We keep trying to reestablish the Iran Nuclear deal and yet, Iran is now sending drones to Russia to help them fight Ukrainians. How does that work? From what I understand, a reactivated nuclear deal has been deemed desirable because it would give Israel more time to prepare for an eventual confrontation with Iran. But why are they not ready now? All along there’s been the perception that Iran is determined to have their nuclear bomb. From the skies over Syria, Israel keeps bombing Iranian positions deemed hostile to their state. I have trouble believing that if a deal is struck with Iran, that they could be trusted with anything they agree to. Is the oil they produce worth all this effort? Are the sanctions now imposed on them having any effect, or are they getting around them? And if the nuclear deal is reactivated, aren’t billions of dollars expected to be paid to Iran as a form of compensation? Does it make sense to subsidize a state that is a Russian ally? I’m sure Ukrainians could put that money to better use. I believe that we and the West can live without Iran. Iran’s theocratic dictatorship will one day crumble from within and we will welcome them back to the community of nations, although it may take years for it to happen. It is very unlikely that anything we do will prevent the expected confrontation between Iran and Israel or between Iran and us in the Persian Gulf. The Iranians have chosen sides. They are with Russia and China and against us. To think otherwise is wishful thinking. Efforts have been made to bolster ties with Arab states in the region (Abraham Accords), started by the Trump administration. We should keep working on those. But the reactivation of the nuclear deal with Iran does not seem beneficial to us at all. President Biden, do take a moment to tell us why you’re keeping those talks alive. What are we missing? We need clarity.
This is the time. I don’t think Putin would survive a defeat in Ukraine. Russia is a demoralized nation for when they compare themselves with the rest of the world they have to wonder, ‘how come we’re not among the leading countries?’ ‘How come people don’t want to come visit us?’ ‘Why doesn’t anyone want to immigrate to Russia?’ ‘What is missing?’ ‘How come, by contrast, people are risking their lives to immigrate to America?’ ‘If we can make sophisticated nuclear weapons, make vaccines, be one of the architects of the international space station, how come we make headlines only when we’re killing our neighbors? Or when we support brutal regimes like the Myanmar dictator?’ What is missing is political development. Putin has been allowed to arrest the political maturation of Russia. And he has done so by severely restricting the freedom of its citizens. By sheer brutality he has held back the historical advancement of his brothers and sisters. He’s got them hypnotized with the idea of a new Soviet Union, reclaiming a glory that was based on repression and cruelty. But it’s all wishful thinking. There’s no turning back. Next door, in Europe, a grand experiment in social understanding is taking place in the form of the European Union. Something similar could be happening in Russia. Instead, its citizens have opted to let one man, only one man, decide the fate of 125 million people. It is sheer madness. The courage of Ukrainians in fighting for their land has presented the world with a unique opportunity. Support Ukraine with all the weapons they need and Russia can be pushed back entirely out of Ukraine. Even out of Crimea which was annexed by Russia in 2014. A Russian defeat in Ukraine would stimulate the progressive section in the country that has not been fooled by Putin’s grandiosity. It should be clear that China has nothing to offer in terms of political development. Their people are also in chains, in their case to a Communist party that presents itself as the celestially ordained class of people with the wisdom to dictate to the rest of the nation on how things should be done. The price? Surrender your freedom. Surrender your ability to think. We, in the party, will do the thinking for you. In other words, the Chinese model offers nothing new, but more of the same the Russians have endured for years and years. The Western alliance should be more decisive in supporting Ukraine. A defeated Putin will spark a movement to depose him and the likelihood is that such movement will be more pro West than pro China. The consequences of such shift would be enormous for the prosperity of the word. A pro western shift in Russia would likely stimulate a pro western movement in China. And the world could see the beginning of a new era, not one driven by conflict but by cooperation. Imagine for a moment, the clout that Russia, the West and China would have working together to assist development in Africa or any impoverished region in the world? Instead of arguing over differences that are mostly their leaders’ personal preferences. Cult of personality is one of the most destructive forces in our world today. There is a nefarious cult of personality today in Russia, in the person of Putin, in China, in the person of Xi Jinping, in America in the person of Donald Trump. Cults of personality emerge in nations where the majority or a significant portion of the population ceases to think their own thoughts. The revolt against such tendency is essential to the freedom of mankind. Russians don’t need Putin, like Chinese don’t need Xi Jinping, like Americans don’t need Donald Trump. Nor their clones in the making. Human beings should not surrender under any circumstances. Each life should be a life long struggle to assert who we are, to express each person’s uniqueness.
