The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

[Benjamin Cole]

12 hours ago, Matt Allison said:

Well. at least for Russia it does.

Matt--

I admire your optimism, but occupying powers, having expended humans, money and taken a position on the global stage, find it impossible to back down. 

Ponder the US in Vietnam, Iwreck and Afcrapitsan.  These occupations last for decades. 

Putin will double down and then again.  

Obama was President when Putin waltzed into Crimea.  Biden was President when Putin occupied Ukraine. Interesting. 

We can hope Putin departs Moscow.  I do. 

 

[Mark Knight]

Part of the 11th Circuit's ruling regarding the government documents:

[Ron Bulman]

1 hour ago, Mark Knight said:

Appeals court gives DOJ access to classified documents from Mar-a-Lago (usatoday.com)

 

Yes!

[Matt Allison]

Not a joke; Trump actually said this tonight

 

[W. Niederhut]

1 hour ago, Benjamin Cole said:

Putin has done worse that that, in reducing Mariupol to rubble. A city of 500,000. A cruel thug---and Putin contends Ukrainians are his countrymen? 

In regards to the present in Ukraine, I presented the Eliot Cohen article in The Atlantic as an example of Donk thinking.

To the Donk elites, Ukraine is not a humanitarian mission, but another battle in the old geopolitical struggle for world dominance---in other words, nothing has changed at the Donks, it is like Allen Dulles is running the show.  

If there is a way to end the war quickly, even with a ceasefire-armistice and not a peace, I would take it.

 

Got it, Ben.  So, you've now changed your previous position about Biden and NATO needing to intervene more aggressively to counter Putin's military invasion of Ukraine?

You repeatedly claimed that Biden and the Donks weren't doing enough to help Ukraine militarily, remember?

Now you're saying that Biden and the Donks are doing too much in Ukraine -- even likening them to Allen Dulles?

As for JFK, do you seriously doubt that he would have intervened to assist the Ukrainians after they were invaded by Russia?

Think of Berlin.

[Matt Allison]

[Ron Bulman]

25 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

Got it, Ben.  So, you've now changed your previous position about Biden and NATO needing to intervene more aggressively to counter Putin's military invasion of Ukraine?

You repeatedly claimed that Biden and the Donks weren't doing enough to help Ukraine militarily, remember?

Now you're saying that Biden and the Donks are doing too much in Ukraine -- even likening them to Allen Dulles?

As for JFK, do you seriously doubt that he would have intervened to assist the Ukrainians after they were invaded by Russia?

Think of Berlin.

It wouldn't let me copy the Neil Young live in Berlin performance, though this is him singing and playing.

Edited September 22, 2022 by Ron Bulman

[Mark Knight]

Just so Ben doesn't accuse me of taking the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' decision "out of context," here's a link to the entire 29-page decision:

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000183-625b-da48-a3e3-e2ff83050000

Check it out; it's a really good read. By a couple of TRUMP-APPOINTED JUDGES, by the way.

Yes, i read the entire 29 pages. 

 

[Mark Knight]

1 hour ago, Matt Allison said:

Not a joke; Trump actually said this tonight

 

Yes, Trump said "...when you're President..."

Which he hasn't been since noon on January 20th, 2021.

Of course, if he contends that he's STILL President, then the Constitution prohibits him from running again in 2024. 

If the law was actually something he obeyed.

[Kirk Gallaway]

53 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

Got it, Ben.  So, you've now changed your previous position about Biden and NATO needing to intervene more aggressively to counter Putin's military invasion of Ukraine?

You repeatedly claimed that Biden and the Donks weren't doing enough to help Ukraine militarily, remember?

Now you're saying that Biden and the Donks are doing too much in Ukraine -- even likening them to Allen Dulles?

As for JFK, do you seriously doubt that he would have intervened to assist the Ukrainians after they were invaded by Russia?

Think of Berlin.

Ben on the Ukraine War

 

Exactly, The fact that Ben was the foremost Ukraine hawk here, daring Biden to be a macho man and now is having misgivings and calling Biden  a hawk, is the kind of intransigence we've come to expect from Ben, still every one can have their say.

 

But this is really something. These are Ben's posts in one 2 week period in March.

