Mathew Burrows and Christopher Preble argue that the impulse to cut Russia out of the international system is understandable but also impractical:
In the wake of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, it is tempting to want to go beyond the very severe sanctions that the West has imposed, even as the publics in both the United States and Europe are not prepared for the likely economic pain. Others have proposed that NATO impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, or provide arms to the Ukrainians resisting Russian aggression, which would not affect Americans’ pocketbooks, but do increase the risk of escalation that could directly threaten global security.
The overriding question, therefore, is of how to ensure the punishment is appropriate, and eliminates the potential for long-term damage.
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There is a tendency in the short-term to focus on the morally superior stance, that it is always better to aid the defenders against the aggressors. But it is worth asking whether that is in the best interest of the Ukrainian people, for example if the additional arms prolong a war that might otherwise have ended more quickly in a negotiated settlement.
[…]
People like to imagine turning Ukraine into Putin’s Afghanistan, but they should remember the extraordinary — even sometimes absurd — lengths that the Carter and Reagan administrations employed to conceal U.S. involvement in that earlier war (even though the Soviets were quite aware). As Austin Carson explains in his book Secret Wars: Covert Conflict in International Politics, the United States worried about the spread of the conflict should that support be disclosed. And there were inadvertent consequences as well. The United States’ arming of the anti-Soviet resistance in Afghanistan, though justified at the time, eventually produced al-Qaeda.
One way or another, the Russian war in Ukraine will wind down. Our common interests should push toward something other than a new Cold War between Russia and the West. All parties should recall that decades-long confrontation, with vast armies massed along militarized borders, as a tragedy to be avoided. The only thing worse, also a distinct possibility, is World War III.
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Efforts to totally isolate Russia will increase its dependence on China, and no doubt expand Western frictions with Beijing, further accelerating deglobalization. The dramatic expansion of trade and cultural exchange over the last three decades opened up unprecedented economic opportunities for the world, almost ending extreme poverty. Putin deserves to be punished, but not at the cost of a much poorer future for everyone.
Unprovoked? In 2014 the US organized a coup d’état that removed the legitimate, democratically elected government and installed the current junta. Since the coup the US has worked to prevent any negotiated settlement, specifically by forcing the junta to reject the Minsk agreements.
The current situation is a direct result of the US’s aggressive expansion of its world empire, the last colonial empire on earth. Much of the aggressive expansion is directed against Russia, but China is on the menu, too. The immediate cause of the war in Ukraine is the US’ refusal to discuss Russia’s security concerns. NATO are merely our sepoys.
When the Soviet Union fell, the Russian leadership proposed that Russia join the EU and NATO. Gorbachev, Yeltsin, Medvedev and Putin all supported that. In Putin’s own words, “a united Europe from Lisbon to Vladivostok.” (A riff on de Gaulle’s’ famous quote, from the Atlantic to the Urals.)
The US vetoed that proposal, too. Would anyone care about China and its goals if Russia were in the EU and NATO?
Bob, Putin is a crazy, evil son of a bitch. It’s that simple.
And pretty obvious, too.
All too often the alleged context is just bullshit to distract from an obvious truth. There’s context that explains, and there’s “context” that tries to explain away or excuse. One is natural, and need only be noticed. The other is constructed via cherry picking, vague language and spin.
Trust what you see, not what you hear. Pooty Poot is cray-cray. We can all see that. His propagandists can’t hide that, so they try to change the subject.
Remember the Rules for Radicals: personalize the situation! So President Reagan was an incompetent old man, Bush was evil, President Trump was a Russian stooge who enjoyed having young ladies urinate on him. Which brings us to President Putin.
What we are seeing is the typical Leftie maneuver of trying to present their opponent as evil, crazy. It is surprising that so many people fall for the same lies time after time.
Bob Sykes is correct; the US and NATO backed Russia into a corner by ignoring Russia’s repeated requests about not having potential threats on their border. Push someone into a corner, and eventually he has to start throwing punches.
“Our Guys” are the ones who are foolish — or evil. They are still not trying to broker a cease fire. NATO wants a war. My fear is that NATO will get a war — and then every one of us will be on the front lines of a thermonuclear war which will devastate Europe, the US, and Russia. After that, China will rule the world. Great job, NATO!
The kinetic part of the war may be over soonish, but I think the sanctions & boycot tit-for-tat will be with us for a long time. I certainly see opportunities for net-positive unintended consequences; the German reality-check on their insane climate policies being a prime example.