Oscarvaldes.medium.com, anchor.fm, apple and google podcasts.
The Republican party has a steep uphill battle for the 2024 presidential elections. The footprint that Trump has left will be hard to erase. That’s how toxic it has been. The fact that Trump is still in the running for the nomination is baffling, but that’s clear evidence of how confused the party is. Immigration is the central issue. Trump seized on it to rally support but couldn’t come up with an answer to the problem. Immigration needs limits. Enforceable limits. We need borders and the means to sustain them. But we can’t do without immigration. The faction of the Republican party who wants to severely restrict immigration would cripple the nation if they had their say. It is true that we need to bolster the opportunities for advancement for Americans now in the lower earning rungs of our society, but we still need to keep open the doors for qualified immigrants to come to this country. This is our advantage over China and Russia. They are closed off to immigration. That is hurting them. The force that immigration is has a transformative effect on any nation. And it is overwhelmingly a positive one. Europe has been struggling with immigration for years and, to their credit, they’re still at it. China and Russia just choose not to deal with the problem. And it is their loss. Looking at the Republican field for the nomination for president, I see little to suggest that a Republican candidate can go up successfully against Biden, if he chooses to run, or another democratic candidate, say Harris or Newsom. Republican candidates are failing on the issues. Overturning Roe vs Wade will do little to invigorate the party. The majority of American women want to keep their right to choose. Had Trump been elected instead of Biden, Putin would by now have annexed Ukraine and invited Trump to the ceremonies. In the press conference that would have followed, Trump would have been asked by a reporter if he thought Putin had the right to take over Ukraine, and Trump would have said, ‘I don’t see why not, he was feeling encircled by NATO. We need to give him his space.’ And then Putin would have walked over and handed him a Cossack hat, as a tribute to his far reaching understanding of how the world works. And Trump would have put it on. Then said, ‘Look, Russia is a great country, and they need their space. By not arming the resistance in Ukraine we have saved many lives, and America’s closer ties with Russia will help us deal with the menace of China.’ Putin would have smiled and thought to himself, ‘We need to get this guy reelected a third term.’ Trump and freedom don’t mix. His legacy of obscurantism will last for some years. Still, there are enlightened sectors in the Republican party who might push forward a sane candidate to run against the democrats. I think that candidate would be John Kasich.
Oscarvaldes.medium.com, anchor.fm, apple and google podcasts.