 

I did some editing for purposes of brevity. I think I was fair. A lot of it are Ben's conspiracy theories that were based on fallacies, and never materialized. Ben relentlessly pushed the idea that Biden was weak for not establishing a NFZ in Ukraine. History has shown that that not even the most hawkish people in the U.S. government thought a NFZ was at all necessary because there never was a serious obstacle to our supplying Ukraine with weapons, so a NFZ would have been just a needless, provocative move.

 

I think Biden's conducted the war well, with a calm and seasoned approach and got a greater consensus that anybody ever thought he could. But I do wonder what limit is there on our financing a destructive war indefinitely. But you can't help but notice at so many junctures how wrong Ben was and what a bloody war he would have lead us into.

 

I put in 2 comments in bold print and identifying myself. As well as some bullet points from Ben, and identify quotes from Matt and Bob.

These are all separate posts. I think the best way to read this is with a sense of humor.

 

 But if Ben thinks the lighting in Biden's anti Maga speech was creepy, could it be 1000th as creepy  Ben's obsession with Biden?!!!!!!

 

*****

 

Ben on the Ukraine War

 

Ben:Personally, I favor a no fly zone over Ukraine, and some real military gear for Zelensky. C-130 gunships, and destroy the convoy. 

*****

 

Ben: So...Biden is a muddle. He doesn't know what to do.  A convoy is headed to Kyiv and the civilians who live there and Biden is...doing what?  Deciding that, "Oh no! We can't allow Poland to send fighter jets to Ukraine. What if Putin gets angry?"  I think you need to mention the 1/6 scrum again. That will absolve Biden.

 

******

Ben: Biden-globalists did nothing. When the tide turned to Zelensky's favor (thanks to Ukrainian resolve and Putin's image, one that cannot be rehabilitated), they half-heartedly backed Zelensky.

Which is where we are today. In a muddle. 

ah, but Trump is history.

Biden is president now. 

Are you satisfied with Biden? Putin has a lethal convoy headed to Kyiv. Biden promised not to intervene militarily, before Russia's invasion.

But Biden has declared a no fly zone...over the US.

Biden has called out the Army to deter the convoy...well, not that convoy, but a trucker convoy of US citizen-protestors, near DC somewhere. 

It seems to have escaped people on this forum, the story is not what Trump would have done, or what he said, or the 1/6 scrum. Trump is a nobody now, deservedly so. 

Biden is the president, and foreign-military policy is one area in which the president is supreme. What is Biden doing?

*******

 

Ben: The latest reports are the Ukrainians have blown up bridges that enter Kyiv, obviously in preparation for an assault. 

In response, Biden is proposing that Russia be stripped of its "most favored nation" trade status. 

Biden has not looked strong or shrewd, but rather resourceless, flat-footed and dull. Even feckless. 

Nations such as Greece and Turkey seem to show some spunk. 

It is no secret globalists run US foreign-military-trade policy, although sometimes the bureaucratic imperatives of the Pentagon are asserted. 

Biden has been told to sit on his hands, and so he is.  Who is the Putin stooge now? 

*******

Ben:Seems to me the fix was in from the start. The globalists (including Biden), at bottom, said Putin could take Ukraine if he could.

Biden promised not to interfere, even before a Putin-boot had set foot in Ukraine.

Biden did not think to arm the Ukrainians a few months ago with the Stingers and RPGs and other useful equipment. 

Ukraine was a woeful failure of diplomacy and military preparedness--on Biden's watch.  

Biden may not be a Putin-stooge, but the results are the same. 

We can only hope that the Russians themselves decide to call this off. And yes, Putin is a thug. But we knew that from Chechnya, from Georgia, from his treatment of political opponents.

So why was Biden so flat-footed, so weak? 

******

Kirk:Ben suggests the U.S. confronting the Russians directly in Ukraine to Matt.

 

 

Matt: The only way to stop Putin would be to attack him. That's war. Nuclear war.--Matt

 

Ben:But this defeatism in your sentiments, evidently adopted by the globalist-Biden camp, gives carte blanche to the thug Putin. 

Can't you come up with any better approaches?  

Are not you repeating Putin-speak of the RT types? That it is too risky to challenge Putin and level-headed people must compromise? 

****

But the issue today is: How has Biden performed, in the one area in which the President ascendant? Foreign-military policy? 

Biden has been president for more than a year. Did he deploy the diplomacy and military tools available to blunt or dissuade a Russian occupation of Ukraine? 

