Vladimir Putin’s speech on 21 February 2022 at the occasion of the recognition of Donbas and Lugansk republics is one of the most extraordinary political speeches of the present time. It consists of more than 6,000 words, and it was delivered over 55 minutes without the help of a single piece of paper or without a single hesitation. To the extent that one can judge there was no teleprompter either.
This is a really interesting post but goes nuts in the last paragraph. Can your response to Putin’s violation of international law really be “be more considerate in future”? Is the story really that so far, eg in the Minsk process, the West has been too tough? It seems much more like the opposite.
Very solid analysis. Your other critics below clearly missed the point and rely on simplistic stereotypes that ignore all the history since the Second World War, when U.S. planned before the war to assume total world dominance. Clearly all escalation both then and now is mutual, fueled by hawks winning over doves in multiple capitals. But the hawk in the highest tree is the foreign editor of the Washington Post Douglas Jehl, an unrepentant Cold War extremist who has been running scare headlines on the right upper hand corner of page A1 almost every day for a month. It is reminescent of the disinformation campaign leading up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq two decades ago. For reliable coverage from independent analysts, follow the coverage in Responsible Statecraft. https://responsiblestatecraft.org/tag/ukraine/ Just as during the Cold War the antagonists ignored the views of the Non-Aligned Movement including a wide coalition of countries including the former Yugoslavia, India, Ghana, Egypt, and Indonesia, later involving a wide variety of countries around the world.
The Americans knew if the Russians were admitted into Nato they would have defacto veto and weaken Nato from within. Thankfully they were never admitted.
This is an interesting reflection of Putin's speech that he presented yesterday. I think one additional point that can be mentioned but largely overlooked is the fact that Putin as a former communist is discredited the whole socialistic and communistic ideas. By saying that Lenin was a betrayer he aimed at destroying the symbol of socialism in Russia. What Putin is doing seems a long game that eventually should bring both Russia and Ukraine into indoors of NATO. Putin one more time proved that he is an ardent enemy of social equality and solidarity among all people.
Just think of what the US would say or do if Mexico decided to join a military organization equivalent to NATO but with an agenda unfriendly to the US interests. Let's not forget when the former URSS decided ot implement a missilistic base in Cuba. I wonder why some people have such a poor memory! eh, Mr Biden?
The language in all U.S. military requests for proposals for contracts use the term "assured total domination" as their criteria for a successful provision of materiel or services by contractors. This is an unequivocal statement of the both the intention and position of this government in its relations with friend or foe, it really doesn't matter which.
The US or any of its allies have never been excluded from a soccer World Cup. At the time of exclusion of Russia, according to official information from Ukraine, the war has caused under 500 deaths, under 100 thereof civilians. This is about everything one needs to know.
This is a really interesting post but goes nuts in the last paragraph. Can your response to Putin’s violation of international law really be “be more considerate in future”? Is the story really that so far, eg in the Minsk process, the West has been too tough? It seems much more like the opposite.
Very solid analysis. Your other critics below clearly missed the point and rely on simplistic stereotypes that ignore all the history since the Second World War, when U.S. planned before the war to assume total world dominance. Clearly all escalation both then and now is mutual, fueled by hawks winning over doves in multiple capitals. But the hawk in the highest tree is the foreign editor of the Washington Post Douglas Jehl, an unrepentant Cold War extremist who has been running scare headlines on the right upper hand corner of page A1 almost every day for a month. It is reminescent of the disinformation campaign leading up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq two decades ago. For reliable coverage from independent analysts, follow the coverage in Responsible Statecraft. https://responsiblestatecraft.org/tag/ukraine/ Just as during the Cold War the antagonists ignored the views of the Non-Aligned Movement including a wide coalition of countries including the former Yugoslavia, India, Ghana, Egypt, and Indonesia, later involving a wide variety of countries around the world.
The Americans knew if the Russians were admitted into Nato they would have defacto veto and weaken Nato from within. Thankfully they were never admitted.
Putin has recognized that imperial aspirations are incompatible with peace in Europe, and chosen war.
This is an interesting reflection of Putin's speech that he presented yesterday. I think one additional point that can be mentioned but largely overlooked is the fact that Putin as a former communist is discredited the whole socialistic and communistic ideas. By saying that Lenin was a betrayer he aimed at destroying the symbol of socialism in Russia. What Putin is doing seems a long game that eventually should bring both Russia and Ukraine into indoors of NATO. Putin one more time proved that he is an ardent enemy of social equality and solidarity among all people.
Just think of what the US would say or do if Mexico decided to join a military organization equivalent to NATO but with an agenda unfriendly to the US interests. Let's not forget when the former URSS decided ot implement a missilistic base in Cuba. I wonder why some people have such a poor memory! eh, Mr Biden?
The language in all U.S. military requests for proposals for contracts use the term "assured total domination" as their criteria for a successful provision of materiel or services by contractors. This is an unequivocal statement of the both the intention and position of this government in its relations with friend or foe, it really doesn't matter which.
Link to Suraska's book is broken
Why didn't Britain and France go on a similar revanchist rampage following the humiliation of losing their empires?
The US or any of its allies have never been excluded from a soccer World Cup. At the time of exclusion of Russia, according to official information from Ukraine, the war has caused under 500 deaths, under 100 thereof civilians. This is about everything one needs to know.