To have a center as a person, is to be doing something you enjoy, and that something makes you feel stronger and wiser. Having a center lets you manage your envy, accept that others have more than you do, if they do, and you don’t get rattled by it. You can say to yourself, ‘I have my power, they have theirs.’ If you perceive that you could be doing better at what you enjoy, then you double up on your efforts. That’s where ambition kicks in, a topic for another day. We can tolerate periods when we are not doing what we would most like to do, but the search for what is most desirable for us to do shouldn’t stop. A sense of reality is essential to temper expectations. If you want to be a famous anything and you’re not even working in that field, then that’s daydreaming. If you want to be in music and you don’t have a good ear, then that’s a tough hurdle to overcome. I suppose you could write songs. If you want to be an engineer or physicist, you have to be good at math. If you want to be a carpenter, you have to have good manual dexterity. So how do we discover what we enjoy? Sounds like a silly question but it’s important to ask. It takes freedom to follow your intuitions. Freedom and courage. Here’s where the task of parenting comes in. Providing such freedom. The courage part is up to you. Some years ago I had a dentist who had excellent manual dexterity. I noticed it right away and commented on it. There was a grace and fluidity to his movements. He’d always known it but hadn’t owned it. At university, he had been chosen to do demonstration videos, such was his skill. He went on to do other things in life for many years, until it became clear that what he most wanted to do was work with his hands exclusively. So one day he chose to quit dentistry and become a carpenter. It had been a hobby of his but now he wanted to do it full time. ‘That’s what I want to do,’ he said to me with proud assurance. He was probably in his late 50s or early 60s by then, but he still had time. All those years he had been searching for his center and finally had found it. I asked him if his father, who had been a dentist also, had ever commented on his excellent manual dexterity. He answered that the man had not. Which points up one of the essential tasks of parenting, identifying in their children what seems their most obvious talent. It doesn’t take a whole lot. All the parent has to do is pay attention to their child as he or she unfolds. The child may not know they have a talent. It takes an observant parent or interested adult to point it out. In doing so they validate it. Not long ago, another person I know commented on one of her children’s career choice. She added that she thought he’d do well because he was strong in math. In this instance, that critical interaction had taken place. The parent had conveyed to the child, ‘You have that. I see it. It’s up to you to do what you wish with it, but it’s there for you.’ Of course, there are instances when the talent of the child is so clear that it’s apparent to all. But those are the exceptions. Having a sense that one has a center is critical in daily interactions. There are lots of people in this world without a sense of purpose, drifting here and there, doing what they can to make ends meet, but not animated by a focus in life. Those are grounds for apathy, resentment and envy. Without a focus in life managing envy becomes harder to do and managing envy in life is a fundamental task. With a sense that one has a center, one is more tolerant of imperfections, our own and that of others. It leads to patience and kindness. When two people are attracted to each other, one may have a center and the other not. But centeredness cannot just be transferred, it is acquired by each individual. What a centered lover in a relationship with a not centered partner can do, is say, ‘this is what I perceive your gifts to be.’ And it’s up to the person to accept the feedback, work with it or not. But it is important to do so, for, in a couple, the non centered party will tend to suffer the most when a breakup occurs. And now to politics. Are there politicians more centered than others? Of course. Compare Trump and Biden. Since I don’t know them personally I can only judge them by their actions. Trump is not a centered person whereas Biden is. Why is Trump not a centered person? Because he cannot manage his envy. From this distant point, I ask, is Putin a centered man? He can’t be. A man so committed to depriving others of their freedom cannot be a centered man. His actions are motivated by envy. That is a central driving force in his invasion of Ukraine. Putin has not been able to lead Russia’s transformation into a first rate nation even though the country clearly has such capability. A free Ukraine would stand as a model for Russians to emulate, like West Germany was to East Germany after WWII, and the yearnings for freedom that would flourish from such contrast, would lead to the further fragmentation of what we today call Russia. Putin could not handle that.
Oscarvaldes.medium.com, anchor.fm, apple and google podcasts
He’s sitting at his desk in his office in Beijing. He’s going through reports of his subordinates’ performance. Some are as loyal as he wants them to be, some not so much. The latter are put on the heap for reassignment, i.e. demotion.
News of Nancy Pelosi’s (Speaker of the US House of Representatives) plane arriving in Taiwan flashes on a large screen on a wall across. He smiles. ‘Beautiful.’ He pauses as he takes in the landing of the plane, the sight of the welcoming committee waiting on the tarmac. ‘The more Americans challenge me on Taiwan, the more I can keep my people furious about their interfering with our sovereignty and the more they will accept the restrictions I impose on their freedoms. Freedom should be reserved for the leadership, the very accomplished and faithful to the ideas of the party. Freedom in the hands of regular people leads to chaos, like in the West, where freedom got Trump to be elected. And where they may elect him again.’ He laughs. ‘But what really gets my people to tolerate the harshest of restrictions on their liberties is the promise that one day soon, we will make our move for world dominance. And we’ll have Americans queuing up to learn Mandarin. Won’t that be a beautiful sight? I can’t wait.’
