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Douglas Murray: Putin’s playbook is the same a quarter-century later — peace talks are pointless
The New York Post ^ | May 29, 2025 | Douglas Murray

Posted on 05/31/2025 5:26:32 AM PDT by tlozo

President George W. Bush famously underestimated Vladimir Putin.

Asked about his impressions of the Russian president, the then-US president claimed that he had “looked into Putin’s eyes” and “saw his soul.”

His secretary of state, Colin Powell, said that he, too, had looked into Putin’s eyes “and I saw the KGB.”

Bush found out what was behind Putin’s eyes a little too late.

Toward the end of Bush’s second term, in 2008, Putin’s Russia invaded the neighboring country of Georgia...

Ever since Putin repeated his Georgian maneuver on a much grander scale in Ukraine in 2022, there are still people who like to pretend that Ukraine is all that Vladimir Putin wants.

Speaking to the Russian people, he can be explicit about the expansion he wants — including the reconstruction of the Soviet Empire.

To others he can play a subtler game, bamboozling ignorant foreign interviewers and running rings around them.

But it is by his actions that you can really know Putin.

And just consider his actions lately.

This week he ordered some of the largest aerial assaults to date on the people of Ukraine.

President Trump, who believed that he was in the middle of a cease-fire negotiation with the Russian president, finally seemed to have lost patience.

“Absolutely crazy” was among the things that Trump labeled Putin’s latest assault on his neighbor.

Putin’s spokesman responded by dismissing Trump’s comments as “emotional.”

But Trump is right to be angry about what Putin is doing.

Because at the same time as dragging out negotiations — postponing meetings, reneging on promises — he is deliberately dragging out the war that he started...

Putin knows that with a US which doesn’t threaten him, and a Europe that can’t get its act together, the cards are largely in his hands...

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Russia; Ukraine
KEYWORDS: axisofpropaganda; barbrastreisand; bidenistas; geheimeweltpolizei; hailvictory; neocohenwhore; neocons; pds; putin; rds; russia; russiahascards; trump; ukraine; ukrainehasnocards; war
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1 posted on 05/31/2025 5:26:32 AM PDT by tlozo
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To: tlozo
OTD in 1997 Ukraine & Russia signed the Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty in which they promised to "respect each other's territory".


2 posted on 05/31/2025 5:28:09 AM PDT by tlozo
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To: tlozo

Now that most of Europe have leftwing governments, it will be much easier for the Soviet empire to expand without military intervention.


3 posted on 05/31/2025 5:31:07 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (TDS Much?)
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4 posted on 05/31/2025 5:32:00 AM PDT by Who is John Galt? ("...mit Pulver und Blei, Die Gedanken sind frei!")
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To: tlozo

Nothing that hasn’t been tried is pointless. If the objective was to prevent Russian expansion, we could have dealt with that without going to war.


5 posted on 05/31/2025 5:35:17 AM PDT by Jonty30 (I have invented a pen that can write underwater. And other words. )
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To: tlozo

Apparently Putin had his fingers crossed behind his back when he agreed to that.


6 posted on 05/31/2025 5:37:01 AM PDT by nuconvert ( Warning: Accused of being a radical militarist. Approach with caution.)
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To: tlozo

Obviously Ukraine’s fault for not immediately surrendering to the peaceful Russian immigrants. /s


7 posted on 05/31/2025 5:38:48 AM PDT by Engraved-on-His-hands
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To: tlozo

Yea, so clever. The Golden Dome wil be his greatest empire expanding proof yet. And when the skittish europeans start launching nukes because, well, they are skittish, ....and gutless to defend themselves....

....or run by islamic end-of-worlders..


8 posted on 05/31/2025 5:40:03 AM PDT by If You Want It Fixed - Fix It
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To: Jonty30
Nothing that hasn’t been tried is pointless....we could have dealt with that without going to war.

Negotiations before Putins invasion of Ukraine were held in Belarus and Turkey in 2022, according to the Polish Foreign Mininster who was there, the Russians essentially demanded Ukraine's surrender.

Russia did not want peace, only the capitulation of Ukraine. Jakub Kumoch, former Secretary of State of Polish President Andrzej Duda, who accompanied the Ukrainian delegation to negotiations with Russia in Belarus and Turkey in the spring of 2022, told the newspaper The Polish Times.

