Not that I have an inside source or anything…
Imagine the conversation in the Kremlin. Certainly they have their hawks and doves. Let’s call them the “war party” and the “hopeful
diplomats.”
War Party: “NATO has
been moving ever closer to the motherland.
First Yugoslavia, then the Baltics, then Georgia, now Ukraine.”
Hopeful Diplomats: “We
think we finally have someone in Trump that we can work with. He says he wants to talk. Let’s give it a chance.”
War Party: “You don’t understand. There is no more buffer between NATO and the
motherland; next stop St. Petersburg, then Moscow.”
Hopeful Diplomats: “We
only have to wait ten more days, and then we can officially talk to Trump.”
War Party: “OK, but if
things go south, so will you. We will
have to fight.”
Hopeful Diplomats: [Gulp]
On the one hand, Putin can be described as a patient
diplomat: despite the continued eastern encroachments by NATO he has not
launched an overt counter-attack. On the
other hand, the Russian military – while certainly capable – is no match for
the US military when push comes to shove…and Putin knows this. He has to be (and so far has been) very
selective about where and how he engages.
There is one place, certainly, where the two are – for all
practical purposes – equal: weapons of mass destruction, aka nukes.
What will the Russians look for from Trump? Satisfactory resolutions on the Ukraine and
Syria and an end to the economic and other sanctions. Given that it is the west and the US that
have been the aggressors in all these conflicts, what this means is that the
desired outcome is all one-sided – reasonably favorable to Russia.
After all, what compromise can be reached when you are the
aggrieved party? As is obvious, there are
too many in the US – neocons whether democrat or republican – that will fight
hard against this.
This is the place for wise diplomats, good negotiators. Find a way to leave a neutral Ukraine, even
one that offers autonomy to certain regions; Assad stays in power until proper
elections are held; once agreement is reached on these two, the sanctions will
be lifted. In other words, find deals
where both sides can claim some form of victory (whether true or not).
What is left for Russia if the hopeful diplomats are
wrong? The war party in the Kremlin will
take control, as they must given that the situation is existential.
There is a third group in Russia – those willing or even
desirous of moving toward the west, under the western orbit. If the hopeful diplomats fail, will this
group come to the fore instead of the war party?
Hard to imagine. The bloodiest
battles in Europe over the last 150 have usually come as a result of Russia
facing an existential crisis. They
haven’t lost yet. It is difficult to
imagine an easy transition to subservience for such a people.
What happens if the Russian political and military
leadership find no reason to hope that the dialogue and the actions will change
under Trump? That is the question, isn’t
it?
There should be no doubt that many western leaders favor war;
they will do all they can to ensure Trump is cornered. This will not be an easy road for Trump.
Conclusion
When facing an existential crisis and you cannot otherwise
fight on equal terms, why not go all Samson
on your enemy.
Judges 16:27 Now the temple was
crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and
on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.
28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord,
“Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and
let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.”
29 Then Samson reached toward the
two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them,
his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other,
30 Samson said, “Let me die with
the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple
on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died
than while he lived.
Let’s hope Trump can leave Russia with two eyes….
Do you know who Putin is? He is KGB. His grandfather or father was Stalin's chef. He is ruthless in his quest for power, proclaiming himself president of Russia through skillful means. And he has murdered journalists like yourself left and right in his rise to the top -- not to mention the intentional genocide of the Chechnyans for years and murder of the Afghans for his piece of the heroin trade. Are you aware of any of this?
ReplyDeleteDo you have a relevant point?
DeleteYou can say the same about Obama whose minions blew up a cafe in a successful attempt to murder(or was it to make a bold statement about) an American teenager. Putin does not seem so bad now does he?
DeleteHow about Bush who started two hopelessly lost wars resulting lost trillions in wealth, 20,000 American deaths, countless wounded physically and mentally and your worst nightmare: Russia/Putin and Iran controlling road, and more important pipeline access from South Asia to Europe starting in Kashmir and ending in the Mediterranean.
@ Anonymous January 11, 2017 at 10:39 AM
DeletePrecisely. I challenge anyone to come with a list of more international devastation and a more increased police state than unleashed by the two US presidents over the last 16 years.
Three presidents. Reagan at least called the Marines back from Lebanon.
DeleteThere is also the arming, financing, and Special Forces and combat help for the deliberate mass murderers in Libya of the 10,000 blacks of Towargah. Madeline Albright's description of the 500,000 civilian (men, women, children) deaths in actions taken against Iraq as "acceptable".
And how many millions of victims are there of Hillary Clinton's anti-Russian program in Syria? Her promise to "definitely bomb" Iran?
What the hell is wrong with making peace instead of war?
I had not gotten the word from Killery herself that she was going to waste billions bombing a country is of no threat to the USA immediate or otherwise. Probably missed it given that Killery's kill list is so long.
DeleteIn addition to reviving the Cold War with Russia so that Washington's war machine can remain fully funded, I suspect that the economic sanctions on Russia are an attempt to keep Russia's oil off the market. This would prevent oil prices from collapsing due to the increase in global oil supplies resulting from the American fracking industry ramping up production. Higher oil prices would also delay the fracking industry's default on the huge debt used to fund their operations.
ReplyDeleteLiving up to your tag, MC.
DeleteFor the record, I agree.
From Bogart:
DeleteBetter yet is that the whole warfare intelligence complex and all of the fricken fracking is paid for by trillions of newly created currency units.