By fumbling and bumbling and hesitating and stalling and arguing and fiddling and politicking and treating the world like everything was peachy-keen, Europe and the U.S.
That is exactly what we should do!! Squeeze the life out of Putin and his allies. Since he is so emboldened to do it to the Ukrainian people, maybe the Russians will finally see through his madness. Tracy is absolutely right.
All the nations didn’t want to be involved either because it was easier to believe in the fairytale that Putin was just bluster than to commit. Biden finally got us out of Afghanistan and it wasn’t to universal praise. What frightens me is our former leader’s praise of Putin and morons like Tucker Carlson praising Putin we know that there’s a very very frightening connection in this country between many in the GOP and Putin and Russia and am I alone and being really frightened of what’s coming? Cause nobody’s pushing back against that very hard. We’re really even wanting to talk about it. Keep up the good work I’m following your dispatches
It’s like David meets berserk Goliath! I’m so ashamed of NATO Alliance and the US! I love my country, don’t get me wrong! But I watched Clarissa from CNN their in the, I guess was the subway! Walk to wall people with children! It rips my heart up!
My years in the 50’s as a child fearful we’d be blown up by Soviet Union and where would I be in the school hallway in elementary school bending over in a ball…or under my desk! I used to walk home with fear in my heart and my country wasn’t even invaded…until 9/11!!
I feel for those children & adults I saw huddled like in the London bombings and no food. Some had dogs there! It’s going to get bad!!
I stayed up late last night, feeling as if I had a front row seat to WWIII as it unfolded live for the world to see. I woke up to your series of updates and I SO appreciate them and your perspective. I have no personal military background, so explanations are important to me (informed explanations, not necessarily those one gets from agenda-driven "analysts" on MSM.)
What happens if "accidentally" that oil pipeline loses a chunk or two of infrastructure such that it would take YEARS to repair it?
What will Putin do with all those grand buildings if they have no people in them and if their technology is disabled by fleeing Ukrainians?
What will he do if he is isolated from the world with no one to buy his oil and gas, no one to do business with? No one to sell him anything? Starving Russians who happen to support Navalny?
I like your suggestions or what ifs. China is a HUGE problem. Will we be playing Whack-a-Mole in Western Europe ? what kind of bedfellows will/do China and Russia make ?
You appear to want a response to this article. I don't write columns that respond to the writings of others, but since you asked, I'll give it to you here. This piece is what I call soft conspiratorialism. The tip-off is to be found in these two sentences: "Clearly, in U.S. ruling circles, this is considered “normal” behavior, just as teasing is normal behavior for the schoolyard bully, and sting operations are normal for corrupt FBI agents." U.S. ruling circles indeed. And this: "For a generation, Russian leaders have made extraordinary efforts to build a peaceful partnership with 'the West,' institutionalized as the European Union and above all, NATO...But arrogant United States leaders, despite contrary advice from their best experts, rejected treating Russia as the great nation it is, and preferred to treat it as the harassed bear in a circus." I remember hearing this kind of claptrap from the Young Socialist Party people in the anti-war movement of the 60's. I thought it had died with them. I was wrong.
Tracy and I think alike. "He’s Hitler with nuclear weapons and right now he can do whatever he wants."
The only way to stop him now before he does anymore damage as you suggest is to let the people in Russia suffer (unfortunately) in hopes they will rise up against him. The one thing that came to mind is if he is using so much of his military on the borders, doesn't that mean that if there is an HUGE uprising and I mean HUGE, he is left with little back home to protect himself and could perhaps loose control of his own country. Will those troops come running back to Russia to protect him. Of course, there is the nuclear (scary) option for him. Just a novice strategist here with some thoughts.
I actually think he's on a drinking binge, similar to Nixon and Boris Yeltsin when the end was near which makes him even more dangerous. Could explain the crazy talk the other day.
I do not permit two things in my comments. Name calling and even the suggestion of advocating violence. You have now done both. One more time and I will block you from commenting. Do you understand me?
Tracy is my wife, and I fail to see how locking Russia down within its borders is hard on the U.S. Besides, we're going to have to put up with higher energy prices and other hardships. I don't care what kind of war you want to call it, a cyber war or a trade war or what, but we are at war with Russia in all ways other than bullets right now.
