Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties Friday to illegally annex more occupied Ukrainian territory in a sharp escalation of his seven-month invasion. Ukraine’s president immediately countered with a surprise application to join the NATO military alliance.
Putin’s land-grab and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s signing of what he said is an “accelerated” NATO membership application sent the two leaders speeding even faster on a collision course that is cranking up fears of a full-blown conflict between Russia and the West.
The historical parallels could not be clearer, although, no doubt, Tuckyo Rose and Comrade Tulsi would disagree. There are elements of the far-Right that either support Putin's aggression or give the same tried and untrue excuses for not getting involved that they trotted out in 1914 and 1939.[1]
History teaches us otherwise. Japan was not content with taking Manchuria. Germany was not content with taking Austria and Czechoslovakia. Putin will not be content with nibbling off part of Ukraine. Anyone who posits otherwise is either a Russian lackey[2] or a fool.
Right now, the nations of NATO as well as every other nation that treasures freedom and democracy should be funnelling everything to the Ukrainians that they can use. Macron needs to stop channelling Pierre Laval, grow a pair of balls and stop trying to please both sides of this conflict. The Gepards that the Germans gave the Ukrainians are nice and have been very effective, but some of the NATO nations should consider ceasing to fob off old stuff in reserve and, after training the crews, give the Ukrainians the really good stuff.
The time to stand up for freedom and liberty is now.
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[1] "It's Europe's problem, not ours." "This does not involve us." "We can stay out of this." "We shouldn't spend money fixing Europe's problems."
[2] Not these Lackies.
1 comment:
Some years ago when I retired, just before the Obama era, and had time to read different blogs including the politics discussing ones a term came up called Goodwin's Law. It had to do with comparisons to Hitler in a discussion. The comparisons to Hitler lessened a lot during the T$$$p era even though they would seem appropriate. Now it looks like Putin read the same book "How To Be a Dictator for Dummies". No matter what "ism" one puts on the end of their ideology when they are taken to the extreme it always turns out bad for the people.
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