Posted on 07/29/2014 3:03:59 PM PDT by Lorianne
In just 800 words Pat Buchanan exposes the sheer juvenile delinquency embodied in Washington’s current Ukrainian fiasco. He accomplishes this by reminding us of the sober restraint that governed the actions of American Presidents from FDR to Eisenhower, Reagan and Bush I with respect to Eastern Europe during far more perilous times.
In a word, as much as they abhorred the brutal Soviet repression of the Hungarian uprising in 1956, the Prague Spring in 1968 and the solidarity movement in Poland in the early 1980s, among many other such incidents, they did not threaten war for one simple reason: These unfortunate episodes did not further endanger America’s national security. Instead, in different ways each of these Presidents searched for avenues of engagement with the often disagreeable and belligerent leaders of the Soviet Empire because they “felt that America could not remain isolated from the rulers of the world’s largest nation”.
Accordingly, during the entire span from 1933, when FDR recognized the Soviet Union, until 1991, when it ended, the US never once claimed Ukraine’s independence was part of its foreign policy agenda or a vital national security interest. Why in the world, therefore, should we be meddling in the backyard of a far less threatening Russia today?
(Excerpt) Read more at davidstockmanscontracorner.com ...
People forget that the Warsaw Pact had 6,000,000 men under arms and was designed as an unstoppable attack force designed to take Europe within weeks, and that WWIII was expected to end life as we know it, and possibly all human life on the planet.
Today, most of the Warsaw pact is part of our NATO, Russia is alone, and the Russian empire doesn’t exist anymore, yet.
Meanwhile the intent of the Budapest Memorandum is ignored.
I guess no one told Buchanan that the Soviet Union is supposed to have ended in 1991, not continued under pretense as a revived imperial Russian empire or a wannabee revived imperial Russian empire.
Therefore his point and his analogy comparing the two eras and the two Ukraine states, old and new, and the two states of old Soviet Union and modern Russia as representing equal conditions, respectively, does nothing less than throw the end of the Soviet Empire into the ash heap of history as a non-event.
Obviously that is Putin’s desire. What is not obvious is why Buchanan thinks the west ought to accede to it, in this era.
Not so much anymore, sadly.
When I started doing reviews, I had a company attorney tell me that no one was “always” anything, nor were they likely to be “never” anything either.
It kept me out of lawsuits over the past thirty six years.
You are correct.
As they often say, Generals are fighting the last war.
Many folks hear “Russia” and they think we are up against the strength of the USSR. And even back then, the USSR was not as strong as we thought they were.
Are they pikers? No. Would we be able to take them on in a conventional war? Sure. Just our ability to project conventional weapons from off shore makes that a no brainer.
Of course, they are not Iraq and they are not rollovers. Even though they could take us into the deep innings, in the end we would win handily. Of course, nukes are a different issue. No one really wins there.
They also forget that our military alliance against Russia is a European military alliance called NATO, and is 28 nations strong and includes us, Germany, great Britain, France, Poland, and most of what used to be the nations of the Russian empire that Reagan brought down.
Realpolitik is not going away anytime soon.
Most of which can be counted on for little to nothing if war came. We can’t even get these nations to bring economic sanctions.
The last thing Putin would want to do is commit suicide by creating a war, but in a war against Russia, NATO would fight, it is why they created NATO, to defend themselves from Russia.
“These unfortunate episodes did not further endanger America’s national security.”
Yea, people seem to forget that, EVEN HERE. The president tells them to HATE PUTIN, and they follow along...never considering where it might lead.
“Meanwhile, the Russkies are developing their nuclear capability and have been supporting communist movements and states across the world, as well as Islamic nations like Iran.”
Then you fight them on those fields - I don’t see what “sanctions” are going to do other than make Putin laugh. The only thing in the past 30 years that EVER got their intention was SDI...and we don’t even talk about building up our military capabilities, at all.
Where will it lead? Are you under the impression that Putin is so insane that he wants to commit suicide by trying to defeat the NATO in a war?
Is your man that unstable and ignorant of his weakness? I don’t think so, it is all in your head.
“Are you under the impression that Putin is so insane that he wants to commit suicide by trying to defeat the NATO in a war?”
...as if NATO stands a prayer against their 20,000 battle tanks.
As during Cold War, we’d have to go nuke (and we don’t even know if they work anymore). The REAL QUESTION is just how insane our own leader is.
My gosh, you really don’t have a clue do you?
Why would the United States and the 28 nations Of NATO need to go nuke to defend itself from little Russia?
You also keep avoiding the question about your constant threat that your man is itching for a war and will destroy Russia for nothing if anyone stands up to him.
If he is that nuts, then now is the time to stop him, before he spends the next decades actually becoming powerful.
Poor Pat. He didn’t get the memo that the Russians are no longer allies, now that Operation Barbarossa was a go. Obviously the relative who was supposed to tell him this must have been the one who died during the Holocaust (by falling out of a guard tower).
I can’t wait to read Pat telling us how wonderful HAMAS is in his next column...
Pat would have been a great president.
“Why would the United States and the 28 nations Of NATO need to go nuke to defend itself from little Russia?”
Even during the Cold War it was a GIVEN that there was ONE Warsaw Pact country and ONE NATO country, and then some support staff. A slight exaggeration then, but not anymore...they other 27 countries now just have token militaries.
“You also keep avoiding the question about your constant threat that your man is itching for a war and will destroy Russia for nothing if anyone stands up to him.”
It’s called WAG THE DOG...you may want to read up on it.
“If he is that nuts, then now is the time to stop him, before he spends the next decades actually becoming powerful.”
I agree. That’s why it’s INCREDIBLY STUPID to support him now. But he’ll be out of office in 2.5 years, hopefully replaced by a Republican.
Childish silliness.
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