I'm so disgusted with our gee gosh golly response when we could see what this lunatic was clearly going to do. More "strong" speeches at the UN, when we could have preemptively done something. Just like all those strongly worded letters the democrats send out to bad actor Republicans. We are so civilized that we've become a bunch of pussies. That guy, the loon , the cross eyed midget is going to roll right across Europe and call himself Vlad the conqueror. It's time we stopped playing nice. Nice, civil, legal is not going to work, throw out the rich Russians in The US and London tell them and their diplomats to go home. The moment calls for something not nice. This should never have been allowed to happen. I'm angry and disappointed. I like your idea of blocking their flights from any Nato or other allied countries.
Think Hitler/Poland. If we don’t bring this mad man to his knees asap, then it will only get worse, a lot worse. Tough financial sanctions will have Putin gone in weeks, at most.
This is all soooo true. It will be difficult, however, to get EU countries to follow that lead. The luxury goods and housing markets in France and Italy rely tremendously on Russian criminals. Pardon: Oligarchs. We spent many years, on and off, in northern Italy and southern France. The UK accents were replaced overtime by Russian accents.
I’ve suggested to the White House that the President needs a subscription to your newsletter and to get some backbone. I’ve never been as disappointed in a US President in my life based upon a failure to act.
Agree on all points. One more critical thing: convene an emergency NATO meeting TODAY and induct Ukraine as a member - immediately. Whatever Ukrainian shortcomings have been used as an excuse up to this point for not doing so, they pale in comparison with what Putin/Hitler is doing and will do.
That is exactly what we should do!! Squeeze the life out of Putin and his allies. Since he is so emboldened to do it to the Ukrainian people, maybe the Russians will finally see through his madness. Tracy is absolutely right.
what allies ?
China, Iran, Syria
All the nations didn’t want to be involved either because it was easier to believe in the fairytale that Putin was just bluster than to commit. Biden finally got us out of Afghanistan and it wasn’t to universal praise. What frightens me is our former leader’s praise of Putin and morons like Tucker Carlson praising Putin we know that there’s a very very frightening connection in this country between many in the GOP and Putin and Russia and am I alone and being really frightened of what’s coming? Cause nobody’s pushing back against that very hard. We’re really even wanting to talk about it. Keep up the good work I’m following your dispatches
It’s like David meets berserk Goliath! I’m so ashamed of NATO Alliance and the US! I love my country, don’t get me wrong! But I watched Clarissa from CNN their in the, I guess was the subway! Walk to wall people with children! It rips my heart up!
My years in the 50’s as a child fearful we’d be blown up by Soviet Union and where would I be in the school hallway in elementary school bending over in a ball…or under my desk! I used to walk home with fear in my heart and my country wasn’t even invaded…until 9/11!!
I feel for those children & adults I saw huddled like in the London bombings and no food. Some had dogs there! It’s going to get bad!!
Nothing seems to have changed: a madman holds the world hostage as Ukrainians chant “drop, duck and cover!” It is heartbreaking to watch.
Meant ‘there’ not ‘their’!
I stayed up late last night, feeling as if I had a front row seat to WWIII as it unfolded live for the world to see. I woke up to your series of updates and I SO appreciate them and your perspective. I have no personal military background, so explanations are important to me (informed explanations, not necessarily those one gets from agenda-driven "analysts" on MSM.)
What happens if "accidentally" that oil pipeline loses a chunk or two of infrastructure such that it would take YEARS to repair it?
What will Putin do with all those grand buildings if they have no people in them and if their technology is disabled by fleeing Ukrainians?
What will he do if he is isolated from the world with no one to buy his oil and gas, no one to do business with? No one to sell him anything? Starving Russians who happen to support Navalny?
Where does China fit into this equation?
I like your suggestions or what ifs. China is a HUGE problem. Will we be playing Whack-a-Mole in Western Europe ? what kind of bedfellows will/do China and Russia make ?
What you're doing here is a real public service. Thanks very much!