Seems to me Biden has been flatfooted, unimaginative, sterile. A failure. 

The fix was in, and if Putin wanted Ukraine then he can take it. Putin took Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea, and the Donbas. An obvious thug.

But Biden is going to try to revoke Russia's most favored nation status. China has MFN status. 

*******

Kirk:Ben, now warmongering far  beyond the most vocal hawks in Congress.

 

Ben: Oh, so ugly. 

Basically, Putin is raining missiles and bombs into Kharkiv. 48 schools flattened, hospitals hit. 

Biden will not honor Zelensky's request help create a No Fly Zone. But Biden did declare No Fly Zone for Russians...over the US. 

Biden made sure the convoy was stopped.;.well, the trucker convoy headed to DC. Not the Russian convoy pointed at Kyiv. 

Note: None of the usual whining from the globalists. "America cannot be trusted as an ally!"  "America looks weak, and invites further aggression."  

Biden appears feeble, woefully unprepared, unimaginative. Whatever one says, what has happened to Ukraine is a diplomatic and military failure. Happened on Biden's watch. 

*******

 

Ben:I stand by my assessment that Ukraine has been a huge US diplomatic and military failure, given the horrid results we are seeing unfold. I hope you are correct, and Putin has misjudged circumstances. 

******

Ben:And perhaps the West should have been more diplomatic regarding what happened in Ukraine. The mucking around in Ukraine of Biden and son during the Obama years, and the rearrangement of leadership there under Biden/Obama was provocative. Incidentally, the Bidens help loot Ukraine. 

That said, IMHO when the Russian armored column went into Ukraine...whatever moral ground Putin had was lost. 

Seriously, no one can invade Russia again as they do have nukes.  The "fear of the West" argument is overdone. The Ukrainians, unlike the Crimeans, do not appear to want to be a part of Russia. 

The result of Putin's armored columns has been a humanitarian disaster, and a humbling failure for Biden diplomatic and military policies. 

That brings us to today. Biden's leadership has led the US into a dead end. For Putin to prevail in Ukraine is a crime. But the US invents reasons to not enforce a No Fly Zone in Ukraine, bowing to Putin threats.  

The US is in a muddle, with only bad options. 

JFK endorsed co-existence and detente, but not abject capitulation. Also he was largely speaking about the US not joining the colonialists all over the world, on behalf of globalist-multi-nationalist interests. 

I wish there was an answer on how to resolve the Ukraine mess. It looks like Biden will choose to be very brave with Ukrainian lives. The Ukrainians may prevail, but they will have to choose to live like Afghanies. 

*******

Ben: Shooting down aircraft over Ukraine, if it comes to that...not over Russia. It may be Russian pilots choose not to test a NFZ. 

Agreed, very unpleasant options available.

On the other hand, where do you draw the line? Putin threatens to go nuclear and reabsorbs Poland and East Germany? Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia? 

See Ron Bulman's post regarding Maruipol.  Jeez. 

Biden looks feckless. 

Why is it those who oppose a NFZ are not characterized as Putin tools, or Moscow stooges? 

  **********

Ben: Putin says a No Fly Zone over Ukraine is a provocation. 

Some US citizens, and Biden, echo that a No Fy Zone over Ukraine is a provocation.

So...who are the Moscow stooges and Putin puppets?  

Funny what becomes a M$M narrative or meme and what does not.  

*******

Kirk:Now of course the biolabs in Ukraine... another Tucker rumor.

Then there are stories that get buried as they not PC at the time. Bio-labs in Ukraine? With dangerous pathogens? Why?

I happen to be hawkish on Ukraine, and would prefer going to No Fly Zones. That does not mean the bio-lab story is fake news. 

I guess the Biden Administration knew about the bio-labs, and kept them going. Trump probably did too, and probably Obama. 

Biden has been on his back foot all along on Ukraine, and the result is a horrible diplomatic, military and humanitarian catastrophe. 

This does not absolve Putin at all. I hope Putin is toppled yesterday.  

*****

Ben:The globalists seemed to give Putin a green light on Ukraine. Before the invasion, promising no boots on the ground, and then abstaining from a No Fly Zone as Putin said it would be provocative.  

I think the globalists were fine with partitioning Ukraine to Putin, but then lost control of the narrative due to stiff Ukrainian resistance, and Putin's foul image (in large part a deserved image, but also a residual of the Trump-bashing regimen).

