Nations do not have permanent allies, only permanent interests. I agree, except to the extent that even interests can be transitory if the geopolitical context changes.
Our main interest in the old world is to avoid a consolidation of power on the Eurasian landmass.
It is one of our main interests, yes.
We need to be cold blooded in our foreign policy rather than sentimental
No argument, here.
Chirac has not allowed sentiment over the liberation of France 60 years ago to play any role in the foreign policy of France.
Chirac is nothing but a loud-mouthed French whore and a joke. His time on the national stage has come and gone, and the only reason he is even still discussed is because of the Freedom Fries brigade here in the US. France represents as much of a threat to US interests as, say, Burkina Faso. Too many conservatives here in the US get distracted by him because he has a knack for annoying us.
Russia, on the other hand, retains some formidable military and strategic capabilities. Putin is marshalling those capabilities to attempt the restoration of the old Soviet empire. Witness his repression of ALL free media outlets in Russia. His centralization of power in Moscow. His piecemeal attempts to re-nationalize strategic industries. His interference in Belarus. His attempted hijacking of the Ukrainian elections. Do not underestimate this man or his nation.
Our interests would be best served by a unified Ukraine entering the European Union. Why? We would be "killing two bireds with one stone." First, the center of European power would tilt even more to the East (and our "New Europe" allies). Second, it would, at least temporarily, halt Putin's momentum in reconstituting the Soviet empire.
Understand that I am not saying that Russia (or even Putin) is all bad. We need them as a buffer against Chinese influence in Central Asia. But we do NOT need them pushing their borders back toward the West. Not now. Not ever.
Cicero's son wrote "Chirac is nothing but a loud-mouthed French whore and a joke. His time on the national stage has come and gone, and the only reason he is even still discussed is because of the Freedom Fries brigade here in the US. France represents as much of a threat to US interests as, say, Burkina Faso. Too many conservatives here in the US get distracted by him because he has a knack for annoying us.
Russia, on the other hand, retains some formidable military and strategic capabilities. Putin is marshalling those capabilities to attempt the restoration of the old Soviet empire. Witness his repression of ALL free media outlets in Russia. His centralization of power in Moscow. His piecemeal attempts to re-nationalize strategic industries. His interference in Belarus. His attempted hijacking of the Ukrainian elections. Do not underestimate this man or his nation.
Our interests would be best served by a unified Ukraine entering the European Union. Why? We would be "killing two bireds with one stone." First, the center of European power would tilt even more to the East (and our "New Europe" allies). Second, it would, at least temporarily, halt Putin's momentum in reconstituting the Soviet empire.
Understand that I am not saying that Russia (or even Putin) is all bad. We need them as a buffer against Chinese influence in Central Asia. But we do NOT need them pushing their borders back toward the West. Not now. Not ever."
Very good post. I think we both see China as a far larger threat to the US than either Russia or the EU. I think that a breakup of Russia would be a catastrophe for US interests in that it would lead to Chinese control of Siberia. I much prefer Russia across the Bering Straits to China.
I think we agree of Chirac, but his views are common in much of western Europe. I recall that in Germany Schroeder pulled out victory from the jaws of defeat in the last election by appealing to anti-Americanism. This is not all that new either, I recall Charles DeGaulle was hostile to the US back in Eisenhower's day. French complaints about the American "hyperpower" began under Clinton, not Bush.
I think it would be harmful to our interests to see the Ukraine incorporated into the EU. The EU may be militarily weak today but it took very little time for the Wiemar Republic to become the Third Reich. I would prefer to see the EU weakened rather than strengthened. Anyway tension between the EU and Russia works to our benefit.