After blunting Ukraine’s counteroffensive from the summer, Russia is building up its resources for a new stage of the war over the winter, which could involve trying to extend its gains in the east and deal significant blows to the country’s vital infrastructure.
Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be hoping that relentless military pressure, combined with changing Western political dynamics and a global focus on the Israeli-Hamas war, will drain support for Ukraine in the nearly 2-year-old war and force Kyiv to yield to Moscow’s demands.
“As far as the Russian leadership is concerned, the confrontation with the West has reached a turning point: The Ukrainian counteroffensive has failed, Russia is more confident than ever, and the cracks in Western solidarity are spreading,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, senior fellow with Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, in a recent analysis.
Between Bible Mike in the House, the Most Gutless Senator Alive (Graham) and Putin's Poodle in Hungary, Putin has lots of allies. Maybe Bible Mike and Miss Lindsey have other reasons for blocking aid to Ukraine, but the effect is the same of that of Orban's blocking aid to Ukraine.
Anyone who thinks that Putin will be satisfied with conquering Ukraine hasn't been paying attention to his stated ambitions. Putin wants to "restore" what he sees as the imperial Russian empire. That means conquering a lot of other nations, incluidng all or part of NATO members. That is also why Putin is backing the TOFF, for he believes that the TOFF will pull the US out of NATO, which will give him a green light to proceed.
A politician wins election to lead his country, turns it into a dictatorship and then begins threating his neighbors. Under the guise of protecting his ethnic countrymen who live in neighboring nations, he begins invading, first a portion of a neighbor and then moves to conquer one or more of those countries. The US and other European powers do nothing but wring their hands and flap their jaws until the dictator invades a country who has defense treaties with theose powers and then it is Game Fucking On.
We've seen this play out before. It boggles the mind that the Republicans are choosing to play politics with a growing fire in Europe, using a growing conflagration to score cheap political points. But it is nothing surprising, for Republicans have signalled over and over that they value party loyalty above loyalty to the country.
As someone said elsewhere, America First 2.0, but without Lindy [the Nazi sympathizer, if not asset].
I fear that Sith Tsar Putin can win with his metaphorical army of traitors* and dupes in the NATO countries what he can't win with his literal army.
ReplyDeleteAs you said, if Putin can win, he won't stop with Ukraine, any more than Charlie Chaplin's Evil Twin stopped with Czechoslovakia. 🤬
* The traitors have one or more of the following motives: ideological sympathy (chiefly, they see Putin's Russia as the last hope of Straight White Male "Christian" supremacy), and/or bribery, and/or blackmail. About the last, never forget that the Russian spy agencies hacked BOTH of our major parties in 2016, but ONLY revealed (or fabricated?) data from the Democratic computers. I would guess that on the Republican computers, they found either ready-made kompromat, or, at least, strong hints as to where else to look for such kompromat.
Here's an idea. Hook up an electrical grid to Arlington. At the rate that those who gave the last full measure are spinning in their grave, we could power pretty much the entire country. One more thought bouncing around in my head. What would Generals' Patton, Bradley, Ridgeway, Eisenhower, Abrams, Schwartzkopf etc think of Trump? (I've left out a lot of names just a few
ReplyDeleteoff the top of my head.
Fun note, the recent NDAA contains a provision prohibiting any President from unilateral withdraw from NATO, requiring instead a Senate approval or Act of Congress. Sponsored by Kaine and Rubio (of all people).
ReplyDeleteCP88, I'd feel better about it if I had any reason to believe that a 2nd TOFF administration would be constrained by the law.
ReplyDeletethey see Putin's Russia as the last hope of Straight White Male "Christian" supremacy this above all
ReplyDeleteSo, Ivory Bill and Nebris, the same basic rationale that they had for backing Hitler, then.
ReplyDelete