Claire may or may not be right about Trump’s personal cowardice but she is certainly aware of the Western policies that inspired Putin to act.
Trump begged the Europeans to diminish their reliance on Russian energy. He also implored the Europeans to spend more on defense. Not only was he ignored, he was universally criticized by the globalist crowd for upsetting the consensus-oriented spirit of NATO.
Trump didn’t care; he sanctioned the problematic pipeline anyway. Biden demurred.
It’s pretty obvious who’s to blame for the mess the Ukrainians are in. It’s that miserable wretch Putin and the Europeans who facilitated his brutish behavior by ignoring Trump.
By the way, Claire, Putin’s miserable behavior is not likely to be associated with any neurological symptoms of COVID that he may or may not have had. But his craziness could easily be associated with symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease that many have suggested that he suffers from.
If he does have Parkinson’s, not only could his judgement be impacted, but Putin would know that he has a limited period of time before his is incapacitated. That might motivate him to act while he still can. See,
While I appreciate the enthusiasm, I would dread to see Russia institute a conscription policy in response. Same for China. Mobilization begets mobilization.
As usual, Vivek Kelkar provides us with brilliant insights. He’s right, cutting off Russia from SWIFT might be the first step in a journey that ends in a very dark place for Americans and Europeans; the end of the dollar (and the dollar/euro axis) as the world’s reserve currency. Were this to occur (someday it will anyway, but there’s no reason to hasten that day) the world as we know it would be a very different place.
Despite an enormous fiscal and trade deficit, the United States can spend hundreds of billions of dollars on defense. Given the current circumstances US defense budgets will need to increase even more. How does the United States manage it? By printing boatloads of currency that never loses value because of the worlds insatiable hunger for green backs. Anything that threatens that dollar dominance is an existential threat to the West that is orders of magnitude more consequential than anything happening in Ukraine.
While Vivek’s essay is “left brain” at its best, Claire’s remarks clearly emanate from her “right brain.” She’s horrified by Putin’s behavior as all decent people should be. Obviously it’s clouded her judgement a bit.
Claire has no more idea than I do about whether Trump is an “abject physical coward.” Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. The same applies to Prime Minister Johnson, President Macron and a host of other world leaders past and present. It’s hard to imagine former President Obama exhibiting the courage that President Zelensky has. None of this matters a bit. There’s one thing we do know, a significant majority of Americans (and a substantial number of Democrats) believe that Putin would have been deterred from invading Ukraine if Trump were still in office. See,
The facts are the facts. Putin first invaded Ukraine when Obama was President and he’s out to finish the job now that Biden’s the President. There was no invasion of Ukraine when Trump was in office and but for the paranoia and vitriol of those suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, the former President might have worked out an accommodation with Putin that forestalled the tragedy we are now witnessing. Of course, we will never know, but the possibility is at least plausible if not probable.
The time for the blame game will come soon enough but it’s not to early to identify some of the culprits. The biggest villain in all of this is Frau Merkel who denuded her nation of its military prowess, it’s nuclear power and its honor. Then there’s the Europeans themselves (with some exceptions) who became lazy, self-indulgent sybarites. Let’s not forget the neocons and liberal internationalists in the United States who blundered us into two wars that cost trillions, maimed thousands and soured Americans on engaging with the world militarily and even diplomatically.
To put the icing on the cake, Claire wants President Biden to reactivate the draft. Her idea is brilliant. That’s a sure fire way to get Americans who already don’t care about Ukraine to really get more motivated about what’s happening in Europe.
Claire didn’t mention whether she supports instituting a draft in Germany. Then again, if it happened, I’m not sure what armaments the Germans would have to fight with. In the absence of tanks, fighters jets and rifles, I suppose they could fight with bows and arrows or spears. Who knows, maybe we could even send them five thousand helmets.
Claire may or may not be right about Trump’s personal cowardice but she is certainly aware of the Western policies that inspired Putin to act.