LKT IV: Having read your recent piece on Putin and the Ukraine, I would very much appreciate seeing some commentary from you on the viewpoint expressed in this piece in today's Consortium News: https://consortiumnews.com/2022/02/23/diana-johnstone-us-foreign-policy-is-a-cruel-sport/
Thank you. CdeV
You appear to want a response to this article. I don't write columns that respond to the writings of others, but since you asked, I'll give it to you here. This piece is what I call soft conspiratorialism. The tip-off is to be found in these two sentences: "Clearly, in U.S. ruling circles, this is considered “normal” behavior, just as teasing is normal behavior for the schoolyard bully, and sting operations are normal for corrupt FBI agents." U.S. ruling circles indeed. And this: "For a generation, Russian leaders have made extraordinary efforts to build a peaceful partnership with 'the West,' institutionalized as the European Union and above all, NATO...But arrogant United States leaders, despite contrary advice from their best experts, rejected treating Russia as the great nation it is, and preferred to treat it as the harassed bear in a circus." I remember hearing this kind of claptrap from the Young Socialist Party people in the anti-war movement of the 60's. I thought it had died with them. I was wrong.
So, what I hear you saying is that a bear is a bear is a bear, so there's no point in ever doing anything but poke it. Got it.
Actually, if I wanted to put it that way, that's the way I would have put it. But I didn't. You did.
Tracy and I think alike. "He’s Hitler with nuclear weapons and right now he can do whatever he wants."
The only way to stop him now before he does anymore damage as you suggest is to let the people in Russia suffer (unfortunately) in hopes they will rise up against him. The one thing that came to mind is if he is using so much of his military on the borders, doesn't that mean that if there is an HUGE uprising and I mean HUGE, he is left with little back home to protect himself and could perhaps loose control of his own country. Will those troops come running back to Russia to protect him. Of course, there is the nuclear (scary) option for him. Just a novice strategist here with some thoughts.
I actually think he's on a drinking binge, similar to Nixon and Boris Yeltsin when the end was near which makes him even more dangerous. Could explain the crazy talk the other day.
Or drugs!
I do not permit two things in my comments. Name calling and even the suggestion of advocating violence. You have now done both. One more time and I will block you from commenting. Do you understand me?
Who are you referring to!
Little too hard on U.S., to me. One question: who is Tracy?
Tracy is my wife, and I fail to see how locking Russia down within its borders is hard on the U.S. Besides, we're going to have to put up with higher energy prices and other hardships. I don't care what kind of war you want to call it, a cyber war or a trade war or what, but we are at war with Russia in all ways other than bullets right now.
Sorry re the gaffe with Tracy. Still, it's not like America has been asleep at the wheel, given all the blatant warnings from Putin.
Super fascinating analysis Lucian, a military perspective I’ve seen nowhere else in my voracious reading this morning on Ukraine.
I'm so disgusted with our gee gosh golly response when we could see what this lunatic was clearly going to do. More "strong" speeches at the UN, when we could have preemptively done something. Just like all those strongly worded letters the democrats send out to bad actor Republicans. We are so civilized that we've become a bunch of pussies. That guy, the loon , the cross eyed midget is going to roll right across Europe and call himself Vlad the conqueror. It's time we stopped playing nice. Nice, civil, legal is not going to work, throw out the rich Russians in The US and London tell them and their diplomats to go home. The moment calls for something not nice. This should never have been allowed to happen. I'm angry and disappointed. I like your idea of blocking their flights from any Nato or other allied countries.
Think Hitler/Poland. If we don’t bring this mad man to his knees asap, then it will only get worse, a lot worse. Tough financial sanctions will have Putin gone in weeks, at most.
This is all soooo true. It will be difficult, however, to get EU countries to follow that lead. The luxury goods and housing markets in France and Italy rely tremendously on Russian criminals. Pardon: Oligarchs. We spent many years, on and off, in northern Italy and southern France. The UK accents were replaced overtime by Russian accents.
really good intel! thx
You had it right the first time…criminals!!
Hear him! My Dad flew his last 25 B-17 missions, OSS single bomber missions, nap of the earth, nighttime behind enemy lines. Let's go!
I’ve suggested to the White House that the President needs a subscription to your newsletter and to get some backbone. I’ve never been as disappointed in a US President in my life based upon a failure to act.
Agree on all points. One more critical thing: convene an emergency NATO meeting TODAY and induct Ukraine as a member - immediately. Whatever Ukrainian shortcomings have been used as an excuse up to this point for not doing so, they pale in comparison with what Putin/Hitler is doing and will do.
LKT4 for President!