Putin’s War continues and while we have not agreed to a no-fly zone over Ukraine we know we must increase our supply of planes that will allow the Ukrainians to fight for themselves. Just as important, maybe even more so, is to rachet up supplies of Stinger & Javelin missiles and drones. We shouldn’t forget that it was exactly the same kind of supply line that drove the Russians out of Afghanistan when the Russians had clear superiority in the air.
Meanwhile Putin sits alone at his long table and issues dictums about no one calling what he has started “a war” and threatening the West with nuclear catastrophe if we help the Ukrainians. And even as all parties try to balance their intelligence to enable them to make careful decisions, the threat of cyber looms larger and larger.
Of course, as menacing as a cyber threat may be, it doesn’t really compare to a nuclear threat because the result of a cyber-attack, while crippling in the moment, can be quickly undone, but the destructive force of nuclear war, even if it doesn’t end life on earth will certainly make what’s left of it pretty unlivable. Putin knows this just as well as we do. We all know that no sane man would instigate such an attack. So, the question for the Russians is, do you have a sane leader and if you don’t what are you going to do about it?
The question for us is, do we believe that he is insane enough to pull the trigger? And even if he isn’t, even if he is just bluffing, what do we do next time he tries it? Because if it works here, he will surely try it again. What do we do if he moves his troops into a NATO country like Poland? Do we back off when it’s Poland? We cannot let Putin win his bluff because if he does, acquisitive little rat that he is, eventually it will be Canada.
And while we are deciding where to draw the line the Russian people must acknowledge that for them, the line has already been drawn and it’s past time to decide what they must do about it?
Almost 7000 Russian anti-war protestors are in jail. Russian intelligence has already given the Ukrainians information about attempted assassination plots against Zelenskyy. Putin sits and confers thirty feet from even his most trusted advisors, while one of his billionaire buddy’s is offering a million bucks for the right gun. If he’s not crazy, Putin must be scared shitless. In that condition, or if he’s truely crazy, he is almost a sure bet to pull the trigger no matter what happens. That means we must be worried but those Russians nearest to him must be hysterical. Given the circumstances and all the training they’ve had working for him it’s easy to see those around him trying to take him out. What can one say? “Good luck,” would seem appropriate.
*****
Joe Manchin was on Meet the Press this Sunday where he shamelessly tried to sell the world his own fossil fuel, delivered through his own pipeline, to substitute for the gas and oil we will be stopping the Russians from delivering to those who need it in Europe. Manchin has become the ultimate sleaze, or maybe he always was and we just didn’t see it. Chuck Todd was so disgusted he barely called him on it but you could see it in his face.
*****
The U.S. and it’s allies are all puffed up because they finally, weeks too late, installed sanctions on many business aspects of Russian life, but the Russians have barely responded to them. Sure the financial sanctions seem harsh but the only sanction that really comes with bite is the one on fossil fuels. Russia is an oil economy and that‘s the one that really hurts.
Unfortunately, so far it hasn’t hurt enough. That’s because many nations like China and India haven’t endorsed the sanctions. The only way to make them really work is for everyone to unite against Russian oil, but too many countries don’t want to cripple their own economy just to hurt the Russians. In fact we have the potential to replace all of Russia’s oil if we bring the totality of our operations on line. Unfortunately that will release all kinds of political genies for Biden and the Democrats. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emerits could easily make up for the lost Russian production but right now they are not looking kindly on Biden who has spoken ill of them. We could lift our sanctions on Venezuela or Iran, either of which could do the job. So, as one can see there are plenty of alternatives for the Russian oil. Sure each of them brings a problem but solving problems is what government is for.
The biggest bitch will come from the climate people and they will be right. They have spent years getting all kinds of fossil fuel production shut down and now we will want to open some of it up again. The chief argument to their complaint is that U.S. oil is cleaner coming out of the ground than is Russian. The most important argument is that it will keep most of Europe functioning while we put maximum pressure on Putin to shut down his miserable war.
*****
I’ve always been a fan of Bill Maher, even when I’m attacking him. He has a irregularly used segment of his show called, “I know I can’t prove it, I just know it’s true.” It’s like “Donald Trump is a criminal sociopath.” I know….
So this past week the NY Post was hacked. Their E- edition was off-line from last Tuesday to this Monday. But not word was mentioned. This is a major newspaper and it stops publishing for 6 days and the only news from this supposed news giant that includes Fox News is a small on dialogue box that says “Gateway #52” and some other garbage about it being closed. For 6 days! They don’t want you to know what happened and they don’t want to tell a lie in which they could get caught, so they don’t say anything. Why? Because the hack was political! Someone wanted them to right a wrong they have already perpetrated, a wrong they didn’t want you to know about. So, no news about something that would normally be all over their printed edition and should have been mentioned in every paper in town?
Will it come out or will slime ball publisher, Rupert Murdoch, bury it? No, I can’t prove it, but I know its true.
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*****
Ekaterina Kotrikadze