Political News with Richard Bleil
Not very long ago, I made a prediction that Russia would not invade Ukraine. Tonight, Putin made a liar of me, and as I do, I’m here to state, for the record, that I was wrong. And to say that I’m very sad about this. And frightened.
Today, Russia launched a full-scale incursion into Ukraine. There are two breakaway regions on the eastern border of the Ukraine that has separatists fighting for independence. The incursion began, really, with those regions. Russia recognized these as independent states and began shelling the region. I was, at the time, wondering if I should write this retraction at that time, but I still wasn’t sure of what Russia had planned. Were they going to actually send in troops of just shell the area? Would they stop at the border of these breakaway provinces, claiming they were just “protecting” the regions they recognize as independent, or would they move further into the Ukraine?
At this time, Former President Trump made statements not only supporting Putin, but actually praising him for his actions. In his presidency, Trump made no secret of his love of communist Russia, even above our own allies, and he furthered that in his praise of the aggression. Because Trump is the de facto leader of the Republican party, this raises the question of where the Republican party, including senators, representatives, governors and so on are going to support Russia in these developments even as US troops are in harm’s way to help protect the Ukraine.
Tonight, Putin made clear his plans when Russian troops invaded well west of the breakaway regions, including shelling as far west as the capital Kyiv. Basically, their aggression has reached half of the nation. He has called for Ukrainian troops to lay down their arms and go home, arms that the US has supplied specifically for them to defend themselves. He has also threatened a rapid response to any nation that interferes.
I made the mistake in the previous post of saying that the Ukraine is part of NATO. It is not, so there is no obligation for NATO nations, such as the US, to respond at all, and yet as I look at this, it seems like to walk away from the Ukraine is reminiscent of Europe giving up Poland in the hopes of placating Hitler. The US and many European nations have responded with economic sanctions, even threatening to remove Russian banks from the international banking community effectively isolating them. President Biden has warned Americans that these economic sanctions are likely to be felt by Americans in their pocketbooks as, no doubt, the cost of oil and gas will rise.
Questions remain. The US has activated troops in preparation of a Russian invasion, so now that Russia has invaded, will US troops become involved, or will the response be strictly economic and helping to arm Ukrainian troops? I’m so tired of being at war. The last “forever war” ended literally months ago, something that the Republicans are pointing to as a reason that Russia did invade the Ukraine, a stretch to be sure. And here we are again, but this time facing a foe that is comparably powerful and armed. Again, our troops are in harm’s way, and if we become involved in a shooting war, once again, loved ones will be lost.
I’ve no doubt that in a shooting war, the US would win, simply because of economic considerations. The US economy is struggling, but war always seems to pick up our economy as money is spent on arms and materials. The Russian economy has never really been strong, and isolated from the rest of the world, I’m sure that their economy would collapse before ours.
Of course, that’s assuming that China does not become involved, or that the conflict turns nuclear. The internal conflict in the US might also be very bad. Will the Republican Party support American troops, or Russian? Trump has already sided with Putin, so will his supporters, still strong, decide they too should side with Russia? Neo-Nazism is already frighteningly strong in the US, so will those wanting to bring down the government with violence, well-armed but poorly organized, use this as an opportunity to launch an all-out terrorist war? Will we see an increase in mass shootings now with Trump’s new pro-Russian rhetoric?
Yes, I’m afraid. Frankly, I’m also glad that I have arms of my own to protect myself should things turn very ugly. Outside of Boston is a monastery, isolated and closed off from visitors with the sole stated purpose of praying for peace. I guess it didn’t work.
Bleil's Banter 