“The war in Ukraine was avoidable,” the excellent director Werner Herzog correctly states in a recent interview. But then looking back at 75 years of the American National Security State, how many military misadventures they've largely, or in part, been responsible for were necessary? Borrowing the words of old General Eisenhower when asked about the accomplishments of his then vice-president Mr. Nixon, “If you give me a week, I might think of one.”
Agreed that the war was avoidable, but your historical assumptions are all wrong. Russia did not "voluntarily dismantle" the USSR, it was unwilling and unable to hold the yoke over those separate nations and people. They did not have the will, power or economy to run tanks into capitals like it did in Czechoslovakia and Poland in the past. But as you say, the leadership deeply wanted to keep those people under the yoke of Russia. So Historically Russia was not the generous, humanitarian you make it out to be. In fact, as Putin says in his own words, this is a war of Conquest beyond the USSR into the Historical Kingdom that was the Kievan Rus.
As for blaming the US for Russian social, economic, educational, technological, and humanitarian failures, again does not match up historically. Russia was losing ground on all these fronts before Clinton and before the break up of the USSR, in fact it was these failures that led to the breaking up of the USSR. Russia during the Clinton years was a failed state, because of the failure of Russia leadership and society coming out of a communist system. As Plato would have said, bringing the man out of the cave into the light begets madness.
And yet for the so called sins of the west during the Clinton years, the same playbook was used under Putin in the 2000s and beget a different result. Direct foreign investment and expert help in the fields of oil and gas. How can it be sinful on one hand and not in the other? What changed?
Putin is what changed. The strongman tamed the wild country and now he is looking to put the old empire back together. Again, these are his own words. I would simply question his right to put other people back under the Russian yoke?
Lets just go your first paragraph Gorbachev pulled 400,000 troops out of Poland, they were already there. Next, tell me anywhere I even suggested "But as you say, the generous, humanitarian you make it out to be." And "the leadership deeply wanted to keep those people under the yoke of Russia." You can write this after all Gorbachev's actions. You're writing to arguments in your head. Putin went into Ukraine, could America acted before to avoid that, without any doubt, in so many ways.
"If you want to understand the Ukraine War you have to ask how did a Russia that voluntarily dismantled the Soviet Union".
Russia did not voluntarily dismantle the Soviet Union. In fact there was a KGB coup in 1991 to stop Gorbachev from doing it. Failure on all fronts led to Perestroika, which in turn led to the Revolutions of 1989 which in turn led to the dismantling of the Soviet Union. Again the old KGB/Soviet leadership did not have the will, ability or power to stop it. "Voluntarily dismantling" is not the same as complete failure and losing its empire. The greatest thing Russian leadership did at the time was letting go of the empire and not just start killing people in the streets like before. That was the last card and they never played it.
Agreed, that America could have avoided the war and I would agree that America has pushed NATO too far east and there was almost zero value in Ukraine in NATO membership.
Agreed that the war was avoidable, but your historical assumptions are all wrong. Russia did not "voluntarily dismantle" the USSR, it was unwilling and unable to hold the yoke over those separate nations and people. They did not have the will, power or economy to run tanks into capitals like it did in Czechoslovakia and Poland in the past. But as you say, the leadership deeply wanted to keep those people under the yoke of Russia. So Historically Russia was not the generous, humanitarian you make it out to be. In fact, as Putin says in his own words, this is a war of Conquest beyond the USSR into the Historical Kingdom that was the Kievan Rus.
As for blaming the US for Russian social, economic, educational, technological, and humanitarian failures, again does not match up historically. Russia was losing ground on all these fronts before Clinton and before the break up of the USSR, in fact it was these failures that led to the breaking up of the USSR. Russia during the Clinton years was a failed state, because of the failure of Russia leadership and society coming out of a communist system. As Plato would have said, bringing the man out of the cave into the light begets madness.
And yet for the so called sins of the west during the Clinton years, the same playbook was used under Putin in the 2000s and beget a different result. Direct foreign investment and expert help in the fields of oil and gas. How can it be sinful on one hand and not in the other? What changed?
Putin is what changed. The strongman tamed the wild country and now he is looking to put the old empire back together. Again, these are his own words. I would simply question his right to put other people back under the Russian yoke?
you should reply to what I wrote, not the argument in your head
Then I guess the logic of your writing was not clear. Were you not giving historical background on why this war was America's fault?
Lets just go your first paragraph Gorbachev pulled 400,000 troops out of Poland, they were already there. Next, tell me anywhere I even suggested "But as you say, the generous, humanitarian you make it out to be." And "the leadership deeply wanted to keep those people under the yoke of Russia." You can write this after all Gorbachev's actions. You're writing to arguments in your head. Putin went into Ukraine, could America acted before to avoid that, without any doubt, in so many ways.
Thanks for reading, cheers
"If you want to understand the Ukraine War you have to ask how did a Russia that voluntarily dismantled the Soviet Union".
Russia did not voluntarily dismantle the Soviet Union. In fact there was a KGB coup in 1991 to stop Gorbachev from doing it. Failure on all fronts led to Perestroika, which in turn led to the Revolutions of 1989 which in turn led to the dismantling of the Soviet Union. Again the old KGB/Soviet leadership did not have the will, ability or power to stop it. "Voluntarily dismantling" is not the same as complete failure and losing its empire. The greatest thing Russian leadership did at the time was letting go of the empire and not just start killing people in the streets like before. That was the last card and they never played it.
Agreed, that America could have avoided the war and I would agree that America has pushed NATO too far east and there was almost zero value in Ukraine in NATO membership.
https://joecostello.substack.com/p/the-last-bolshevik-part-1