Seymour Flops
Diamond Member
He could also use long-range non-nuclear weapons that could devastate our mainland.
www.foreignaffairs.com
Russia has just lived through the most terrifying year in post-Soviet history. Yet despite growing loss of life and stark moral defeats, there has been no shattering of national foundations. Sure, Russians are becoming divided, and their opinions polarized, as people grow tired of war. But far from weakening Putin’s hold on power, the “special military operation” has only strengthened it.
Those who fear Putin have either fled the country or are silent. The regime has a formidable arsenal of instruments to deploy against anyone who speaks out or otherwise expresses opposition.
(remind you of anyone?)
It has used the legal system to crush any dissent, handing down Stalinist prison terms to antiwar activists. It has invented its own equivalent of yellow stars to harass, threaten, and intimidate those deemed “foreign agents.” (I had the honor of receiving such a designation in late December.) It has closed down or blocked access to virtually all independent media. And it has pinned the unofficial label of “national traitor” on anyone who does not express delight at the state’s ramping up of repression, the war, and the increasingly personal military-police-state regime that is driving it.
Not saying that we need to be in constant fear of Putin. But we need to think before we commit to an all-out war with Russia in order to reverse the invasions that happened under Biden and Obama. The armchair warhawks on this forum need to think about how such a war will affect them, since they obviously don't care what happens to our troops or our money.
By not allowing Ukraine into NATO, we specifically avoided making the commitment to defend that country that Biden's handlers are having him pretend we have. Maybe we should have let them into NATO, or maybe we made the wise choice. Either way, we made our choice. If we don't follow through with our committment not fight for Ukraine, we will get all the downside of that decision without the benefit.
How Russians Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the War
The pliant majority sustaining Putin’s rule.
Russia has just lived through the most terrifying year in post-Soviet history. Yet despite growing loss of life and stark moral defeats, there has been no shattering of national foundations. Sure, Russians are becoming divided, and their opinions polarized, as people grow tired of war. But far from weakening Putin’s hold on power, the “special military operation” has only strengthened it.
Those who fear Putin have either fled the country or are silent. The regime has a formidable arsenal of instruments to deploy against anyone who speaks out or otherwise expresses opposition.
(remind you of anyone?)
It has used the legal system to crush any dissent, handing down Stalinist prison terms to antiwar activists. It has invented its own equivalent of yellow stars to harass, threaten, and intimidate those deemed “foreign agents.” (I had the honor of receiving such a designation in late December.) It has closed down or blocked access to virtually all independent media. And it has pinned the unofficial label of “national traitor” on anyone who does not express delight at the state’s ramping up of repression, the war, and the increasingly personal military-police-state regime that is driving it.
Not saying that we need to be in constant fear of Putin. But we need to think before we commit to an all-out war with Russia in order to reverse the invasions that happened under Biden and Obama. The armchair warhawks on this forum need to think about how such a war will affect them, since they obviously don't care what happens to our troops or our money.
By not allowing Ukraine into NATO, we specifically avoided making the commitment to defend that country that Biden's handlers are having him pretend we have. Maybe we should have let them into NATO, or maybe we made the wise choice. Either way, we made our choice. If we don't follow through with our committment not fight for Ukraine, we will get all the downside of that decision without the benefit.