A voice through a speaker on his desk interrupts.
Speaker phone – Chairman, the cyberattack committee wanted to go ahead with targeting the list of American and English companies they sent you this morning. Have you had a chance to go through it? ‘I have. Leave company D out for now but proceed with the rest. We need their technology.’ Speaker phone – Indeed, Mr Chairman. ‘Thank you.’
He grows silent, a hint of worry on his furrowed brow.
‘That drone attack that killed the Al Qaeda leader in the center of Kabul has got me worried. I don’t think the Americans would ever try that on me. We would fire missiles immediately on them… but so would they on us. In the confusion, would Russians jump in, too?’
He returns to his papers, assessing the loyalty of his subordinates.
He pauses again.
‘Western businesses have been very good for us… and our forcing the transfer of technology has been essential to what we have become in so short a time. But they are growing more distrustful. Which is why we’re trying to extend our influence over other nations… but the idea of freedom keeps coming up. It’s hard to squash it, snuff it out, like we’re doing here in China. Maybe the Chinese are more pliant… more willing to tolerate structure… and surrender their personal dreams in the interest of the nation. That is what we’re banking on to build the new Chinese Empire. The pliant quality of Chinese citizens, willing to work hard for the good of the party and the nation, and willing to surrender their personal ambitions. In the meantime, I get to extend my rule… until I die… like Mao did. Oh, to die in power… what a wonderful idea. The whole nation grieving for me. The thought of it brings tears to my eyes.’
He dabs his moistened eyes.
‘And now this war in Ukraine. When will it end? Putin acts like he’s going to win… but it’s starting to look like he’s not. The West has got bolder… now committing to sending in fighter jets. And the Russian military may want a change in leadership… which may align with us or not. New leadership aligning with the West would be disastrous for us… which is an argument to assist Russia win the war… but if I do… western markets may close off to us. They’ve warned us, Biden has. Anyway, we’ve bought enough Russian oil. Putin should be bolder… send in a team to kidnap Zelensky… take him to Moscow and try him for crimes against humanity. I fear he’s running out of time. He may ask us for more drones, to attack Zelensky in Kyiv, like the Americans did in Kabul… but if one of our drones hit Zelensky… that would be a problem.’
He closes his eyes for a moment.
‘But I don’t trust Putin. Sooner or later, he’ll remind me that he has more nuclear weapons than I have… I know that’s coming. But what I admire in him is how he’s domesticated his people to do as he pleases. I should learn from him. And how he persuaded Donald Trump that he had nothing to do with interfering in America’s elections. That was beautiful to see.’
He returns to his paperwork, sorting out the most loyal from the less loyal.
Oscarvaldes.medium.com, anchor.fm, apple and google podcasts
He riled up Republicans in 2016 with a promise of remaking their world. But he couldn’t deliver. He had overpromised. Rather than speak to his supporters and tone down their expectations, he kept up with the unrealistic notions. Tweeting was a way of avoiding the reflection necessary to engage in a dialogue with the opposition. But he couldn’t muster the political courage. So he tweeted some more. Maybe he reasoned that keeping his followers entertained would suffice. It didn’t. The famous Wall was a distraction. It never got built, but there are patches of it, here and there, like relics in a battlefield. Make America Great Again was a bust In this age of growing interdependence you need allies. But he couldn’t muster the discipline and forethought. Still he kept stirring up partisanship, fostering divisions amongst Americans and eluding the dialogue that sits at the center of any attempt to build bridges amongst ourselves. In foreign policy he could not stand up to Putin. He could not say to the Russian dictator ‘do not meddle in our elections.’ And so Trump’s character flaws mounted and mounted. There was that one time when a female staffer in his administration had quit and then criticized him. He answered by calling her ‘a dog’. And then, to crown his history of misjudgments, he incites a crowd to march on Capitol Hill on January 6th. Testimony emerged during the congressional hearings on the matter that he wanted to personally lead the assault on the capitol, to disrupt the electoral ballot counting. His own staff had urged him to not proceed with his intentions. He even tried to coerce his vehicle’s driver to take him there. But the man objected. In the end, he had to accept that his administration had been a failure. But it’s been rough getting there. He may have started to accept reality but a side of his still fights it. Most painful of all was that he had a chance to make a difference but he botched it. He has trouble living with that. In the face of events, sane Republicans recognize what a disaster Trump has been for the party. But it will take time to process. They are now looking in the mirror and acknowledging that they did elect him and cheered him on. Eventually, those sane Republicans will find their truth and Trump will not get the nomination for president he still hopes for. His time has passed and he has to live with his lament, the opportunity to lead that was botched and botched badly, because he dared not think of all Americans. Sadly, he will go down as the worst Republican president ever. He knows it and it hurts. Sane Republicans’ reckoning with themselves will require time, time to relearn to trust their judgment, which is why I believe they will not win the next presidential election. If Biden chooses not to run, that election will belong to a woman, and the woman will be from the democratic party. Maybe it will be Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar or Cortez Masto, or another person yet to emerge. And history will move us on.
