A month ago I speculated that Finland and Sweden might join NATO, a strategic backfire against what Putin had intended. Apparently both countries have already decided to join NATO and will file formal applications this summer. What else might happen as a cost to Russia? Finland, Estonia, and Latvia might recover the territories the USSR […]
How to Reward Aggression Read More »
Over the last few days Volodomyr Zelenskyy has asked repeatedly for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Poland has asked the US to take their aging MiG-29s, remove the NATO electronics, and transfer them to Ukraine–in exchange for receiving new fixed-wing fighter aircraft. Vladimir Putin has countered that either of these decisions would
Ukraine: Military Lessons Thus Far Read More »
Yesterday I speculated that Putin’s unilateral decision to invade Ukraine might backfire: it might provoke Finland to join NATO. Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU in 1995. All three countries had a longstanding preference for neutrality in the Cold War, but in 1995 joining the EU was not considered a threatening move against a
Consequences of Putin’s Aggression Read More »
One of the objectives of Putin is to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, out of concern that Russia would have a direct border with a NATO country. Too late: Russia already borders on Estonia and Latvia, which are both members of NATO now: In 1955, the USSR created the Warsaw Pact in reaction to West
Today the Republican National Committee formally declared that the attack on the U. S. Congress on January 6, 2021 was “legitimate political discourse” and censured Republican representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for participating in the investigation of this attack. I have kept my silence for a year, because my concern is not about a
The treason of January 6, 2021 Read More »
White supremacists such as the Proud Boys have revived and articulated a belief that Western Civilization is superior, and that Western Civilization is White. I love Gandhi’s retort that Western Civilization “would be a good idea,” but simple snarkastic dismissal might not be the most effective way to disrupt this racist, fascist American movement. There
A Little Disruption of Western Chauvinism Read More »