The issue of "dealing" with Russia is at the heart of all the West's failures. Lying, to its own public and to foreigners, is not an aberration: it is how Russian politics have been carried out throughout its existence. I should like to refer you all to the article in "The Spectator" by Christopher Booth, "The true story about Russian Lying". He was a journalist covering the war in Chechnya in late 1994. His tale about what happened and how the Russian establishment reported it is ample evidence of how foolish it is to believe a word out of Putin's mouth, or out of anyone in the entrenched Russian establishment, political or military. It is very instructive.
The West has to stop playing the fool here. It simply must. TC
Brilliant summary HM!! I grew up being taught that the only reason the US entered the war was because of the Pearl Harbor attack. The truth is deeper than that, imho. The US was already "quietly" aiding the allies, and making a small fortune off of it, but according to FDR, the people here didn't want to go to war, which is likely true. Many historians now believe when PH happened, FDR, who in fact had wanted to join the war, used it to his advantage. People were so outraged over the attack, they cheered him finally joining in. I couldn't agree with you more. This hesitancy has made the West, and imho, especially the US, look weak, scared and indecisive. Frankly, if it wasn't Russia but some other country that invaded Ukraine, I think the US would have already joined in more forcibly. I'm tired of this tippy toeing around Putin. Had Nato come together back in March, they could've quickly unleashed on Putin and put a stop to this madness before it even began. A heavy build-up of troops from all Nato countries, surrounding the borders of Ukraine, likely could have prevented so much of this death and destruction. They missed their chance of providing an immediate show of force by land, air and sea, because they've ignored history....again. Nato and the west has helped create this monster and this disaster.
The issue of "dealing" with Russia is at the heart of all the West's failures. Lying, to its own public and to foreigners, is not an aberration: it is how Russian politics have been carried out throughout its existence. I should like to refer you all to the article in "The Spectator" by Christopher Booth, "The true story about Russian Lying". He was a journalist covering the war in Chechnya in late 1994. His tale about what happened and how the Russian establishment reported it is ample evidence of how foolish it is to believe a word out of Putin's mouth, or out of anyone in the entrenched Russian establishment, political or military. It is very instructive.
The West has to stop playing the fool here. It simply must. TC
Brilliant summary HM!! I grew up being taught that the only reason the US entered the war was because of the Pearl Harbor attack. The truth is deeper than that, imho. The US was already "quietly" aiding the allies, and making a small fortune off of it, but according to FDR, the people here didn't want to go to war, which is likely true. Many historians now believe when PH happened, FDR, who in fact had wanted to join the war, used it to his advantage. People were so outraged over the attack, they cheered him finally joining in. I couldn't agree with you more. This hesitancy has made the West, and imho, especially the US, look weak, scared and indecisive. Frankly, if it wasn't Russia but some other country that invaded Ukraine, I think the US would have already joined in more forcibly. I'm tired of this tippy toeing around Putin. Had Nato come together back in March, they could've quickly unleashed on Putin and put a stop to this madness before it even began. A heavy build-up of troops from all Nato countries, surrounding the borders of Ukraine, likely could have prevented so much of this death and destruction. They missed their chance of providing an immediate show of force by land, air and sea, because they've ignored history....again. Nato and the west has helped create this monster and this disaster.