Oscar Valdes, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple and google podcasts.
Sell the war to the American public. It is a remarkable achievement, one that we should all be proud of. Sell us the war! You have been key in rallying the western alliance. You have motivated, encouraged and persuaded the fence sitters. To you belongs a great deal of the credit for where Ukraine now stands. Do not underestimate this triumph. I recall you getting lots of flak for pulling out of Afghanistan. But if you hadn’t done so your focus would have been divided and your resolve diminished. There has not been a moment like this in our recent history. This is a far greater achievement than the first Gulf War in 1990 (Bush the elder) and the war in Bosnia in 1995 (Clinton). This war has been a major determinant of inflation but our economy has slowed enough that Jerome Powell in the Federal Reserve kept the latest rise in interest rates to .75 bps. The markets have responded positively. Gas prices may remain high while Putin continues to squeeze Europe by reducing gas supplies but the western alliance has held strong in spite of such pressures. Trust that Americans will understand the importance of backing Ukraine. The recent choice of providing them with warplanes is hugely important. Now it is becoming clearer that Putin can and must be driven back. Your political courage in resisting the Russian offensive deserves full acknowledgment. Had Trump been reelected, Putin would’ve had no problem annexing Ukraine. Why, Putin would have been a regular guest at Mar-a-Lago and Trump would have been invited to the installation of Russia’s new puppet regime in Kyiv. But the freedom of a courageous people would have been forgotten. Sell us the importance of the war so we can avoid losses in the House and Senate this November. With the Supreme court’s overturning the federal mandate protecting women’s right to an abortion, a significant percentage of women will show up at the ballot box to express their displeasure. Meanwhile, the hearings on the January 6th attack on the Capitol make obvious the tyrannical intent of Mr Trump and should be a source of embarrassment to most who voted for him. Beware of the polls suggesting you are unpopular. There are groups of people who will not see the evidence even when put in front of them, but they will not be consequential when it matters. This first year and a half of your tenure has been remarkable. Covid is retreating and even Joe Manchin chose to turn around and back your bill. Your recent performance in Saudi Arabia was excellent. You did not come back with a tangible concession but you stuck to your guns and did not flinch from restating your belief that the prince was responsible for Jamal Khashoggi’s death. Sell us the war, Mr President. It is an achievement that is transforming Europe and the West and all Americans should own it.
Oscar Valdes, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple and google podcasts.
