Alexander Motyl,a political science Professor at Rutgers University echoes our sentiments to a tee when he titled an essay on the internet on February 27, 2022 : “Vladimir Putin has gambled everything and lost”. He had risen to a position of respected world leadership’ He had kept Ukraine at bay from joining NATO with ample arms resting at the Russian Ukraine border. He took advantage of America’s and Europe’s pure insanity over fraudulent climate change by cashing in on their elimination of their own oil and gas supplies forcing them to buy his oil. In the United States it was to the tune of 20 million barrels of oil per month giving Putin millions of dollars; enough income to buy a couple more tanks every day. Should we not be laughing at the toothless sanctions we had simultaneously placed on him?
Finally, last week, Biden put an end to buying Russian oil. How does he hope to replace it? Well he went to Venezuela to beg this Socialist country, which is in shambles, for more of their oil. And oh yes after stifling our oil production for a year, and canceling the XL pipeline he wants America to produce more oil and gas.
Our President, from the day of his inauguration, worked to eliminate America’s strength in using and exporting its vast supplies of oil and natural gas. When we say Biden was financing the war on Ukraine we do not say this foolishly. His climate czar John Kerry always acting with a shortage of gray matter told the BBC that his primary concern was that he feared the Ukraine war would “distract the world from the climate change crisis and produce massive emissions that will negatively impact the globe.”
Putin really had everything going for him when as Professor Motyl said “He blew it all by invading Ukraine and overnight became a pariah state.” International opinion unanimously condemned him and his own Russian citizens have shown nothing but outrage over the waste of life and resources.
Of greater importance this supposedly expert chess player miscalculated the response of the Ukrainian citizens. He thought they would quickly lay down their weapons rather than fight furiously as they have done with support from around the world with supplies of weapons to be used by the valiant Ukrainians.
Even if Putin were to end up with a portion of Ukraine, with massive loss of life, the world watches as tens of thousands have volunteered to fight and donate savings to help finance the defense of their country. Around the world Ukrainians in foreign countries are staging rallies and fund raising for their home land. Professor Motyl said “ Ukraine’s dramatic show of wartime unity and national strength is exceptionally inconvenient for Putin.”
His options are all bad, destroy the country and the people therein, set up a puppet government and occupy the country with a necessary million soldiers who would become the targets of a well formed resistance movement. He could negotiate peace with Ukraine, admitting defeat to his own population and circle of leaders. His billionaire Oligarch circle are already turning against him as it is they who are feeling the brunt of many of the economic sanctions.
We have never viewed Putin as lacking in intelligence so why did he act so stupidly in this case. It is most likely as the leader of this nation for two decades his advisors no longer challenge what might set him off. Also historically Russia never viewed Ukraine as other than a weak sibling subservient to its older brother. He may never have seen “Ukraine as a nation with its own interests and culture”, as professor Motyl believes.
As sad as this situation is for the citizens of Ukraine, the world will eventually benefit from a permanently weak Russia and its leader. And if dear reader your pessimism toward the state of the world is weighing you down here is a huge dose of optimism which you can look forward to.
1- Russia will lose this war.
2- Europe will no longer bow down to Russia.
3- NATO will become a real European Defense force as its members at last contribute 2% of their annual budget to make it a force to be reckoned with
4- Reagan’s mantra “Peace through strength” will be adopted throughout the world.
5 -Putin will be finished as the head of Russia, if he lives it will be in exile
6- The United States will begin to reinvigorate its prestige as a world leader in spite of its stupid larcenous leader