🎯 Inconstancy is deadly. It also further exposes the futility of defense-only support. A nation cannot long survive under constant barrages even if they shoot down 90%. They have to be able to go on offense, to destroy the launchers, to raise the costs for Russia.
Allowing Putin to murder Ukrainian civilians daily for "as long as it takes" is unacceptable. If its allies want to war to end, Ukraine must be armed to win. If this doesn’t happen, Putin believes he can wait out Western aid.
How pathetic it is that after two years of Putin's all-out war on Ukraine, EU & US support wavers more than China, Iran, and North Korea's for Russia. The free world has every advantage except will. Economic & military might to crush Russia in Ukraine 10 times over and it sits.
The cost will be far higher when NATO is involved directly. And why wouldn’t Putin do it, after its most powerful member states keep backing down now? Remember, the risk isn’t if Russia can win, it's if Putin thinks the West won’t fight. Same for Taiwan.
NATO is a piece of paper in the end, and without the collective will to fight, its defense promises are worthless. When Russia increases hybrid warfare against Poland and Latvia, will the US and Germany rush to their aid or find more excuses? What does Putin see now?
The Republicans are blocking Ukraine aid so they can say Biden wasted billions if things get worse. The White House can refute that cynical ploy by using executive power to do what is right for American interests by seizing Russian assets and arming Ukraine to win now.
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This is why Putin is so desperate to get Trump to push through a Ukrainian surrender deal that he can say makes him the big winner. Ukraine winning doesn't mean attacking Russia, only defending its territory. The US not helping Ukraine is bad, but just don't help Russia.
We said as much about the Russian democratic opposition to Putin nearly 20 years ago. Stopping him was a fight for Russians, but even if you weren't going to help us, stop helping him crush Russian civil society by pretending he wasn't a dictator. They did not stop.
Now, Trump wants to help Russia destroy Ukraine by lifting sanctions and rehabilitating Putin politically when he and the Russian economy are weak. Are the Republicans, and Americans generally, going to be complicit in this betrayal of a US ally and of US interests?
Refusing to acknowledge the maximalist nature of demagogues and autocrats is why democracies are so bad at resisting them. Acting like MAGA is going to follow the rules of free and fair elections in 2028 (with or without Trump) is a fantasy. 2026 is already in grave danger.
As with most of Trump‘s projection—accusing his enemies of his own crimes, flaws, & failings—his beloved big lie about the 2020 election being stolen paves the way for his own abuses. "They did it to us first" resentment is one of the core principles of autocratic movements.
Americans cannot wait for 2028 because if they do, there won’t be nearly as much they can do by then and it will be far more difficult to do it. Same with thinking you can wait until the midterms. No. Resist 100% now, on everything, or the elections process will be subverted.
Countries that recognize Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea: Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Syria, Afghanistan, North Korea. The US State Dept site (for now): "The US govt recognizes Crimea is part of Ukraine; it does not & will not recognize the purported annexation of Crimea."
Trump is so eager to please Putin that he votes with Russia in the UN to avoid even condemning Russia's war of aggression. Doing so in the name of peace is even more pathetic and revolting. Surrendering to a hostile invader only guarantees further aggression.
Why isn't every Republican being asked every day if they agree with Trump on aligning the United States with Russia against Ukraine, Europe, and the free world the US once led? This has nothing to do with "peace", only surrender and more war to come.
Trump again rushes to humiliate his sycophants and defenders with a full-throated embrace of Russia, the day after it murdered 30 civilians in Sumy, Ukraine with ballistic missiles on Palm Sunday. Where are the condemnations and resignations of the GOP who spoke out yesterday?
Did Biden launch those missiles? Zelenskyy? Nor did either of them start this war, but you couldn’t tell that from Trump's insane ravings. No mention of Putin, of course, who launched this attack the day after Trump's envoy personally kissed his ass, just to show who’s in charge.
This is the only formula Trump has left to defend his embrace of Putin & Russia. As for his "it wouldn’t have happened on my watch", 1, the war WAS going on during his term and he did nothing. 2, as I explained again in the Atlantic, Putin expected Trump to help him as he is now:
Sycophants and conspiracy loons praising the ass-kissing of a Russian mafia dictator by a US president and his envoy. This is Trump's America, and they want you to be as proud of it as they are. And on the day of Russia's bloodiest civilian attack of the year in Ukraine.
Much as Biden's "as long as it takes" was slippery rhetoric to avoid committing to Ukrainian victory, the Trump admin's "working for peace" is a merely a mask for collaborating with Russia to try to force Ukraine to surrender and be destroyed. Capitulation is not negotiation.
The US is siding with the Putin dictatorship, unable even to say Russia is the aggressor that started and that continues this war. That’s not being diplomatic, it’s being a liar and a collaborator with the Russian evil that slaughtered over 30 civilians today in Sumy.
During Trump‘s first term, I pointed out that anyone skeptical of what propaganda could do in an authoritarian state like Russia only needed to look at how easily one cable channel and some talk radio hosts flipped the GOP into worshiping a reality show host and hating the FBI.
Surveys follow the Dear Leader's agenda with terrible predictability. Russians had balanced views of the United States & NATO and were positive on the European Union until it suited Putin to make enemies out of them one by one. Public opinion quickly followed the propaganda line.
27% of Republicans now call Canada unfriendly or enemy. Canada! It is a measure of propaganda power and cult loyalty tests. Do they believe it or just know that’s what they’re supposed to say now? Is there a difference in practice? Russia and China as friends coming up next…