War weary commentators
of the left and right are arguing that the Ukraine is not our problem. In disagreement with any contrary argument, these folks like to ask whether the holders of opposing viewpoints are willing to be on the front lines personally. I think they are completely wrong. Remember that NATO now includes Latvia,
Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. The first
3 are Baltic States that used to be part of the USSR and might be next on
Putin's list of targets. We made a commitment to the Ukraine to
guarantee its territorial integrity in exchange for Ukrainians giving up their Soviet era
nuclear weapons. If we ignore our commitment, we will need to quickly move a
large number of US and NATO aircraft to Poland, because at that point Putin
will really be tempted to grab the Baltic States. Regardless, just letting the
Ukraine be cut up will make countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel wonder about
our commitment to them. This could start a general, probably nuclear, war in
the Middle East brought on by Iran's unchecked move towards making their own
nuclear weapons. So enjoy playing games with who's going to get shot at. And
get some popcorn, because the show is only just beginning.
I think the
best possible response to Putin would be to withdraw from the New START
disarmament treaty now in effect with Russia. It is a unilateral step that the
president can take immediately. Unfortunately, the One We Weren't Really
Waiting For will not do this. As I said before, another thing we could do is start moving a
significant number of US and NATO aircraft to Poland and the Baltic States. Our
Dear Leader won't do that either. Our Smartest President Ever will at best tell
Putin that the Ukrainian border is a red line he should not cross. Most likely,
our Community Organizer in Chief will warn Putin that Russia risks condemnation
from the whole international community and all Citizens of the World if he
grabs any more Ukrainian territory. I feel sorry for the Ukrainian people. They
lost the last US election and will have to pay for it even though they didn't
get to vote.
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