Now there is the scramble to come up a Plan B. De-escalate somehow. No Fly Zone! Open to negotiations!  I do not see how Western values will prevail if Putin takes over Ukraine.

The spooky thing is how tight the US multinational-globalist set is with the CCP. Do globalists have Western values? Or something else?

Is international stability (a good commercial climate), rather than Western values, really the top priority in the DC-globalist set?

******

Ben: The globalist-Biden approach to Ukraine appears to be a failure. Certainly, a humanitarian catastrophe.

The situation in Mariupol appears particularly grim, but of course that scenario may play out across Ukraine, in every contested city, in the months ahead. 

The West is encouraging the Ukrainians to fight, but is not providing a No Fly Zone. Not targeting Russian vessels with submarines, and still buying Russian oil. 

My take is the globalist-Biden Administration pretty much consigned Ukraine to Putin, and signaled as much pre-invasion. The globalists lost control of the narrative due to Ukrainian resistance, and Putin's foul image (deserved, and also a residual from Trump-bashing). 

The globalists want stability and commercial relations above all. See how they kow-tow to the CCP. Human rights is low on the agenda. Ukraine is dispensable, and Russia has fossil fuels to sell. 

The globalist plan presently appears to be to give the Ukrainians enough tools to make the Russian occupation miserable for Moscow.  From a cynical perspective, that might work.  The cost in human carnage is too horrible to contemplate.

Biden appears poorly counseled. Seems to have no ideas. Flat-footed. 

********

Ben: Well, when Russia promised to not invade Ukraine, the West had a chance to say they would establish a No Fly Zone over Ukraine as a prophylactic against anyone starting a war. 

I think it is still a good idea, though riskier. 

Stop the sale of Russian oil. 

Declare the port of Odessa a free port, that will be kept open. 

Zelensky has asked Biden for tougher sanctions. I don't know all the details, but it  this is not time for anything except maximum economic sanctions in all regards. How can Zelensky be asking for tougher sanctions? 

True, the globalists have lost control of the Ukraine narrative.  They still want to situation resolved so that business can resume with Russia ASAP, and nothing changes with Beijing. 

I prefer a victory for the Ukrainians. Biden seems to have no plans for a Ukrainian victory, or a decoupling from Beijing. 

 

********

Ben: Like I say, the globalists lost control of the Ukraine narrative.

So...we are seeing limited support for Ukraine from elements within US and Nato.  Just enough to make occupation miserable for Moscow (well, maybe not in Moscow, they still have heat and caviar, but for Russia's soldiers). 

This war could drag on for years. 

You are not  hearing globalists warning, "If Russia can cause this much damage...should we not de-couple from China too?" 

******

 

Ben: The globalists were fine with Putin (see all those McDonalds?), happy to do business in Russia, and even OK with partitioning Ukraine to Putin. See Biden essentially promising to do nothing prior to the Putin invasion of Ukraine. 

The globalists and Biden lost control of the narrative when the Ukrainians showed unexpected resolve, and Putin's image could not be rehabilitated. After all, Putin was a Trump-pal, the worst sin of all. 

Now, the globalists just want the war to end and terms are unimportant.

But No Fly Zone. That is an executive decision, made by Biden, a globalist lackey.

So...looks like a humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine. Prolonged war and death. 

Certainly, Putin is the villain. Is Biden an accomplice? Accessory after the fact? 

*******

 

Ben: Biden is a creature of the Washington establishment, in which the globalist framework is ascendant. The Biden Administration has made clear they will not draw a line in Ukraine. 

If Ukraine falls to Putin, so be it. The Biden Administration might ship small arms to Ukraine, but no jets, no big stuff. No "No Fly Zone." 

The Q: Is Biden an accessory before, or after, the fact when it comes to Ukraine? 

Putin is a thug. The images from Mariupol...surely, this kind of assault cannot be endured.

The Biden Administration seems lost. Feeble. Directionless. Clueless. 

The Ukrainians look tough. 

********

Strong NATO, weak U.S., puzzled China: Ukraine war hints at new order

********

 

Ben:But seeing the shelling of civilian areas in Mariupol, and the column of armored vehicles and tanks pointed at Kyiv, has changed my mind.  I now advocate a No Fly Zone for Ukraine, and possibly even NATO boots on the ground. 

