Some are, but not all. Did we not support Stalin in WWII? Franco in Spain post WWII? Pinochet in 1973? Park in South Korea? Marcos in the Philippines?
You ought to know this, you were in State. We don't have friends, we have interests.
Still, Russia's invasion is something we have to oppose. It is not in our interests to have them swallow the Ukraine.
If Russia is a great power, we, as a great power need to keep her friendly, or at least not against our interests. Putin has invaded, not us. His choice, and yes, I believe it is in our interests to oppose this.
Besides, hasn't our foreign policy been promoting self-determination at the national level since 1919?
Why would we suddenly turn our back on that? It would be the change of the century.
I get the point that Ukraine government has been corrupt. But that word has been repeated endlessly on this forum. What is the end game? What do you think we should do? Join Putin? Urge him on?
Of course, I don't see you supporting any of that.
But it seems you want us to turn our back and walk away, stopping all the sanctions and weapons. That just isn't going to happen anytime soon. Realistically.
Precisely, which is why we should not get that involved in Ukraine. It is called realpolitik. I do take issue with the word "support" when it comes to your rogue's gallery of dictators and tyrants. We were protecting our interests and dealing with the recognized political leadership. If we used a moral litmus test on which governments we would deal with, it would be a very short list. The State Department does put out an annual human rights report on every country in the world.
Still, Russia's invasion is something we have to oppose. It is not in our interests to have them swallow the Ukraine. If Russia is a great power, we, as a great power need to keep her friendly, or at least not against our interests. Putin has invaded, not us. His choice, and yes, I believe it is in our interests to oppose this.
Oppose is one thing, declaring an unprecedented declaration of war on Russia to destroy their economy and currency is another. What is the end game? Why didn't we have the same reaction when the Russians took over Crimea? Or aiding the the separatists in Eastern Ukraine who the Ukrainians have been fighting for the past 8 years causing thousands of casualties? The Russian buildup on the Ukrainian border has been going on since last April. Did the Biden Administration want/facilitate the invasion?
John Kerry said he hoped the war in Ukraine would not affect Russian cooperation on climate change. We are working with the Russians on the Iran deal. We still cooperate with Russia on the ISS. We are buying Russian oil and not doing anything to affect the flow of oil to Europe. And we have not had an American Ambassador to Ukraine since 2019. WTF?
Great powers have spheres of influence. Russia considers Ukraine as part of its sphere of influence in much the same way that we treat the Western Hemisphere using the Monroe Doctrine. We have repeatedly intervened in Central and South America along with the Caribbean to protect our interests. Putin has recently raised the possibility of increased Russian presence in Cuba and Venezuela including missiles. I recommend reading Amb Jack Matlock's analysis of the situation in this Dec 2021 article that provides some historical perspective.
We can condemn the Russian invasion without escalating the incident beyond the point of no return. Calling for the assassination of Putin by US senators and even media personalities like Hannity and Levin are irresponsible. Emotion is leading us into places we will rue the day we went.
Besides, hasn't our foreign policy been promoting self-determination at the national level since 1919? Why would we suddenly turn our back on that? It would be the change of the century.
Come on, we are not turning our backs on self-determination. The issue is how far will we go to support it. Eisenhower didn't help the Hungarians in 1956, but he did condemn it. Similarly we did nothing when the Berlin Wall was erected or the 1968 Prague uprising.
I get the point that Ukraine government has been corrupt. But that word has been repeated endlessly on this forum. What is the end game? What do you think we should do? Join Putin? Urge him on?
Don't be silly. What we should be doing is telling Zelensky that he is fighting a losing battle that is destroying his country and killing his people. He should seek a negotiated settlement, which we can help him with. There is nothing wrong with conceding that Ukraine will not join NATO and will seek to be neutral. The carrot could be Western investment in Ukraine to rebuild the country. The stick would be ending the provision of weapons. The end game is a peace settlement. It might include the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia.
Our cynical leaders could care less about how many Ukrainians are killed. They are fighting a proxy war against Russia. Obama helped to overthrow the democratically elected government of Ukraine in 2014. Victoria Nuland was a central figure in that coup and now she is Deputy Secretary of State.
But it seems you want us to turn our back and walk away, stopping all the sanctions and weapons. That just isn't going to happen anytime soon. Realistically.
No, I want us to push peace and negotiation instead of encouraging further violence whose consequences have not been thought out. A destroyed shell of a country with millions of refugees scattered throughout Europe. Possible interruptions of energy and food that can affect the global economy. And a cornered Putin who will retaliate in ways we have not contemplated. What happens if we have a cyber event ten times the size of the Colonial pipeline? What will be our reaction?
We are forcing Putin into the arms of China. We have never faced such a formidable enemy.