Putin’s war, 20 years in the making, and Washington’s incompetence
February 4, 2022 | District of Columbia
Washington’s national security establishment had some 20 years to develop a counterstrategy to Russia that would project strength and deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from doing things like invading Ukraine. Instead, we tried to make Russia our friend. That was not smart, and it now appears Russia will attack its neighbor and perhaps draw us into war too.
Most of Washington’s cognoscenti are stunned at the ferocity with which Mr. Putin is fighting to resubjugate former Soviet Ukraine, risking an “all-out” war with the U.S. to resolve once and for all who, Moscow or Washington, will call the shots in what Russia views as its backyard. Secretary of State Antony Blinken best expressed the confusion among U.S. national security honchos.
“It’s not clear what Russia’s central demand is,” he said this month. It is deeply troubling that those charged with safeguarding our security and deterring war, especially with key nuclear-armed opponents like Russia and China, haven’t done their homework…. (Excerpts from the Washington Times)
