Friends, my latest article lays out an argument for why we should avoid war between Russia and Ukraine, and possibly a new Cold War between Russia and NATO (or worse), by giving Russia what it wants: a guarantee that Ukraine will never be admitted into NATO. Why not? We don't want Ukraine in our exclusive club anyway. See if you agree with my analysis:
Sleepy Joe: Shelve the
UnRealpolitik, While
There's Still Time
To those who
follow the news, it's become increasingly clear that Russia doesn't
want Ukraine in NATO. Fair enough. It's also clear that NATO doesn't
want Ukraine in NATO. I mean, it's a failed state. All things being
equal, we'd prefer that Ukraine wasn't even in Europe... So, given
that Russia and the West are in rare agreement, why not...go to war
over it anyway? Brilliant! And, with visionary leaders like Joe Biden
at the helm, what's to stop us? Full steam ahead!
In
case you couldn't decipher my sarcasm, let me be more upfront: there
is no good reason
for the current brouhaha between NATO and Russia over Ukraine.
Ukraine has been, for a millennium or so, deep inside the Russian
sphere of influence. In effect, Ukraine is Russia's little brother –
headstrong and resentful, but destined to live in the shadow of big,
strong Rus, come what may. And we in the West, for some reason, think
it's our business to take Ukraine's side (of late), and to upbraid
Rus for his highhandedness, insisting that he treat his little
brother like an equal. What's more, we expect to get our way not by
bopping Rus on the nose, in the time-honored manner in which bullies
are generally brought to heel, but by waving our arms in a pantomime
of outrage, and, if pressed, by threatening Rus with a cut in his
allowance. Little do we realize that such tactics are tailor-made to
infuriate Rus, to goad him to acts of aggression, and in fact to make
little Ukraine's already complicated life absolutely miserable. The
simple fact is that we interfere with this age-old fraternal bond at
our peril, and even more so at the peril of the very people we claim
to want to help.
Arguably,
our useless chiding of Russia, and our even more useless cheerleading
for Ukraine, might be defensible, if Ukraine itself was worth
fighting over. It isn't. It probably never was, and it certainly
hasn't been since we and the Europeans acquired the ability to
produce more food for ourselves than we could possibly eat. Once upon
a time, Ukraine was a breadbasket, and rich agricultural lands are
worth a pitched battle or two. Now, though, Ukraine is an
impoverished backwater, a cesspool of corruption, and strategic dead
weight. Winning its allegiance, or defending its independence, is
about as useful to the West as staking a claim to one of Jupiter's
moons, or annexing broad swathes of the fourth dimension. Ukraine
ought to be absolutely, positively unthinkable as the ground over
which World War III could be fought, with all the dreadful portents
for nuclear annihilation that such a war would bring with it. Think
about it: the West and Russia, despite some close calls, have
successfully avoided major wars for 75 years. That's three whole
generations! And now we're contemplating throwing away that legacy of
peace and prosperity for...the sacred sovereignty of Ukraine? No! A
thousand times, no! The very prospect should send chills down our
collective and individual spines.
Better than all the blustering that's characterized our approach to
Ukraine thus far would be some genuine dialogue and a little common
sense. Russia is contemplating an invasion of Ukraine for one reason
and one reason only: because the West has pushed the boundaries of a
hostile alliance, NATO, closer and closer to Russia's historic and
strategic heartland, ever since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Moreover, we show every sign of nibbling away further at Russia's
“near abroad” until, having secured all of it for ourselves, we
can start destabilizing Russia herself, encouraging her people to
turn against their leaders, and thus make our conquest of our ancient
enemy complete. Why else would we have maintained the NATO alliance
in the first place, once the Cold War was won, and why would we have
made its relentless eastward expansion its principal mission?
We can, however, diffuse Russia's anxiety, and forestall a seemingly
imminent invasion, by a simple expedient: we make Russia a promise,
either explicit or implicit, that Ukraine will never be a candidate
for NATO membership – and, in fact, that the era of NATO expansion
has come to an end. By doing so, we would not only bring the present
crisis to a happy conclusion, thus securing peace and prosperity for
ourselves and for the Russian people, but we would also have conveyed
these inestimable blessings to Ukraine. The Ukrainians' sovereignty
would be intact (if a little frayed around the edges), and all for
the sacrifice of one absurd fantasy: that Ukraine could ever be a
member-in-good-standing of the Western alliance. We, the Ukrainians,
and the Russians will all be better off when this dangerous illusion
is set aside.
“President”
Biden, I realize that, as a loyal CNN/MSNBC viewer, disparaging and
antagonizing Russia comes second nature to you, but, please, give up
these strong-arm tactics before you get someone hurt – and, by
“someone”, I mean everyone!
Dr.
Nicholas L. Waddy is an Associate Professor of History at SUNY Alfred
and blogs at: www.waddyisright.com.
He appears on the Newsmaker Show on WLEA 1480/106.9.
***
In other news, there's been a significant decline in public support for the death penalty, even among Republicans. Methinks this has a lot to do with the media blackout concerning violent crime. According to the MSM, we're not supposed to notice when homicidal maniacs, oh, rape and/or murder us, because a lot of those maniacs are BIPOC victims of white oppression, and it would be mean and racist to carp and moan about a few minor criminal infractions, right? Bottom line: the press ought to be covering the crime wave. If it did, support for capital punishment would rise in short order!
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/state-gop-lawmakers-increasingly-turning-against-death-penalty
Inflation has consumers in a really foul mood. Poor consumer sentiment, moreover, is often correlated with recessions. Could one be on the way?
You thought it was rough being a Democrat now -- just imagine what their poll numbers would look like if the economy headed (further) south!
https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/consumer-confidence-lowest-level-decade-rising-inflation
Freedom convoys are catching on -- even in Buffalo, which is mere steps away from the Rochester headquarters of the Waddist movement. Oh my!
https://www.breitbart.com/health/2022/02/13/citizens-protest-canadian-trucker-vaccine-mandates-in-buffalo-the-world-is-paying-attention/
Maybe you've heard: John Durham is alleging that the Hillary Clinton campaign paid I.T. whiz kids to infiltrate Trump Tower and the White House in order to find dirt, or anything that could be spun as dirt, on DJT. You'd think that would be kind of a big deal, but no -- the media is rating it "not newsworthy". That's par for the course.
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2022/02/13/the-media-blackout-of-durhams-bombshell-report-alleging-clinton-campaign-infiltrated-trump-tower-n1558817
Our old friend Robert Reich is at it again: he's saying that nasty rich oligarchs are in league with super-racist Republicans. As usual, his latest article is artfully misleading. He doesn't point out that the vast majority of donations from corporations and the ultra-rich in 2020 went to Democrats, and he also leaves out the clincher: it was Dem-supported lockdown policies that helped produce massive gains in wealth for the already-filthy-rich. The idea that the Democratic Party is the party of the "little guy" is getting more laughable by the day.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/13/us-republicans-oligarchs-economics-nationalism
Finally, here's a really good article about the weight of evidence supporting the lab leak theory of COVID's origins. I defy you to read it and not conclude that the Chicoms got away with the crime of the century!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/reason-scientists-believe-coronavirus-originated-lab-wuhan-china