For the record: no one was saying Putin was crazy until he recently started talking crazy. And no one was saying he was evil until – much less recently – he started doing evil villain stuff.
It’s not a maneuver. It’s empiricism. Calling it a maneuver is a maneuver to muddy the water.
In your heart you know he’s nuts.
Stopped reading after “unprovoked”
Harry, examples, please, of Putin saying crazy stuff and doing evil stuff.
The leaders of the NATO “defensive alliance” have invaded Libya, Serbia, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan. Does that make them “evil”?
A leader getting concerned about the potential for offensive weapons close to his borders. Did that make JFK “crazy”?
What is crazy is a US Senator calling for President Putin to be assassinated. What is crazy is for Western countries to be feeding weapons into the conflict instead of trying to broker a peace.
This was all avoidable! All that was necessary was for Biden (yes, him!) to stand up and say that we want the Ukraine to be a successful happy neutral country with good relations with the West and with Russia. And consequently, the Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO. But Biden blew it. It is up to you to decide if Biden was “crazy” or “evil”.
Harry Jones says, “Bob, Putin is a crazy, evil son of a bitch. It’s that simple.”
Only to Jews. The Jews ran the collapsed Soviet Union and looted the place, as they do, in the most flagrant manner.
Putin stopped this so the Jews hate him. Anyone that stops the Jews from parasiting on others is thwarting the prime directive of the parasites and must be put down by any means. By any means, I mean, fighting to the last Ukrainian and US soldier. Their fervent aggression in these matters shows that without parasitism they are nothing. It is akin to death for them.
“And pretty obvious, too.”
And it’s also pretty obvious that the failure of the US to run the Jews out of every single decision place in the State department or any International relations department at all has brought about one of the single most brain dead defeats in foreign policy by any country ever, (maybe Britons Jew policy destroying the empire is up there with it). We could have, instead of allowing the Jews to loot Russia, helped them out. Brought them in to NATO. Think of the opportunities for peace with such a combined force. Instead, we have covid, vax, possible nuclear war. It’s horrible.
I didn’t think it would happen but it seems to be happening: I’m coming around to Sam’s point of view: maybe Harry Jones really is a Jew.
Bill: “Unprovoked? In 2014 the US organized a coup d’état that removed the legitimate, democratically elected government and installed the current junta.”
That’s unprovoked from the U.S.’s point of view. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to them because they’ve been doing that sort of thing year after year for generations. And then finally in 2020 the U.S. did it in America.
Obama easily overthrew the Ukrainian government, and Obama is an idiot.
Putin is having a much harder time of it, even with 200,000 soldiers and saturation bombing and artillery.
Why was Obama so effective while Putin is a dunce by comparison?
“Why was Obama so effective while Putin is a dunce by comparison?”
Because first, Obama didn’t do it. Second, the ones who did had the whole entire western media complex, intelligence complex, capital and on and on aligned with them.
Putin has…Russia.
We also should note the people overthrowing Ukraine with Obama’s blessing had zero care about civilian casualties.
Easily seen by the Jewish controlled government of Ukraine continuous bombing civilians in the east for years now. Continuing to do so, right now even in western Ukraine as we speak and blaming it on the Russians.
The Russians do not want any civilian casualties. This serves no purpose for them. They do not want to kill Ukrainians. They do not want to conquer Ukraine in the traditional sense. They want assurance that the Ukrainians will not partner with belligerent forces and move weapons systems close to their borders.
I suspect the weapons systems they worry most about are anti-ballistic missile systems that can shoot down ICBMs. They don’t have the range farther back to stop ICBMs fired from Russia, but the closer they move them to Russia, the more they are able to down Russian ICBMs before they leave Russian territory.
Sad to see that no matter how many times Harry gets beaten and wounded by the synagogue of satan, he still cannot stop his heart from falling in tune with their drumroll.
Gavin, if the stated intention to restore the Soviet Union doesn’t dismay you, then you are beyond reach.
Same to anyone else who refuses to see it. Only a literal commie could fail to have a problem with that.
(How’s that for name calling?)
Harry,
The only people I have heard stating an intention to restore the Soviet Union are the Usual Suspects claiming that this is what Russia intends to do.
What Russia has repeatedly said is that all it is seeking is not to have the aggressive NATO alliance stacking up offensive weapons on its borders. The geniuses in the US and NATO have repeatedly ignored Russia’s quite reasonable concerns.
Reality is so much less dramatic than the efforts of the Usual Suspects to manufacture distractions from their incompetence.