Commenter Geoffrey Britain writes to commenter “om” as follows: “Your understanding of Putin is incomplete because you refuse to consider Russia’s view of NATO upon its border as intolerable.” Actually, though, I think that just about everyone here has “considered” … Continue reading →
The fog of war has been unusually thick lately. I may have the order incorrect, but first we had a report of an attack on the large Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, then that it had been captured by the … Continue reading →
A lot of people on the right, both on this blog and elsewhere, are arguing that Putin did what he did in Ukraine because of NATO’s “expansion” towards his borders. I’ve been arguing otherwise for quite some time, mounting similar … Continue reading →
We’ve been talking a lot about what Putin thinks and what he intends. But he gave a speech right before the invasion of Ukraine that purportedly explained his motives and aims. Although of course he might have been lying – … Continue reading →
Angelo M. Codevilla wrote this piece in 2014. That’s quite a while ago, but it gave me some insight on the question of why Putin has decided to attack the entirety of Ukraine. I already felt I knew the “why … Continue reading →
[NOTE: I don’t usually post on Sundays, but so much is happening that I thought I’d just put up a brief one and start a new thread that way. So here it is.] Wish I was a mind reader, but … Continue reading →
I’ve been thinking about 20th Century history lately. At the beginning of WWII, not only did Hitler invade Poland, but Stalin did as well in the days when they were buddy-buddy for a while. And it was Stalin who took … Continue reading →
First, a general caveat: we have the fog of war, so there’s no reason to trust any reports. But still, there’s a general drift, and it may be correct. The general drift is that Putin is surprised that the Ukrainians … Continue reading →
A lot of people figured that Putin’s stated intentions weren’t really his stated intentions, and are belatedly realizing that apparently he meant what he said. So it might be a good idea to familiarize yourself with what he’s been saying … Continue reading →
(1) For sanctions to work, they should not necessarily be considered a deterrence or a punishment. I suppose they would be a deterrence if the leader or leaders involved could be deterred that easily, but that sort of leader isn’t … Continue reading →
The money angle on Putin and Ukraine: Before Biden became President, the U.S. was energy independent and an exporter of energy. [Biden lowered] American production and remov[ed] Trump’s restrictions on the Nordstream natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. His … Continue reading →
First of all, because everything Biden touches turns to garbage, so why should this be any different? And why would anyone think Biden could handle such a situation – even when he was functioning a lot better? His supposed skill … Continue reading →