There are a number of very worthwhile articles available today that offer informed commentary on the state of affairs in the collective West’s war on Russia. I’ll briefly link and summarize so readers can decide whether to follow the links. Three of these articles are at Anti-War.com.
I agree with all David Stockman has to say here. And I never expected to utter that phrase in my life. The only questions in what he says (to my mind) are how cognizant the new Republican House will be of the facts pertaining to Russia and Ukraine which all of us here have been enlightened to by our host; and how willing they will be to thwart their own leadership in acting to prevent global calamity. Not only prayer is called for but also applying any kind of influence we can on the Republicans in any kind of shrewd manner of which we can think. The midterms are not an intramural exercise rather they may be existential for Western civilization.
Macgregor: "Washington always mistook Putin’s readiness to negotiate and limit the scope and destructiveness of the campaign in Ukraine as evidence of weakness, when it was clear that Putin’s aims were always restricted to the elimination of the NATO threat to Russia in Eastern Ukraine."
As I have said here before, but am moved to say again, it was *Putin* who appeased the Western Hegemon for two decades, until the WH simply crossed his line.
In the past I have urged Mark's readers to watch Oliver Stone's four part interview with Putin.
There are many conclusions to be drawn from watching this. One, which I have drawn, is that Putin tried very hard for quite a long time to discuss, sensibly, Russia's security concerns with the West, who he frequently refers to in the interviews as Russia's 'partners'. Many platitudes were mouthed over the years, but, inexorably, NATO moved east.
"NATO had expanded in breach of Washington’s solemn promise made at the time of the German reunification to not extend NATO "one inch to the east"."
There was no such "solemn promise". The "not one inch" remark was uttered in a discussion that might be categorized as brain-storming.
Ukraine's situation is sad. I sympathize with Ukrainians who wanted to join the European Union and NATO, but that was not politically possible. Ukraine needs to develop another accommodation that is acceptable to Russia.
The US Government should not have encouraged the 2014 Maidan protests, which expelled President Viktor Yanukevych from his elected position. The US Government should have advised Ukrainians to let President Yanukevych govern normally until the next election, when he might be voted out of office.
The Russians in Ukraine had voted overwhelmingly for Yanukevych, and when he was expelled from his elected position, then the Russians in Ukraine moved to secede from Ukraine.
Book TV has a very interesting and informative interview of Professor Mary Sarotte about her recent book, titled "Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate".
Thanks for the updates. You also state: "rallying Americans for war will not be as easy as McGovern assumes." Worse than that, it won't be possible. Nobody cares, nobody trusts our government, and we will have a whole host of problems, mostly economic, to deal with on the home front.
Agreed. I did my 5 years and often considered the same for my son. He's 20 now and prime military age. He has considered it but the vax mandate killed it for him (he's unvaxxed). Given all that has happened/is happening in the military service and the culture surrounding it, I think they'd have to consider a draft in the event of a large conflict.
"What a propaganda piece. As bad as Zelinsky stuff. Worse.
Russia is getting its ass kicked and is very belatedly trying to move the goal posts. Do you really think that a referendum, even with the former forced supercharged Soviet colonization, in an occupied land, has any legitimacy at all? Most of the world doesn't think so.
I think of Putin as a KGB thug and power mad dictator more than an international lawyer, probably gravely ill and attempting to cement an insane legacy for himself, while dragging Russia- and the world into the lake of fire with him. He has made it crystal clear that his life goal is reconstitution of the Evil Empire. Note the extremely high number of highly placed Russian luminaries dying or disappearing. Just coincidence, huh?"
I replied, but we have all learned from Covid Craziness that from such levels of cranial hypoxia it is doubtful that one can recover rational thought.
"We disagree. Vehemently. I'm surprised. If you have read about the 2014 Maidan Color Revolution and have heard the Victoria Nuland phone call intercept about picking "our guy Yats" as the new president for Ukraine, I wonder how you could be so jingoistic. When Biden, Nuland, Kagan, Blinken and the rest of the neocons are all lined up on your side, I would think that would give you pause about the company you are keeping intellectually."
I was pretty shocked. I've known him for 30 years. This must have been simmering for quite a while as I've been sending stuff questioning the US/NATO position since February.
"they have placed themselves squarely within the camp of their new political friends Joe, Nancy and Barack"
Exactly--but also with Mitch and the rest of the Uniparty. I'm amazed that they don't see this. I give kudos to CTH that they appear to get this. Clinging to old Cold War pieties is not the way forward.
I agree with all David Stockman has to say here. And I never expected to utter that phrase in my life. The only questions in what he says (to my mind) are how cognizant the new Republican House will be of the facts pertaining to Russia and Ukraine which all of us here have been enlightened to by our host; and how willing they will be to thwart their own leadership in acting to prevent global calamity. Not only prayer is called for but also applying any kind of influence we can on the Republicans in any kind of shrewd manner of which we can think. The midterms are not an intramural exercise rather they may be existential for Western civilization.
