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Garry Kasparov Profile picture
@Kasparov63
Feb 20, 2022 • 9 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
After warning so many White House admins blundering with Putin, I don't care if they listen to me as long as they are listening to reason. If you make the same mistake twice you are either a fool or it's not a mistake at all, it's collusion & corruption.
I blasted W Bush for treating Putin like an ally after 9/11, but they were both new on the job in a crisis. By 2008, Putin wasn't a mystery, but Obama gifted him the Reset. Trump was Putin's fan and beneficiary. Biden talked tough, but is repeating the reactive pattern.
As I just said on CNN, I *hear* Scholz, Macron and Biden talking, but I don't see anything new. Putin was "a pariah" in 2008 when he invaded Georgia, invaded Ukraine & shot down MH-17 in 2014, etc. And? He hosted the World Cup in 2018 and Nord Stream 2 went ahead. Pariah? Image
I'm not in the mood to be charitable when thousands more innocent people may about to be murdered by a man I was told repeatedly I was overreacting to call a dictator and threat.
Once again, dictators don't ask why, they only ask why not. If you don't act to stop them, they assume you are fine with what they are doing, but must say that you aren't for show. It's up to the leaders of the free world to prove Putin wrong. I'm not sure he is.
Just one example of the thinking that got us here, the dismissive tone of a so-called Russia expert in a review of my 2015 book Winter Is Coming. He had already invaded Ukraine & annexed Crimea, but I was overreacting! washingtonpost.com/opinions/chess…
Many lives are at stake, but so is the global order based on the rule of law. Putin's invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea shook its foundation. Now he wants to shatter it. If the free world is worth defending, it must be defended now. video.snapstream.net/Play/79yBSXy8o… Image
Words matter. It's a Putin crisis, not a Ukraine crisis. There are no separatists; they are Russian occupation forces. There is no Russian president; there is a dictator with nukes who wants the world to dance to his tune. Words matter, but they have never stopped a dictator.
For predicting Putin's moves, just see what he sees. He looks around and doesn't see forces coming to defend Ukraine. He hears leaders of mighty nations only talking instead of acting to stop him. He sees promises, not action, and he knows promises are made to be broken.

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More from @Kasparov63

Garry Kasparov Profile picture
Jul 4
July 4 is about 1776, and I’m fond of posting quotes from and about the Founding Fathers, who hindsight confirms as the greatest collection of talent, knowledge, and courage ever assembled. But this year I’m starting with 1788, and Federalist Paper 69. guides.loc.gov/federalist-pap…
In it, and the subsequent Papers, Alexander Hamilton enumerates the differences between the US presidency and the monarchy. That is, why the American president is not a king, and how his power is constrained by law in many ways a king's or despot's is not.
Hamilton places great emphasis on how the presidency's great powers are constrained by the "advice and consent of the Senate" and by the threat of impeachment should he overstep. I leave it to you to read it and decide if such constraints are in effect today.
Read 7 tweets
Garry Kasparov Profile picture
Jul 2
Good comparison, because a military is what Trump wants. His own personal federal National Guard. It's called Rosgvardiya in Russia, or call it a praetorian guard or gestapo. ICE will be the most powerful military force on the ground in the country, under the command of the DOJ.
Every Republican who voted for this will be guilty when this force is used against American citizens. He's already talking about deporting them. It will begin with "subversive elements," and "enemies of the people," as it always does.
Trump already tried to overthrow an election. If you're counting on his personal squeamishness over the use of force, those around him are far more ruthless. No need to deal with states or governors & the National Guard. Trumpguardia will be there for every contrived emergency.
Read 5 tweets
Garry Kasparov Profile picture
Jun 28
I encourage you to see the reader comments on Mamdani and socialism and my responses below. A few summary remarks for those who have never experienced socialism, let alone communism, and why it's been a siren song for idealists & a Trojan horse for authoritarians for a century.
"Socialism" has become a talisman for the left in the free world, everything they like from public education to healthcare. But even the most robust welfare states in democracies were built on the spectacular success of capitalism. Don't kill the golden goose to get to the eggs.
The bait and switch is always about power. Sooner than later, even when sincere, attempts to enforce equity requires growing limits on freedom. As for the insincere, there's a reason the worst fascist movements of the early 20th century started with socialist branding. It sells.
Read 6 tweets
Garry Kasparov Profile picture
Jun 25
Socialism is like polio, it comes back when people forget about the horrible damage it did last time.
Talking about socialism is a luxury paid for by the successes of capitalism. As I wrote in 2016:

"A popular rebuttal is to invoke the socialist leanings of several European countries with high living standards, especially in Scandinavia. Why can’t America be more like happy Denmark, with its high taxes and giant public sector, or at least more like France? Even the more pro-free-market United Kingdom has national health care, after all. First off, comparing relatively small, homogeneous populations to the churning, ocean-spanning American giant is rarely useful. And even the most socialist of the European countries only became wealthy enough to embrace redistribution after free-market success made them rich. Still, why cannot America follow this path if that is what the people want? What is the problem if American voters are willing to accept higher taxes in exchange for greater security in the embrace of the government?

The answer takes us back to all those inventions America has produced decade after decade. As long as Europe had America taking risks, investing ambitiously, attracting the world’s dreamers and entrepreneurs, and yes, being unequal, it could benefit from the results without making the same sacrifices. Add to that the incalculable windfall of not having to spend on national defense thanks to America’s massive investment in a global security umbrella. America doesn’t have the same luxury of coasting on the ambition and sacrifice of another country."
Link to that article: Garry Kasparov: Hey, Bernie, Don’t Lecture Me About Socialism. I Lived Through It. kasparov.com/garry-kasparov…
Read 5 tweets
Garry Kasparov Profile picture
Jun 12
To paraphrase Archimedes, give Trump a lever against Russia and he’ll move the deadline!
Graham's "overwhelming support" for this sanctions bill is becoming Trump’s "two more weeks" when it comes to action against Russia. Putin clearly doesn’t think they’ll really do anything—other than reduce aid to Ukraine, which they actually did.
Putin is the poker player, the bluffer with a weak hand but even weaker opponents who keep folding their winning cards. Trump, Macron, Starmer, Merz, so much talk. Western leaders have blustered and caved so many times that there is no longer any credible deterrence, only action.
Read 4 tweets
Garry Kasparov Profile picture
Jun 10
Events taking shape in California can be an example for the nation to follow, or they can be the harbinger of a long, hot summer. Do protesters want change for the better or just to help Trump by trying to rule the ashes? Link below. 👇 Image
My piece on the LA protests and how Trump's opponents can respond and join me + @UrielEpshtein today @ 5pm ET/2pm PT LIVE at The Next Move from @Renew_Democracy. Read + subscribe below. thenextmove.org/p/i-resisted-p…
I concur with the thought of MLK Jr that if they can’t attack your principles they will attack how you protest to defend them. The point of protest is discomfort, to shake the status quo when justice is unjust. But leaving the path of nonviolence only aids the oppressor.
Read 7 tweets

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