeared several hundred years earlier than the term Russia. Today's Russian imperialists are now again raising banners and portraits of Stalin, who destroyed millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s.
I am not saying this because Ukrainians are better or worse than Russians, but because you have an incorrect idea of these two peoples
Not everyone who disagrees with you on Ukraine is a Russian propagandist.
Ukraine as a country only existed briefly during the Russian Civil War under the murderous regime of Simon Petlyura, regardless of its presence in literature.
Neo-Nazi influence in modern Ukraine was extensively documented before 2022
https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-nexus-between-far-right-extremists-in-the-united-states-and-ukraine/
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/359609-the-reality-of-neo-nazis-in-the-ukraine-is-far-from-kremlin-propaganda/
I do not talk to Russian propagandists, and those who disagree with me about Ukraine are simply susceptible to the influence of Russian propaganda.
It was not for nothing that I wrote that I have been interested in events in Ukraine since the very beginning of the conflict (2014). This means that I was not only there, talked to the Ukrainians and Russians, watched thousands of reports on Russian and Ukrainian television, but I also know well how Russian propaganda works, all the tricks and ploys, narratives and their influence on the Western press and media, as well as the influence on Western society.
The narrative about Ukrainian "neo-Nazism" was built since the early 2000s and over a quarter of a century has become generally accepted for many.
Yes, there is nationalism and anti-Semitism in Ukraine, but this is a marginal movement that exists in every country in Europe, and in Russia it is widespread on a much larger scale. For example, I can say that in Israel there are many people from Ukraine, and many of them are familiar with the everyday anti-Semitism that was widespread in Soviet Ukraine, despite this, the overwhelming majority of Israelis - immigrants from Ukraine are now for Ukraine, because they know not from newspaper articles how much Ukraine has changed in 30 years.
But they know even more what Russia is, which is trying to create a semblance of the Soviet Union, and its aggressive policy. Russia is an ally of Iran, North Korea, China, Syria and any dictatorship and autocracy.
I do not know who wrote the articles you cited, but I would fire them for incompetence. In both cases, individual cases are taken and presented as a mass and routine phenomenon.
"those who disagree with me about Ukraine are simply susceptible to the influence of Russian propaganda"
It must be gratifying to have such a good opinion of oneself...
Among those who disagree with you are William Burns (current head of CIA) and Henry Kissinger:
https://www.russiamatters.org/analysis/william-burns-russia
https://unherd.com/newsroom/henry-kissinger-nato-membership-for-ukraine-is-appropriate/
So Ukraine has far-right extremists. So do many other countries, e.g. Russia—whose government is far more neo-fascist than the government of Ukraine. Harping on this string only serves V. Putin’s purposes, giving credence to his lie that the invasion of Ukraine is a fight against Nazis. The USSR ran that same scam during the Cold War, charging West Germany was a hotbed of Nazi revivalism. That was b.s. and so is Putin’s propaganda.
"Russia—whose government is far more neo-fascist than the government of Ukraine"
Nope, there are no streets named after Nazi collaborators in Russia, says Google maps.
Important Russian neo-Nazis like Alexei Levkin, leader of the Wotan Jugend, defected to Ukraine in 2014.
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/01/02/dispatches-from-asgardsrei-ukraines-annual-neo-nazi-music-festival/
And, of course, the list of Nazis in postwar Germany is endless, many pardoned by our very own J.J. McCloy: Erich von Manstein, Frederick Krupp, Karl Krautsche...
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but nobody is entitled to their own facts"
--Daniel Patrick Moynihan
You know what? Screw Russian nationalists. Ukraine today is a sovereign country. Its government and people are fighting heroically to stave off an invasion by a hostile foreign power. Russia could have chosen to establish good relations with independent Ukraine but instead, under V. Putin, it chose to launch a war of conquest.
You know what? Screw you and all supporters of the MIC. Americans in increasing numbers are fed up with the neocon bullshit that has put us thirty-five trillion in debt, divided us internally and made the puppets in DC filthy rich. Fuck you all.
" Screw Russian nationalists"
And Ukrainian nationalists too, they exhibit more pro-Nazi sympathies...
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/359609-the-reality-of-neo-nazis-in-the-ukraine-is-far-from-kremlin-propaganda/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/kiev-renames-major-street-to-honor-russian-nazi-collaborator/
https://forward.com/opinion/552958/why-did-stanford-host-azov-neo-nazis/
Like the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, I prefer to root for both sides to lose. There are no heroes, no democrats and no good sides to this fight.
I have been following the events in Ukraine and Russian aggression since day one, have many sources on both sides, and also observe Israel's war against all its enemies. Therefore, I can say that your view and analysis very accurately reflects everything that is happening. You have not made a single mistake or inaccuracy, which usually happens with professional journalists.
P.S. How can one be afraid of further escalation if it has already begun and there are no signs that it will stop if the victim of anression is contained? I still cannot believe that they are so mistaken.
Thanks very much for the comment. The point that Biden & Co. cannot seem to grasp is that wars are won by escalation, not by restraint.
And if they do, it means that they do not want the war to be won.
All their actions indicate that they are not trying to end the conflict, but to freeze it on one side, the one they can restrain, but the other side, which they cannot influence, is not limited in any way in its actions.
This seems like madness.
What you are describing is incompetence.
Our civilian leadership is both incompetent and satisfied with that incompetence.
(As an example, remember Jake Sullivan's self congratulatory article just before 10/7, in which he crowed about Mideast peace?)
But our military is no better.
They spend American lives and treasure trying not to lose a war. Winning is no longer an objective.
(The last war that we won was the conflict with Panama in 1989!!!)
The culture of mediocrity is so prevalent that Americans no longer ask for competence, let alone excellence from our leaders.
Ukraine shows what happens when we elect mediocre people (and I am afraid that we will be reminded again).
" culture of mediocrity is so prevalent that Americans no longer ask for competence"
Well said!
For details, look no further than the USAF disastrous search for an air-refueling tanker (Boeing KC-46) to replace the fleet of 1960s tankers. 20 years ago Airbus/Lockheed won the competition with their MRTT tanker, Boeing lobbyists contested the award and got a it rescinded, leading to a Boeing win. 20 years later the KC-46 is still not fully operational while the MRTT is in use in many countries, including UK, France and Singapore.
Where is the outrage at this shameful taking of taxpayer funds at the cost of impairing a major USAF capability?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A330_MRTT#Operators
I don’t think there is any doubt that Trump and not Harris has a better chance of solving this to the West’s and therefore America’s advantage.
I don't necessarily disagree, but given Trump's temperament I think that's far from a sure thing.
The only sure thing with Trump is that it will be entertaining. Even joyful.
Not a betting man but my intellect goes wirh Trump.