Macgregor: "Washington always mistook Putin’s readiness to negotiate and limit the scope and destructiveness of the campaign in Ukraine as evidence of weakness, when it was clear that Putin’s aims were always restricted to the elimination of the NATO threat to Russia in Eastern Ukraine."
As I have said here before, but am moved to say again, it was *Putin* who appeased the Western Hegemon for two decades, until the WH simply crossed his line.
In the past I have urged Mark's readers to watch Oliver Stone's four part interview with Putin.
https://www.amazon.com/The-Putin-Interviews-Part-1/dp/B072177B2P/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+putin+interviews+by+oliver+stone&qid=1663894295&sprefix=The+Putin+Interviews%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-1
There are many conclusions to be drawn from watching this. One, which I have drawn, is that Putin tried very hard for quite a long time to discuss, sensibly, Russia's security concerns with the West, who he frequently refers to in the interviews as Russia's 'partners'. Many platitudes were mouthed over the years, but, inexorably, NATO moved east.
"NATO had expanded in breach of Washington’s solemn promise made at the time of the German reunification to not extend NATO "one inch to the east"."
There was no such "solemn promise". The "not one inch" remark was uttered in a discussion that might be categorized as brain-storming.
Ukraine's situation is sad. I sympathize with Ukrainians who wanted to join the European Union and NATO, but that was not politically possible. Ukraine needs to develop another accommodation that is acceptable to Russia.
The US Government should not have encouraged the 2014 Maidan protests, which expelled President Viktor Yanukevych from his elected position. The US Government should have advised Ukrainians to let President Yanukevych govern normally until the next election, when he might be voted out of office.
The Russians in Ukraine had voted overwhelmingly for Yanukevych, and when he was expelled from his elected position, then the Russians in Ukraine moved to secede from Ukraine.
https://www.democracynow.org/2022/2/17/jack_matlock_ukraine_russia_nato_us
It's generally accepted that no formal agreement was made. Matlock argues that expansion was a very bad idea anyway.
Book TV has a very interesting and informative interview of Professor Mary Sarotte about her recent book, titled "Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate".
https://www.c-span.org/video/?519120-1/not-inch
In particular, she tells about the alleged "not-one-inch solemn promise".
Thanks for the updates. You also state: "rallying Americans for war will not be as easy as McGovern assumes." Worse than that, it won't be possible. Nobody cares, nobody trusts our government, and we will have a whole host of problems, mostly economic, to deal with on the home front.
Agreed. I did my 5 years and often considered the same for my son. He's 20 now and prime military age. He has considered it but the vax mandate killed it for him (he's unvaxxed). Given all that has happened/is happening in the military service and the culture surrounding it, I think they'd have to consider a draft in the event of a large conflict.
Thanks Mark for this, I was guessing something similar:
“Russia already controls the territory that produces 95 percent of Ukrainian GDP. “
That's the difference between the Germans trying to hold empty space--Ukraine isn't terribly viable without Donbass.
Mark said, "I will say this: I’m not as inclined to believe that Americans have failed to discount the BS factor in the MSM accounts."
I hope you're right, but I sent your piece from yesterday:
https://meaninginhistory.substack.com/p/putin-lays-the-groundwork-for-the
to a few conservatives. Here is one response:
"What a propaganda piece. As bad as Zelinsky stuff. Worse.
Russia is getting its ass kicked and is very belatedly trying to move the goal posts. Do you really think that a referendum, even with the former forced supercharged Soviet colonization, in an occupied land, has any legitimacy at all? Most of the world doesn't think so.
I think of Putin as a KGB thug and power mad dictator more than an international lawyer, probably gravely ill and attempting to cement an insane legacy for himself, while dragging Russia- and the world into the lake of fire with him. He has made it crystal clear that his life goal is reconstitution of the Evil Empire. Note the extremely high number of highly placed Russian luminaries dying or disappearing. Just coincidence, huh?"
I replied, but we have all learned from Covid Craziness that from such levels of cranial hypoxia it is doubtful that one can recover rational thought.
Invincible ignorance, false conservatism. Pretty sad.
Exactly. Here is part of my response to him:
"We disagree. Vehemently. I'm surprised. If you have read about the 2014 Maidan Color Revolution and have heard the Victoria Nuland phone call intercept about picking "our guy Yats" as the new president for Ukraine, I wonder how you could be so jingoistic. When Biden, Nuland, Kagan, Blinken and the rest of the neocons are all lined up on your side, I would think that would give you pause about the company you are keeping intellectually."
I was pretty shocked. I've known him for 30 years. This must have been simmering for quite a while as I've been sending stuff questioning the US/NATO position since February.
"they have placed themselves squarely within the camp of their new political friends Joe, Nancy and Barack"
Exactly--but also with Mitch and the rest of the Uniparty. I'm amazed that they don't see this. I give kudos to CTH that they appear to get this. Clinging to old Cold War pieties is not the way forward.
It's exactly that mentality that the Russia Hoax was precisely designed to take advantage of.
Oh, that's interesting!