Sunday, February 27, 2022
War in Ukraine
Ukrainians are battling fiercely for their country and for their very survival. I won't try to cover news, it's too fast developing and my sources (e.g. Ukrinform, Kyiv Post, and VoxUkraine) are incomplete. If it is left to the Ukrainians alone to defeat Putin's army, the sheer numbers mean it will take a miracle. Every Western effort should be made to isolate and crush the Russian economy and to arm the Ukrainians, as quickly as possible. And Russia must be utterly crushed so long as the current regime exists. Putin's threat to employ nuclear weapons -- his raising of Russia's nuclear readiness to the highest level and his promise to visit unimagined destruction on any Western nation opposing him -- mean the world cannot tolerate this genocidal psychopath. He and his regime must go.
Russia has a basket case economy. Starve them. Kick them out of SWIFT. Block SPFS. Develop Western energy sources and quit buying Russian oil and gas. Might as well isolate the Chinese communist regime while we're at it; they are allies, after all.
It appears that at least some in the West are waking up; even the traitorous Germans are pledging to send weapons. Unfortunately, the Biden crime family has taken money from the Russians as well as the Chinese, and both countries undoubtedly have enormous amounts of dirt on the Bidens and other American officials. I expect little or nothing of substance from the U.S. government. We're witnessing what a post-American world, unfortunately.
In the past I've frequently posted on Ukraine, Russia, Putin, and related topics on Unforeseen Contingencies. I've gone back and looked at my old pieces and I think they hold up remarkably well. Except for timing, I Predict War seems spot on. My very first substantive post on Unforeseen Contingencies dealt with nuclear nonproliferation, WMDs and the Ethics of Individual Rights. Ukraine is the only country to ever give up its nuclear arsenal, and now Ukrainians are paying with their lives. Nonproliferation is dead forever. My piece The Inevitability of Nuclear War, Part 1 is chilling now. If Putin fails to conquer Ukraine, will he nuke it? It would fit with what he has said about Ukrainian nationality and my view of his political realities. And why was my timing off? I didn't expect a hardliner against Russia in the U.S. Presidency. Trump, Putin, and What is *Really* Going On is about a truly unforeseen contingency.
I hope and pray for Ukrainian survival and victory, for the safety of my friends and students, and for the triumph of Western values of individual rights and freedom.
More soon.
Слава Україні! Героям слава!