"Let us call it mildly: singularly. It was a draft with the comments of both sides. The document was clearly prepared before the Russian invasion and by the Russians. He provided, among other things, the recognition of the annexation of Crimea, the so-called independence of the eastern regions of Ukraine, the reduction of the size of the Ukrainian army, bilingualism, the ban on joining NATO, perpetual neutrality, etc. There were also purely demeaning elements, such as a commitment to denazification or the introduction of the Great Patriotic War, as the Russians call their contribution to World War II. Things that A State never imposes on State B. Meanwhile, Russia has brought in the entire list of laws that Ukraine is to change. It began with the Constitution."

https://i.pl/jakub-kumoch-ujawnia-kulisy-negocjacji-rosja-nie-chciala-pokoju-tylko-kapitulacji-ukrainy/ar/c1p2-26324503

9 posted on 05/31/2025 5:41:17 AM PDT by tlozo
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To: If You Want It Fixed - Fix It

The missile born nukes will be launched from Iran and maybe north korea


10 posted on 05/31/2025 5:42:12 AM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. +12) Where is ZORRO when California so desperately needs him?)
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To: tlozo

Douglas Murray is a neocon fag.


11 posted on 05/31/2025 5:44:51 AM PDT by dforest
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To: tlozo

How would he sound different if he wanted endless war?


12 posted on 05/31/2025 5:46:57 AM PDT by aynrandfreak (Being a Democrat means never having to say you're sorry)
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To: aynrandfreak

Douglas Murray was on Joe Rogan insisting that the world’s problems be left only to “experts” to solve. Rogan replied that Murray was an advocate of the disastrous Iraq WMD war which was strongly supported by Murray and other “experts”. The neocon warmonger Murray was left speechless.


13 posted on 05/31/2025 5:50:26 AM PDT by laconic
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To: tlozo

“Toward the end of Bush’s second term, in 2008, Putin’s Russia invaded the neighboring country of Georgia.”

The Georgians started it by firing on Russian peacekeepers. Oops. Murray needs some history lessons.


14 posted on 05/31/2025 5:51:21 AM PDT by CatHerd (Whoever said "all's fair in love and war" probably never participated in either.)
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To: CatHerd
The Georgians started it by firing on Russian peacekeepers.

LOL, no Russian-backed South Ossetian forces started shelling Georgian villages first

On 1 August 2008, the Russian-backed South Ossetian forces started shelling Georgian villages, with a sporadic response from Georgian peacekeepers in the area.[32][33][34][35][36] Intensifying artillery attacks by the South Ossetian separatists broke a 1992 ceasefire agreement.[37][38][39][40] To put an end to these attacks, Georgian army units were sent into the South Ossetian conflict zone on 7 August and took control of most of Tskhinvali, a separatist stronghold, within hours

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Georgian_War

15 posted on 05/31/2025 5:55:08 AM PDT by tlozo
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To: aynrandfreak

I just heard, three way talks are coming—Trump, Putin, Zelensky—in person, in private, in secret talks to end the war. No Europeans NATO people. That might work. IF Trump can pull off a peace he should be lionized as a great leader. I believe he can do it. The war will be over soon. Then we will see Russian Vodka on American Shelves, American eggs in Russian Supermarkets. Russians will put up a statue to Trump in Red Square.


16 posted on 05/31/2025 5:59:46 AM PDT by Forward the Light Brigade (. War is Hell, War IS a Crime.)
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To: aynrandfreak
How would he sound different if he wanted endless war?

So ANY "endless war" should be avoided just because it lasts too long?

American revolution lasted 8 long years.

17 posted on 05/31/2025 6:03:30 AM PDT by tlozo
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To: Forward the Light Brigade

Russia has no money to purchase American eggs


18 posted on 05/31/2025 6:08:03 AM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. +12) Where is ZORRO when California so desperately needs him?)
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To: bert

Standing up to Putin is NATO vs. US.

“You go first.”


19 posted on 05/31/2025 6:19:02 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET
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To: tlozo

British neocon….


20 posted on 05/31/2025 6:27:34 AM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2025... RETURN OF THE JEDI….)
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