I actually agree with a recent statement by Pete Hegseth that Ukraine can´t become a NATO member and can´t go back to the pre-2014 borders. The maximum Ukraine can get would be a return to the 2022 status quo bellum ante. The problem, of course, is that Russia would see this as a defeat. They started the war precisely to upend this status quo. So they are unlikely to settle for anything less than keeping what they are currently holding - which is far more than they had before 2022.
And what is Hegseth proposing to do about *that*? He says in a recent interview that the EU should take most of the responsibility for lethal and nonlethal aid to Ukraine. This is a recipe for defeat since the EU simply doesn´t have enough military equipment (or even stamina) to defeat Russia. Hegseth´s proposal to hurt Russia by crashing the oil market prices is more interesting, but how realistic is it? Wouldn´t the Democrats have tried it already if it´s an obviously winning strategy? I don´t think they were *that* afraid of the Green lobby!
It´s also peculiar that Hegseth says he wants to prioritize the US confrontation with China, since Russia (for the nth time) *is a Chinese ally* and perhaps even a kind of Chinese proxy. How is winning the war in Ukraine *not* part of "confronting China"?
One reason why the war started is that Russia gave the Western powers a bizarre ultimatum, essentially demanding the dissolution or emasculation of NATO. Letting the European NATO members fight Russia alone sounds a bit too close for comfort to that scenario...
Yes, let's give Putin everything he wants! And don't bother to ask Zelensky! It's now OK to invade a sovereign democratic nation and take whatever you want folks! But that's not all! Greenland is seriously being considered, if you believe anything out of Sen. Ted Cruz' mouth...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/2/sen-cruz-discussing-u-s-acquisition-of-greenland-is-about-diplomacy-and-shared-interests
OK not relevant to Hegseth's view, but Europe must come to understand what is actually happening here...it's not a joke...(well the President's Cabinet is actually a joke, Kennedy just got confirmed) it's already here and we now have a true Constitutional crisis. Time to think very hard on what this may mean for the free world...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/12/trump-lawless-president
US Foreign policy is being dictated by Moscow, pure and simple. Western liberal democracies are under attack. It's already the 11th hour. Russian information warfare has hacked into social medias, convincing millions that "black is white." Putin has suffered such losses in the war that he needs an end to save face. If they don't win Odessa they have no geopolitical power in the region. And Hegseth shows the unreliability of US participation in any alliances at all.
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