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After weeks of waiting, Russia is making its move on Ukraine. Will the Western response meet the measure of the moment? Bloomberg columnist Eli Lake joins the podcast to discuss this and a report alleging that the CDC is withholding relevant Covid data because they’re afraid of what you might do with that information.
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Pondraker!
How many times does Eli make the false claim that people opposed to the US intervening in Ukraine are supporters of Putin?
Hopefully in a future podcast they will talk about what actually will happen, or what even is possible, given the sorry state of the United States. Calling for increased military spending and changing posture is so 1980. What they say should happen was possible under Trump so perhaps they will also accept responsibility for undermining him whenever possible and for taking his words literally while ignoring what his administration actually did. I’m not holding my breath.
I am actually surprised that a Geo-Political wonk like Noah has not read the historical works of Dr. David Glantz. Dr. Glantz provides some very pertinent historical back ground as to why we have come to this situation. One does not have to agree with Putin’s actions and one can argue that the U.S. should have a stronger response and still see some of the historical reasons why we are here.
The blame is just as much on the Clinton and Obama administrations as Putin as to why we are where we are today. If the each of these administrations had followed the geo-political course laid out in 1992….not enlarging NATO….working to bring Russian fully into the European sphere of Geo-Politics with the goal of isolating Iran, Islamic Fundamentalism, and China. These were the Geo-Political goals of the Bush 1 administration. Imagine today if that had been actualized. Instead, the Clinton and Obama administrations decide to alienate Russia and basically surround it with NATO countries. Well Ukraine was Putin’s line in the sand and unlike our geo-political brain trust he believes and said line in the sand means something.
Again…you can argue Putin’s actions are wrong and need to be dealt with and that he is a Peter the Great wanna be; you will get no blow back from me. But a conservatives geo-political wonk like Noah should state the entire picture not just the traditional talking points I can hear from NPR or anywhere else. I expect more form Noah.
This might have been possible under say, a Boris Yeltsin. In fact, back in the early ’90s there was even talk of Russia joining NATO. But Putin, once he maneuvered his way into power, was never going to stand for that. One can’t build an indestructible power base in an increasingly prosperous, human rights-respecting democracy. Ukraine has been in his sights since he first took charge in 1999.
Prayers for the good people in Ukraine.