Guest Post by Pat Buchanan
Biden personally assured President Volodymyr Zelensky of America’s “unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression in the Donbass and Crimea.” What does that mean?
What are Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping up to?
In recent days, Russian tanks, artillery, armor, trucks and troops have been moving by road and rail ever closer to Ukraine, and Moscow is said to be repositioning its 56th Guards Air Assault Brigade in Crimea.
Military sources in Kyiv estimate there are now 85,000 Russian troops between six and 25 miles from Ukraine’s northern and eastern borders.
“I have real concerns about Russia’s actions on the borders of Ukraine. There are more Russian forces massed on those borders than at any time since 2014 when Russia first invaded,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.” Blinken added this warning:
“President Biden’s been very clear about this. If Russia acts recklessly, or aggressively, there will be costs, there will be consequences.”
What “costs” and what “consequences” were left unstated.
Earlier, Biden personally assured President Volodymyr Zelensky of America’s “unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression in the Donbass and Crimea.”
What does that mean?
When Putin was a young KGB officer, the Black Sea was a virtual Soviet lake, dominated in the west by Warsaw Pact members Bulgaria and Romania, and on the north and east by the USSR. Turkey occupied the south bank.
Today, three of the six countries that front on the Black Sea — Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey — are NATO members. Two of the others, Ukraine and Georgia, openly aspire to become members of NATO.
If Russia feels a sense of loss and forced isolation, who can blame them?
The transparency of the Russian military buildup suggests that it is more of a message to the U.S. and NATO than any preparation for an invasion.
Putin seems to be saying: Ukraine’s admission to NATO or a stationing of U.S. or NATO forces in that country would cross a red line for Russia. And we will not rule out military action to prevent or counter it.
The record suggests that Putin is not bluffing.
We have been here twice before.
In 2008, when Georgia invaded South Ossetia, a province that had broken free of Georgia in the 1990s, Putin sent troops into South Ossetia, drove the Georgians out, and then invaded Georgia and occupied part of that country as an object lesson.
And though the U.S. had regarded Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili as a friend and Georgia as a potential NATO ally, George W. Bush did nothing.
Again, in 2014, when a U.S.-backed coup overthrew the elected and pro-Russian regime in Kyiv, Putin occupied and annexed Crimea and assisted pro-Russian rebels in the Donbass in breaking free of Kyiv’s control.
In short, when it comes to Ukraine, Russia has demonstrated that it has its own red lines, which it will back up with military action.
The U.S. and NATO, however, have shown repeatedly that while they will give moral support and provide military aid to Ukraine, they are not going to fight Russia over Ukraine, or to wrest Crimea or the Donbass from Putin’s control.
A similar test is taking place in the South and East China seas.
Also on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” Blinken was asked if the United States would fight to defend Taiwan, which is being harassed and threatened by Xi Jinping’s China, which claims the island as its sovereign national territory.
“Are we prepared to defend Taiwan militarily?” NBC’s Chuck Todd asked.
Blinken’s response:
“What we’ve seen, and what is of real concern to us, is increasingly aggressive actions by the government in Beijing directed at Taiwan, raising tensions in the Straits. And we have a commitment to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act … All I can tell you is it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change the existing status quo by force.”
Since Biden’s presidency began, China has been sending military aircraft, fighters and bombers, into Taiwanese air space, circumnavigating the island with warships, and openly warning that any declaration of independence by Taipei would mean war with Beijing.
Thus, Russia has made clear what it would fight to prevent — Ukraine’s accession to NATO and NATO troops on its soil. And China has made clear what its red line is, what it would fight to prevent — the declared independence of Taiwan.
But U.S. policy in both cases seems to be one of “strategic ambiguity,” leaving the issue open as to what we would do.
A question arises: Are Putin’s Russia and Xi’s China, with their advantages of geographic proximity, threatening military action to jointly test the resolve of the Biden administration, and colluding to do so — one in Ukraine, the other in the South and East China Seas?
And, should we fight for Ukraine, how many NATO allies would be there beside us? And should we fight to keep Taiwan free, how many Asian allies would fight China alongside us?
Recent actions by Putin and Xi make the questions no longer academic.
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Frau Merkel, Meek Macron and the lot of Eurotrash would doubtfully send a boy scout to defend NATO in Ukraine. Vlad could impale Europe from Ukraine to Portugal, and likely won’t, and there’s little NATO could do to stop him. Europe and England are destroying themselves from within, NATO is obsolete. The Shackle Draggers and Kiwis, likewise. The rest of the world can’t see this?
The US is a failing and falling empire incapable/unwilling to defend its own borders much less those of some country most dorito chomping Americans have no idea where it is. Obama and Co. are so arrogant they think the rest of the world can not see this? What will the US send, The Corporal Klinger Brigade? A Band of Queers waving rainbow flags? The US is out of proxies to do its war mongering, except of course Jewsrahell.
Corporal Klinger Brigade—priceless.
That’s not strategic ambiguity. That is a way not to look the fool by announcing a red line and then doing nothing, like Obama did. Biden is just an old man shaking his fist and yelling, “Get off my lawn.” And Putin knows it; when he looked into Biden’s eyes, he saw pure idiocy.
Wrong… it was a vacant lot with weeds.
I get sick of hearing people say “Russia annexed Crimea.” Crimea has been part of Russia longer than California has been part of the USA–are we “annexing” California from Mexico? Not to mention Crimea actually voted to cede to Russia in an election as the vast majority of citizens are ethnic and ideologically Russian.
Plus the media portrayed Russia as sending troops into Crimea when the fact is that Russia had an existing contract/pact to keep tens of thousands of troops in the area and at its sea port….
Total slant of the facts to paint it as Russian aggression when it was anything but– the aggression has come from the Washington pawns in the pursuit of greater hegemony.
We see that the US was ready to engage in nuclear annihilation when Russia encroached our borders in Cuba but we literally surround Russia with military bases and even have nukes as close as 18 miles away in a Turkish base. Who has over 300+ military bases globally and who has less than 10? That alone should show who the world’s aggressor is.
Few Americans care to admit such things.
Aye, excellent point. Similar can be said of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions: more culturally Russian than Ukrainian. Especially with the Nazi-loving dickheads in “change,” of Kiev.
See also Russian troops at the Belarus border with Ukraine.
You missed the latest info on the nordstream pipeline, where ships and subs are harassing the pipelaying ship. This is pure gangster and an act of war by itself.
Does Russia still keep a million troops on the chinese border ?
Germany will send its crack platoon of former East German women weightlifters. Ok, they’re old now but, still frightfully hairy. The French will supply a Tank Battalion featuring their newest class of armor-less tanks with 20 gears … 19 of them in reverse. The Poles will supply five fat chefs and one thousand tons of kielbasa. The Italians will supply their entire Army, and then switch sides immediately after the first shot is fired. The Austrians will compose a lovely symphony and write a book “Mein Gott!”.
In other words ……… NATO AIN’T SHIT!!!
And the newly formed country of NoFuckenWay will provide total support in a USA!USA!USA! war with Chiner.
Actually saw this on Drudge:
Russia calls US an adversary, warns its warships to avoid Crimea
by Reuters
Tuesday, 13 April 2021 12:44 GMT
https://news.trust.org/item/20210413103817-sjzzo
No.
Losing Brains and Brawn: Outmigration from Ukraine
Many Ukrainian migrants or work permit holders work in the Visegrad 4 and Russia. Families in the Ukraine are supported by outmigration.
The Ukraine should cease fire and support citizens’ responses to possible development or not of the Three Seas Initiative.