- Joined
- Apr 22, 2019
- Messages
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- Political Leaning
- Progressive
What we need is informed strategy, not emotion, politics, bluster. We need to understand Putin's motives, his resources, and his limitations - and his weak points we can exploit.
We have limited options.
Perhaps the worst is 'surrender' - we can simply give Putin what he wants. Say Ukraine can never be in NATO, expel his other nations from NATO, otherwise basically do nothing. While we're at it, let China know there won't be any problem with their taking power in Taiwan and South China Sea. This could get peace, for a while.
Another option is to figure out how to hurt Putin badly enough to force his hand. Anything short of nuclear war. It might even include drone strikes of Russian leaders - an asymmetric capability the US has Putin can't respond with. Something that overcomes Putin's ability to weather sanctions with the support of China and others.
What if, for example, we could start to arm dissident/separatist groups in Russia while nearly all of Russia's military is at Ukraine? Would Chechnya and other regions like to use this situation to their advantage? Maybe we could threaten to recognize parts of Russia as separate states.
If we can't determine ways to force Putin to abandon this, the only alternative might be 'appeasement'. An embraced appeasement might be better than a lost war. But that's only if we can't find ways to force his hand.
We have limited options.
Perhaps the worst is 'surrender' - we can simply give Putin what he wants. Say Ukraine can never be in NATO, expel his other nations from NATO, otherwise basically do nothing. While we're at it, let China know there won't be any problem with their taking power in Taiwan and South China Sea. This could get peace, for a while.
Another option is to figure out how to hurt Putin badly enough to force his hand. Anything short of nuclear war. It might even include drone strikes of Russian leaders - an asymmetric capability the US has Putin can't respond with. Something that overcomes Putin's ability to weather sanctions with the support of China and others.
What if, for example, we could start to arm dissident/separatist groups in Russia while nearly all of Russia's military is at Ukraine? Would Chechnya and other regions like to use this situation to their advantage? Maybe we could threaten to recognize parts of Russia as separate states.
If we can't determine ways to force Putin to abandon this, the only alternative might be 'appeasement'. An embraced appeasement might be better than a lost war. But that's only if we can't find ways to force his hand.