Times change and so yes, I have moved to a more-hawkish position on Ukraine. 

Biden has floundered, looks weak.  NATO has dithered somewhat. Biden and NATO have allowed Putin to dictate terms of battle.

Russia can fly jets over Ukraine, but not NATO. Really? This is your idea of the right course? 

  **********

Ben: Biden's Policy: The Russians can fly jets over Ukraine, but NATO cannot.

******

Ben:I do not agree with the de facto Biden-NATO position, that Russian jets can fly over Ukraine, but NATO jets cannot. 

Biden has been underwhelming on Ukraine. Confused. If Putin is a war criminal, then why no air cover for Ukrainians? 

********

 

Ben:Well...Biden is a globalist puppet, that hardly needs debate. DC is afloat in globalist money.  

And, in fact, the initial globalist response was to partition Ukraine to Putin. Biden promised in advance of the Russian invasion to not get involved. 

But the Ukrainians showed resolve, and the globalists lost control of the narrative.  

Now, the Biden-globalist pathway forward is very foggy. They really did not have a Plan B. They will give small arms to the Ukrainians, and with such arms and a lot of deaths, the Ukrainians may bog down the Russians for years. 

The Russians can fly jets over Ukraine, but Biden/NATO cannot.

Biden has agreed to those terms of battle.  Seems a bit muddleheaded, no? 

********

Ben: Biden and globalists were willing to partition Ukraine to Putin. Offered Zelensky passage out of the Ukraine. Biden signaled he would not fight for Ukraine.  The globalists were fat and happy doing business with Putin. See the Koches presently.  

*****

Ben:

Egads. Biden/NATO need to do a lot more on Ukraine. If Putin dictates terms of war...a civilian slaughter will ensue. Which it is. This carnage could go on for years, unless there is meaningful interdiction. 

Biden appears muddled, unclear, resourceless. 

********

Bob Ness: Give it a break Ben. Gets boring.

 

 

Ben:Probably life is not boring for those on the ground in Ukraine.

Biden and the NATO have failed. 

Sure Putin looks to have bogged down, a "stalemate."

That outcome is perhaps the worst result for the people of Ukraine. How boring!

1. If Putin tanks had simply rolled into Kyiv, then bad, but nobody's dead and Ukrainians can wait for Putin to die and maybe better times. 

2. If Biden/NATO had offered stiff resolve pre-invasion, perhaps no invasion. Good. 

3. (The option chosen). Globalists and Biden decide Ukraine is not worth fighting for, and publicly invite Zelensky to leave. Signal they will not fight for Ukraine, and all but invite a thug like Putin in. 

Ukrainians stole the narrative by showing the stiff resolve lacking in Biden/NATO.

So now, what is antiseptically called a "stalemate" is daily death and dis-membering for thousands of Ukrainians and Russian soldiers weekly, and incredible damage to Ukrainian housing stock and infrastructure. 

But if you drink the blue kool-aid, you must cheer this result? 

 

******

 

Ben:How will this death end the Ukrainian slaughter more quickly? 

The Western press seems off-point.

Ukrainians and Russian soldiers are dying by the hundreds daily, and Biden/NATO seem to have no real plans other than to watch and (perhaps unintentionally, but nevertheless) prolong the conflict. 

But we chortle at the death of replaceable officers? 

*******

Ben:The WaPo chortles that Russia is no longer a superpower.

How delightful!

This is the globalist point of view.  Russia has bogged down in Ukraine, a stalemate and that is a good outcome. Whew! That's a relief. 

The M$M chimes in. 

As for the people of Ukraine....

The thug Putin has the bombs coming....while Biden/NATO are on a vowed, permanent standby. 

*******

Ben: I will say it appears the Russians have bogged down, but that also appears to be have been the result of Ukrainian resistance, not Biden/NATO, who all but invited Putin into Ukraine, have not issued a no fly zone, or given weapons to the Ukrainians such a A-10 attack planes.

The consensus seems to be that Ukrainian resistance combined with Russian battlefield incompetence is leading to a stalemate. 

The Biden/NATO position appears to be that a stalemate is a good result, and will drain Putin. It may, but in the meantime Ukrainians, and Russian soldiers die by the hundreds every day. 

