Stay Calm, America

[Celerity]

Putin’s violence may still get worse. But Americans shouldn’t root for a dangerous escalation of hostilities.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/stay-calm-and-dont-advocate-war-against-putin/624169/



A few days ago, I was watching footage of Ukrainian mothers, panicked and crying, trying to evacuate their children from a beautiful city that a paranoid dictator has now turned into a war zone. I looked over at my wife, sitting a few feet away from me, and saw the tears welling in her eyes. I felt helpless. And for once, I was at a loss for words.

Night after night I find myself staring at the television, almost paralyzed with anger and grief. Russian President Vladimir Putin, after a catastrophic strategic miscalculation, is now embroiled in perhaps the greatest military blunder in modern European history. In his desperation, he is resorting to the classic Russian military playbook of indiscriminate and massive violence. His unprovoked war of aggression is rapidly escalating into war crimes.

It’s going to get worse. The images and sounds from these first few days are a mere prologue to what will come once Putin realizes that he is on track to lose this war, even if he somehow “wins” by flattening entire cities.

In my rage, I want someone somewhere to do something. I have taught military and national-security affairs for more than a quarter century, and I know what will happen when a 40-mile column of men and weapons encircles a city of outgunned defenders. I want all the might of the civilized world—a world of which Putin is no longer a part—to obliterate the invading forces and save the people of Ukraine.

snip

[TygrBright]

1. THIS paragraph is spot-on, and I wish everyone would read it:

"Indeed, one more reason not to let our emotions get the better of us is that the only way Putin can save himself from his own fiasco is to bait the West into an attack. Nothing would help him more, at home or abroad, than if the United States or any other NATO country were to enter direct hostilities with Russian forces. Putin would then use the conflict to rally his people and threaten conventional and nuclear attacks against NATO. He would become a hero at home, and Ukraine would be forgotten."

Never forget that for all the Russians hoping for the end of P*'s kleptocracy, there are millions who think he's a hero and who utterly support him. Russia is not monolithic. Their economic instability and a political and cultural history that includes little familiarity with the norms of responsible engagement with other nations as equal parties makes for all kinds of risk.

somberly,
Bright

[crickets]

2. 👆👆

[BlackSkimmer]

8. Exactly.

Thanks for pointing it out.

[BannonsLiver]

12. Spot on. I wish more people would take time to take a deeper look at it

Would I like to unleash the power of NATO on that guy? Sure.

Do I want to empower him, or worse, end up as a creosote shadow on a sidewalk along with millions- billions of other people? No.

[yonder]

3. I'm close to bawling here. The young girl in the blue coat

closely resembles our own daughter when she was that age and brings their fear and uncertainty of what's happening too close to home.

That photo serves to remind me, resemblance or not, that we are all one people and can do much better in treating our fellow souls (and planet), going forward.

[Solly Mack]

4. K&R

[NotHardly]

5. Stupid is as stupid does. This box of chocolates is the bomb

Railing at the sky is cathartic for the person, useless for the cause.

[Warpy]

6. Well, the only thing most of us are rooting for is for the Russians to say fuck it and go home

which is something the poor slobs they sent into Ukraine without telling them they were going to be shot at want to do.

No, we don't want it to get worse, it's why we're grudgingly supporting Biden's decision not to intervene directly to enforce a no fly zone over Ukraine. As it stands, most of the strikes against civilian targets appear to be rocket strikes, not bombing, although bombing has occurred.

Keeping Ukraine supplied with surface to air missiles would seem a better solution for the time being.

I think what we're all most afraid of is that maniac ordering the use of battlefield nukes. He does that, all bets are off and I imagine there will be massive international retaliation and we all know what that means.

[SunSeeker]

7. Sadly, the Ukrainians must be left alone as the only boots on the ground against Putin in Ukraine.

Otherwise, we are starting WWIII, and Putin is crazy enough to use nuclear weapons. So, it is left to the brave people of Ukraine to save democracy and all that is decent in the world.

Putin will eventually take Ukraine, but it will be a Phyrric victory. He will go down in history alongside Hitler and Stalin as a butcher of his own people and an international pariah. He will eventually die, maybe sooner rather than later. Eventually, Ukraine will come back.

But in the meantime, Putin will kill thousands, maybe millions of Ukrainians, and tens of thousands of young Russian troops. And flatten the magnificent, ancient capital of Kyev, and bomb Ukraine back to the Stone Age.

Of course, we and the other countries of the world should do EVERYTHING we can, short of boots on the ground, to help Ukraine. There is still a LOT we can do short of military intervention. After listening to Biden's SOTU address, where he noted that Putin "doesn't know what's coming," I expect we are just getting started with our help for Ukraine.

[BlackSkimmer]

9. K and r!

+1000

[Emile]

10. When this is all over I will be surprised if Putin is still alive!

His day is coming!

[Gore1FL]

11. I am glad to see this was posted already.

I was going to post it, myself, if this thread hadn't come up in my search for potential duplication.

Great article!