Posted on 02/26/2024 1:07:28 AM PST by canuck_conservative
Were Russia to use nuclear weapons, it would soon become the largest ice skating rink ever. Drunks like Medvedev repeatedly threatens the west with the use of nuclear weapons. Putin, every now and then, hints at the use. But, the purpose of nuclear weapons is purely deterrent against being threatened or actually attacked with nuclear weapons. In a world in which other nations have nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons are kind of useless.
Ukraine lost this deterrent when it gave up its arsenal of nuclear weapons; and, the U.S. and U.K. gave assurances to Ukraine. Supposedly Russia did also, but that was always the fox giving assurance to the chickens. France and China, the other two legitimate nuclear powers under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NNPT), joined us in a watered-down assurance.
Now, as to what level of moral obligation has the U.S. to Ukraine. The Budapest Memorandum isn’t a Senate-approved treaty. It is a so-called executive agreement. I’m sorry, but Presidents don’t have any such power. In this country, treaties must be approved by two-thirds vote of the Senate.
A President, such as Biden, if he wants to act on the something like the Budapest Memorandum, would have to gain the acquiescence of Congress. It is not unusual for Presidents to cave into Congressional demands in return for such acquiescence. Biden and/or the Senate Democrats don’t want to do that. The now long delay in securing additional aid for Ukraine indicates that the Democrats miscalculated or else securing addition aid for Ukraine isn’t as high priority for them as continued illegal immigration.
The House of Representatives has approved aid to Israel along with cuts in IRS spending. That bill is dead in the Senate.
The House of Representatives has signaled a willingness to approve aid to Ukraine combined with Republican-style border security in the U.S. The Senate first tried to combine Democrat-style border security (more money for refugees) with aid to Ukraine, then passed a “clean” bill for aid to Ukraine. That bill is languishing in the House. It’s not dead. But, we’re not seeing a discharge petition.
Things would be different if Russia invaded the U.K., a NATO ally. Then under a Senate-approved treaty, a moral obligation would kick in. As FDR put it in asking for a declaration of war after Pearl Harbor, a state of war already existed, implying that regardless of whether the Congress declared war, he would act as Commander-in-Chief to defend this country.
As it is, no such moral obligation exists with regard to Ukraine. U.S. aid to Ukraine is a political matter.
Losing week for Putin ended with Russian troops sweeping through Avdiivka and advancing westward by several miles, taking a string of villages with them. Ukrainians falling back to secondary defense lines.
EXCERPTS:
Soviet Policy:
(a) Everything must be done to advance relative strength of USSR as factor in international society. Conversely, no opportunity most be missed to reduce strength and influence, collectively as well as individually, of capitalist powers.
(b) Soviet efforts, and those of Russia's friends abroad, must be directed toward deepening and exploiting of differences and conflicts between capitalist powers. If these eventually deepen into an "imperialist" war, this war must be turned into revolutionary upheavals within the various capitalist countries.
(c) "Democratic-progressive" elements abroad are to be utilized to maximum to bring pressure to bear on capitalist governments along lines agreeable to Soviet interests.
(d) Relentless battle must be waged against socialist and social-democratic leaders abroad.
Soviet party line is not based on any objective analysis of situation beyond Russia's borders; that it has, indeed, little to do with conditions outside of Russia; that it arises mainly from basic inner-Russian necessities which existed before recent war and exist today.
At bottom of Kremlin's neurotic view of world affairs is traditional and instinctive Russian sense of insecurity. Originally, this was insecurity of a peaceful agricultural people trying to live on vast exposed plain in neighborhood of fierce nomadic peoples.
To this was added, as Russia came into contact with economically advanced West, fear of more competent, more powerful, more highly organized societies in that area. But this latter type of insecurity was one which afflicted rather Russian rulers than Russian people; for Russian rulers have invariably sensed that their rule was relatively archaic in form fragile and artificial in its psychological foundation, unable to stand comparison or contact with political systems of Western countries.
For this reason they have always feared foreign penetration, feared direct contact between Western world and their own, feared what would happen if Russians learned truth about world without or if foreigners learned truth about world within. And they have learned to seek security only in patient but deadly struggle for total destruction of rival power, never in compacts and compromises with it.
- From approx. pp. 3 - 4 of the telegram.
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