Here's the truth on Ukraine, as far as I can tell

American Thinker ^ | 9 Mar, 2022 | Dan Truitt

[MtnClimber]

First, and most importantly, virtually no one in the US has got this right, including conservative outlets and pundits. Putin's a thug, but he's an excellent politician and a strong leader. And he’s not crazy, as some seem to surmise. He is a cold, calculating, strategic thinker who has disciplined his mind and body for decades. He’s a Russia first guy. Think Donald Trump minus all that hot air, Big Macs, and add a willingness to off his enemies.

We promised Russia we would not expand NATO when the Soviet Union fell. We went back on that promise and incorporated almost the entire Eastern Bloc into NATO.

Then after 9/11, Bush II unilaterally cancelled the '72 ABM treaty, which until then had frozen nuclear weapon development in the Soviet Union and the US, effectively ending the arms race. Bush's rationale was that we needed to develop new nuclear weapon tech to defeat terrorism. Like we were going to nuke Osama Bin Laden.

Bush's rationale for NATO expansion was also terrorism. So, Bush triggered a fresh arms race. Bush was a decent man, but the more time goes by, the more he looks like an absolute moron to me.

Ukraine belonged to Russia for centuries. They have almost identical cultures and languages. Kiev used to be the capital of Russia. Putin's war is a war of defense. Russia (rightly, in my view) feels threatened by NATO expansion. Russia is a mainly land-based, continental power which desires a buffer with the West. Ukraine serves that purpose perfectly.

The US triggered a coup d'état in Ukraine in 2014, overthrowing the democratically elected president who was Russia friendly, and installing a pro-western, pro-NATO leader. Putin has had his eye on Ukraine ever since but dared not do anything when Trump was in power

[LastDayz]

My bad. It’s a guy thing. From time to time the said or written word(s) elicit that response from me when it strikes true. In some circles, it can be considered as crude.