Gory to Ukraine
"He wanted to eat that frank."
Jun 20
I used to think that starting a proxy civil war in Russia was insane. It was insane. But I would have poured cold water on the idea that anyone in DC would invent the idea of inciting a direct conflict between NATO and Russia—which appears to be what this Lithuania thing is. Certainly, if the State Department did not want Lithuania to be blockading Kaliningrad, Lithuania would not be blockading Kaliningrad.
This is “kick the dog until it bites” (perhaps the core weapon of US foreign policy) at a truly incredible level: the level of direct military conflict between NATO and Russia. In for a penny, in for a pound. The US in June 2022 is every bit as much at war with Russia as, in June 1941, it was with Germany.
The temptation of Putin is, like the temptation of Hitler (which brought about his strategically suicidal declaration of war against the US), to recognize the reality of war by responding with direct military action. After which, nuclear escalation is already a matter of time—have the Russians shown much compunction in strikes against cities?
It would be ironic but typical if the same prestigious agency, the predictable and often predicted result of whose decisions (starting with the completely pointless decision, really as bad as the decision to collect all the bat coronaviruses then try to engineer them to be more dangerous, to expand NATO to the east) was this war, would in the end bring the hard hand of war down on America itself.
But this outcome suddenly feels much less unlikely than it has since I was a child in the Cold War. This Lithuania foolishness absolutely has to be stopped. It does not seem utterly implausible that Putin might take the bait—and then facilis descensus Averno.
While my guess is that he is wise enough to avoid it, I don’t like Putin and I don’t like the fate of the world resting on his wisdom. I expect better of my State Department, which exists to serve the interests of the American people—not of Navalny, Zelensky and Pussy Riot—not of Russians, and not of Ukrainians.
However, we as Americans must be ashamed of what we have done to the Ukraine. It is exactly what we did to Poland at the start of WWII—we baited our own dog into a fight, always an easy enough trick, then watched as it got ground into inevitable meat. Good doggie! Slava Ukraini!
Think about how many people across the world have had lunch on Ukraine’s tab—had enjoyed professional opportunities which would not exist without this war. When I stayed in Setubal, Portugal last week—PCP territory, they told me—there was a blue and yellow banner on the overpass over the little N10, “Stop War! Stop Putin!”—indeed. The best way to stop a war is to win it.
And in this endearingly innocent manner, official Ukrainian nationalist kitsch is all over the world. Imagine being able to tell the difference between good (Ukrainian) and bad (Hungarian) nationalism! Anyone who takes the party line literally is in for long hours counting the angels on the head of a pin. [continue reading…]
Gerard Van der Leun
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