Zeit: Enthusiastic as the (negative) responses may be, they’ll also be lacking in any sort of substance.
I was struck as I read through some of the responses attacking my rather hawkish foreign policy, that everything now boils down to shape rather than substance.
Everything is defined in terms of which pole one gravitates towards, as evidenced by Brian’s repeated “You can’t think that way, you’re a conservative!” mantra. Rather than focus on the true nature of the problem at hand (in this case, Russia’s nationalistic expansionism), everything is now framed by one’s leftward or rightward leanings.
I read an article once about Winston Churchill’s “wilderness years” (the interwar period leading up to the invasion of Poland in 1939) and he commented on how few British and French politicians and leaders honestly had any sense of who Hitler truly was and that, if anyone had cared to find out, all they really needed to do was read “Mein Kampf” and see old Adolf’s “Today Germany, Tomorrow the World” blueprint.
And here I sit reading Brian’s “Russia may or may not be a problem” comment. The Russian government is executing any dissidents or reporters challenging/questioning the regime, bullying their Western European neighbors, invading or threatening to invade their Eastern European neighbors and aggressively agitating to bring their former Soviet satellite states to heel.
But we’re not sure if they’re a problem. Putin has OPENLY stated his intent to assume regional control and then expand from there. He is envisioning a return to Russian glory, along the lines of the former Soviet Union, the collapse of which he OPENLY declared a “catastrophe”. Call me crazy, but I thought the fall of Soviet communism was a GOOD thing.
This is a political system that has killed 100 million people, but we’re not sure if the Russians are actually a problem. Jesus, what more do you need to make that determination? Putin showing up at your house with a gun and a written declaration of war?
The real icing on the cake is that this was a concession that Obama did NOT need to make. The US held all of the leverage in this case and we surrendered that without a fight. Just like the British and French surrendered the Czechs to Hitler without a fight.
