They rob, kill and plunder... and where they make a desert, they call it "peace". Tacitus
When Vladimir Putin ordered "peace makers" into the Russian-speaking Donbas region of Eastern Ukrainane, some may have expected a limited operation: to protect the Russian-speaking residents of the breakaway Ukrainian republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. But as now seems clear, Russia's objective in Ukraine is no less than occupation and assimilation of the entire country.
But Ukraine don't rape easy. Russian forces have been held up for two weeks in attempting to subdue Ukraine's largest cities, Kyiv and Karkhiv, but thus far have little to show for their efforts but death and destruction, including many dead Russian fighters. Other towns and cities are also maintaining a stiff and resistance. Mariupol, it seems, is in the process of being entirely destroyed to save it from occupying Ukrainian forces.
Will Russia fight and Ukraine defend until every urban area is reduced to rubble and the urban population has been decimated or put to flight? The people of Russia apparently have Putin's back. NATO, meanwhile, is pouring javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles into Ukraine, thus ensuring continued Russian losses. Nothing, then, will likely end this war short of Ukrainian surrender or Russian victory.
Given the peace terms Russia has offered -- Ukrainian neutrality, an end to the sniping and shelling of the independent Donbas republics, and recognition of Crimea as Russian territory -- Ukraine could without dishonor end the war now. But it won't because it is driven by the globalist imperative that requires the destruction of Russia, something that this war, plus the sanctions of NATO nations will go far toward achieving.
Related:
Buchanan: Is There A Peace Deal Putin And Zelensky Can Accept?
A friend and I in the same business (steel for trucks, both of us were leaving) were discussing Russia when George W. Bush was still president. They were playing stupid games just like they are now. Local medical facilities had plenty of USSR-X technicians, nurses, etc, and there were also some new Russian truck drivers around. They were open and conversant about the stuff going on in their former homeland.
ReplyDeleteMy friend and I toted up the plus/minus of Russia at the time. Approx 2006. It was like this: Poor, yes. But optimistic about some things. Rail lines and roadway improvement were just making themselves known.
As my bud put it, "A Russian can go out and -- let's say he's doing his house over, or renovating a clunker. In all respects Russia is not like us. They can buy wiring and conduit, fixtures and even big ticket items that are made by OTHER RUSSIANS. They want a basic infrastructure. If Russia seems "poor" to outsiders it's because they have a bias. It's not total self-relent autarky but it's very close. They may have learned from a certain generation of Japanese, who had a bias for local production too. With the usual you-scratch-my-back-I'll-scratch yours mercantile trade.
Look: One of the most successful arrangements like that was in the field of automotive. We remember it well, I came of age then. For every car sold in Canada, the US had to buy a like amount of Canadian goods. It took the form of auto parts often but not always and it very usually evened out.
When Russia gets "sanctioned" they are getting from us the best deal going. They will make reciprocal agreements with China and whomever else while at the same time keep the strong bias to "make it here and make it by us" which is how North America became a powerhouse in the Postwar years and Russia learned from it.
If I were Putin I'd welcome the sanctions. And why did the rest of us forget the recipe for success?
None of our clowns know. Or don't care. We had the formula for a strong national economy and turned it over to what might be our enemies. It is amazing to see the winners of 1945-1960 forgetting their winning hand.
Yes, the globalists Biden, Trudeau, Bojo, et al. seek to draw Russia into a Ukrainian quagmire that will lead to an overthrow of Putin's nationalist regime. A prime objective is to open the self-sufficient Russian economy to profit-maximizing globalization by Western dominated firms, which will be free to shape Russian culture by way of social media, movies, and mass media.
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