Trump begged the Europeans to diminish their reliance on Russian energy. He also implored the Europeans to spend more on defense. Not only was he ignored, he was universally criticized by the globalist crowd for upsetting the consensus-oriented spirit of NATO.
Trump didn’t care; he sanctioned the problematic pipeline anyway. Biden demurred.
This video says it all.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9LLZBVTid4I
It’s pretty obvious who’s to blame for the mess the Ukrainians are in. It’s that miserable wretch Putin and the Europeans who facilitated his brutish behavior by ignoring Trump.
By the way, Claire, Putin’s miserable behavior is not likely to be associated with any neurological symptoms of COVID that he may or may not have had. But his craziness could easily be associated with symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease that many have suggested that he suffers from.
If he does have Parkinson’s, not only could his judgement be impacted, but Putin would know that he has a limited period of time before his is incapacitated. That might motivate him to act while he still can. See,
https://www.businesstoday.in/amp/latest/world/story/russian-president-vladimir-putin-step-down-observers-got-serious-disease-278031-2020-11-06
On another note, does Mr. Kelkar have any thoughts on India abstaining from the UN Resolution on Ukraine that was vetoed by Russia?
While I appreciate the enthusiasm, I would dread to see Russia institute a conscription policy in response. Same for China. Mobilization begets mobilization.
As usual, Vivek Kelkar provides us with brilliant insights. He’s right, cutting off Russia from SWIFT might be the first step in a journey that ends in a very dark place for Americans and Europeans; the end of the dollar (and the dollar/euro axis) as the world’s reserve currency. Were this to occur (someday it will anyway, but there’s no reason to hasten that day) the world as we know it would be a very different place.
Despite an enormous fiscal and trade deficit, the United States can spend hundreds of billions of dollars on defense. Given the current circumstances US defense budgets will need to increase even more. How does the United States manage it? By printing boatloads of currency that never loses value because of the worlds insatiable hunger for green backs. Anything that threatens that dollar dominance is an existential threat to the West that is orders of magnitude more consequential than anything happening in Ukraine.
While Vivek’s essay is “left brain” at its best, Claire’s remarks clearly emanate from her “right brain.” She’s horrified by Putin’s behavior as all decent people should be. Obviously it’s clouded her judgement a bit.
Claire has no more idea than I do about whether Trump is an “abject physical coward.” Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. The same applies to Prime Minister Johnson, President Macron and a host of other world leaders past and present. It’s hard to imagine former President Obama exhibiting the courage that President Zelensky has. None of this matters a bit. There’s one thing we do know, a significant majority of Americans (and a substantial number of Democrats) believe that Putin would have been deterred from invading Ukraine if Trump were still in office. See,
See,
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/595919-62-percent-of-voters-say-putin-wouldnt-have-invaded-ukraine-if-trump
The facts are the facts. Putin first invaded Ukraine when Obama was President and he’s out to finish the job now that Biden’s the President. There was no invasion of Ukraine when Trump was in office and but for the paranoia and vitriol of those suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, the former President might have worked out an accommodation with Putin that forestalled the tragedy we are now witnessing. Of course, we will never know, but the possibility is at least plausible if not probable.
The time for the blame game will come soon enough but it’s not to early to identify some of the culprits. The biggest villain in all of this is Frau Merkel who denuded her nation of its military prowess, it’s nuclear power and its honor. Then there’s the Europeans themselves (with some exceptions) who became lazy, self-indulgent sybarites. Let’s not forget the neocons and liberal internationalists in the United States who blundered us into two wars that cost trillions, maimed thousands and soured Americans on engaging with the world militarily and even diplomatically.
To put the icing on the cake, Claire wants President Biden to reactivate the draft. Her idea is brilliant. That’s a sure fire way to get Americans who already don’t care about Ukraine to really get more motivated about what’s happening in Europe.
Claire didn’t mention whether she supports instituting a draft in Germany. Then again, if it happened, I’m not sure what armaments the Germans would have to fight with. In the absence of tanks, fighters jets and rifles, I suppose they could fight with bows and arrows or spears. Who knows, maybe we could even send them five thousand helmets.