March, 2022

• 2 March

  Why arming Ukrainian ‘resistance fighters’ would be a really bad idea

  

  There is already pressure to get involved if there is a full-scale invasion, but our history with proxy wars is littered with folly. Editor’s Note, 2/24 6 a.m. EST: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” against Ukraine Thursday morning local time and his forces have been entering …

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• 2 March

  Coming to terms with the nuclear risks of the Ukraine war

  

  The US and Russia both have integrated doomsday weapons into conventional war plans. The risk is low but it isn’t zero. If you are frightened by the current crisis in Ukraine, you are having a rational response. We are closer to war between the two largest nuclear-armed states than we …

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• 2 March

  Now is not the time to demand bigger military budgets

  

  The hawks are already trying to exploit the Russian invasion, saying a shortfall in spending is leaving us vulnerable. Not true. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a growing chorus of pundits and policy analysts have been advocating for large increases in America’s enormous budget for national defense, on …

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• 2 March

  Ukraine: What Russia wants, what the West can do

  

  For those who understand Moscow’s establishment and view of their country’s vital interests, none of this should be a surprise. The illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine has shocked the West and many ordinary Russians. But for those who understand the Russian establishment and its view of Russia’s vital interests, it …

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• 2 March

  Why sanctions on Russia are necessary

  

  Such measures are critical to holding Moscow accountable for its actions — but they are not a longterm fix and must be carefully calibrated. From the beginning of the crisis sanctions have been assumed to be both the central deterrent to Russian aggression, and the critical punishment if it violated …

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• 2 March

  A New Germany

  

  How Putin’s Aggression Is Changing Berlin Within a week, Germany has undergone a dramatic transformation, shedding its reluctant and dovish foreign policy and committing itself to drastically increase defense spending. The shock of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine spurred Berlin to send thousands of antitank and antiaircraft weapons …

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• 2 March

  Crisis Over Ukraine: A Primer

  

  Anceps fortuna belli (The fate of war is uncertain) – Cicero (106-43BCE) A Facebook friend asked me to write something on the Ukraine crisis for his page in Q & A form. Q: Briefly, what is the recent historical background to this conflict? A: The 2014 coup d’état in Ukraine …

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• 2 March

  America Defeats Germany for the Third Time in a Century

  

  My old boss Herman Kahn, with whom I worked at the Hudson Institute in the 1970s, had a set speech that he would give at public meetings. He said that back in high school in Los Angeles, his teachers would say what most liberals were saying in the 1940s and …

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• 2 March

  Infighting between Islamist, Turkish-backed armed groups continues in north Syria

  

  Infighting between Turkish-backed factions in north Syria continues despite pleas by civilians, with most recently dozens of members of the civilian police resigning in response to a shootout with the military police that left two of its members wounded. Violent clashes erupted Feb. 22 between members of the civilian police …

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• 2 March

  Turkey’s Black Sea warning may impact Syria more than Ukraine

  

  Turkey will limit the passage of Russian warships through its straits linking the Mediterranean and Black Sea as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues into its sixth day, in a move that will likely have a larger impact on the Syrian front than the war in Ukraine. The position became …

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