In humanitarian terms, the Biden/NATO result is a cruel debacle. 

Like you, I wish for a putsch in Moscow. But Stalin stayed in until he died. 

*******

 

'Ben: Biden's European trip will be heavy on displays of Western unity but could be light on actions to stop Putin's Ukraine war"

 

If the Donk in-house mouthpiece CNN says that....

******

 

Ben:

Have Biden-NATO shown any resourcefulness, any imagination, any capacity for warding off what now appears inevitable? 

Was essentially partitioning Ukraine to Putin---the pre-invasion Biden-NATO position---a mistake we can learn from?

*******

 

I only know what is on the internet. It appears the Russians are taking heavy losses, in equipment and people. (The thought of youthful Russian conscripts being killed or sent home without body parts is saddening also).  

I have no idea how long Putin will persist in Ukraine, which many Russians (rightly or wrongly) regard as part of Russia, and important to Russian national interests.

It appears Biden/NATO have engineered a cruel stalemate, and globalists cheer that result as a victory. 

I guess it is non-PC to even discuss or ask if there are better options on the table. 

*****

Ben:Unfortunately, even the bad guys adopt tactics to situations. 

It appears  Russians units, aware that standing in the open is dangerous, are "digging in", literally digging trenches and placing artillery and tanks behind berms etc. 

Winter is receding, so there are months of mild and even warm weather ahead. 

It may be the days of Russian troops blithely advancing and occupying are over, along with the higher death rates. Instead they will dig in and shell from safe, protected positions, and then advance when advantageous. 

Biden/NATO are flatfooted? Seems so. No new plans, no initiatives, no means to deliver some real losses to Russians. 

As they say, a stalemate.  

******

 

 

 

Kirk: I doubt this will  do any good because Ben might be the  one writer among all the writers in the world who could never get sick of reading his writing. Just our luck!

 

*

 

 

Edited September 22, 2022 by Kirk Gallaway

[Matt Allison]

The events of yesterday remind me that as much as Ron DeSantis wants to be Trump, he never will be.

Trump is truly one of the most fascinating politicians ever, and very much like Nixon. He is fatally flawed, acts like a horrible person, but somehow still gives off the inference that somewhere deep inside, there originally was perhaps a good person. It would seem impossible to feel pity for someone as wealthy as he is, who has had the advantages he's been given, but he is truly remarkable at drawing that emotion out of his followers.

DeSantis has none of that; he's just a straight-up jerk, and only a**holes really like him. He doesn't possess a fraction of the charisma that Trump does, and never will.

[Ron Bulman]

"that analysis is in error".

Lawrence: Trump could now lose everything including his freedom | Watch (msn.com)

[Matt Allison]

An addendum: Part of this snap psychological profile of Trump is that in his dozens of interviews down through the years, he has given much away accidentally. I remember an interview he did on Letterman many years ago where he praised his parents, which is clearly bunk; his father was an objectively awful man, and his mother was cold and remote. The lack of love and affection from his parents is what has made Trump so insecure during his life, yet to this day he remains in a state of denial about it. His whole life he has had to invent a better alternate reality for himself in order to be able to exist. It has ended up being his downfall.

He obviously never should have been President, and needs to be prosecuted for his numerous crimes. But he's also needed serious therapy his entire life, which he never got, and it's likely what doomed him.

[Kirk Gallaway]

[John Cotter]

7 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

  Isn't the current conflict in Ukraine really a struggle between Ukraine's aspirations for self-determination and liberal democracy vs. subjugation by Putin's totalitarian Russian police state?  And isn't NATO expansion in Eastern Europe also driven chiefly by former Soviet Bloc nations wanting freedom and democracy rather than Russian totalitarianism?

      Serious, non-rhetorical question.  I don't presume to know the correct answer.

William,

My answer to both of your questions is: not necessarily so.

The current conflict in Ukraine can also be viewed as an expression of USA foreign policy, which is characterised essentially (as John Bolton recently admitted) by serial “regime changing” and “full spectrum dominance” rather than supporting freedom and democracy.

That perspective precludes the Manichean view of the Ukraine conflict as a war between the good West/USA and the evil Russia. It reflects the position of the “Realist” US foreign policy experts mentioned by Jeff Carter – those experts who accurately predicted the disaster which has resulted from the aggressive foreign policy pursued in eastern Europe by the USA.