It was with much relief that I read the news yesterday that the West had decided to finally send warplanes to Ukraine. It has been a long wait. And it will be a turning point in the war. America is setting up to train Ukrainian pilots to operate F-15 or F-16 fighter jets. And while it will take some months for the aircraft to be put to use, the decision has all the markings of a game changing choice. The underlying thinking is what I find most relevant. And that is the willingness to confront Putin. To not be cowed by his threats of using nuclear weapons. For the longest, the West had hesitated to provide much needed warplanes fearing a nuclear escalation would follow. But no more. The battle for Ukraine has become a defining moment for the West. Not only is NATO in the process of expanding its membership (Finland and Sweden) as a result of Russia’s invasion, but a new resolve has been created. Putin may boast that he has got around some of the sanctions imposed on him and may be dreaming of the pain he can still inflict by restricting gas supplies to Europe come winter, but it has become evident that his choice of massacring Ukrainians was a disaster. Ukrainians’ blood and endless sacrifices, Zelensky’s steady and inspiring leadership, both have been critical in the new conviction that Russia can be defeated and pushed back to their own border. All the nations that have banded together to oppose Putin and aid Ukrainians, deserve great credit for such courageous stance. As an American, I thank president Biden for his strong leadership and commitment to uniting the West. Inflation was an inevitable consequence of the war effort, and yet there are signs that this, too, will be manageable and the West will endure and thrive. By contrast, Putin’s fate is sealed. He will forever be no more than a small man with grandiose ambitions who chose to ravage a neighbor nation. History will not forgive him. It will be up to Russians to depose him and I have no doubt they will. He stands in the way of their political and economic development. Stands in the way of their cultural and technological growth. Whereas this was evident well before the war, the war has made it blatantly clear. Russia cannot realize its possibilities with a man like Putin as their leader. It is hard to say how Putin will be removed from office but I have no doubt that forward thinking Russians have given the matter serious thought. I predict that Vladimir Putin will fall soon, perhaps even before the end of the year. By contrast, Volodymyr Zelensky’s star will continue to rise, as will his commitment to rebuilding Ukraine into a first rate nation, a shining example of what political and moral courage are able to create.
Oscar Valdes, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple and google podcasts.
9/20/22 Note: I wrote this article based on information that had appeared in the NY Times or the WSJ the day before (7/26/22). Yesterday, in the WSJ, and again today, I read that the US has no immediate plans to send war planes (F-15s of F-16s) to Ukraine. Something changed. Perhaps it is the concern that Putin will see it as an intolerable escalation on the part of the West. Thank you.
The spotlight is on Russians. Why did they allow a man like Putin to gather so much personal power? Why did Russians give up their own power, giving it instead to Putin to do as he wishes? Because they did, Putin went on unchecked, dreaming of recreating the Soviet Union. And Ukraine has been ravaged with devastating brutality. Russian foes of Putin’s rule have existed all along. Some have died, others are in prison, like Alexei Navalny. A nation of great vitality, of considerable talent and inventiveness, has succumbed to a vulgar leader, a small man with dreams of ruling the world. But Putin is not Russia. And the rest of us need to be very clear about that. To be Russian today is to admit that, as a people, they failed to summon the political courage needed to stop Putin’s rise to power. To be Russian today is to admit that political courage is a priceless quality, and that without it freedom is not possible. To be Russian today is to remind the world that without such courage life is diminished, and men like Putin will use the opportunity for their own aggrandizement. To be Russian today is to admit that there is a critical time to dissent, and that means confronting the fear of reprisals. To be Russian today is to remind us all that such fear exists in every one of us and that it must be confronted. The fate of humanity depends on many things: hard work, inventiveness, compassion and the acknowledgment that every single one of us has something to contribute. But without political courage, without the power to dissent, vulgar men will seek to dominate others by brute force. Without political courage, all of humanity’s achievements can be destroyed. The devastation in Ukraine today is happening because all of us, not just Russians, failed to object to the rise of a tyrant. To be Russian today is to remind us that we’re all vulnerable to succumb to fear, and that standing up to it is a priceless quality upon which the survival of the planet depends. The massacre in Ukraine, like the subjugation of any people anywhere, is a call to the rest of us to affirm our humanity and give assistance to all who are being forced to be silent. Here in America, the forces of darkness elevated Trump, and he responded by trying to overturn his electoral defeat. So we, too, like Russians, have failed to exercise our political courage. The power to dissent is the road to freedom. And freedom the only path to the realization of humanity’s endless possibilities. To be Russian today is to be anyone of us.
Oscar Valdes, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple and google podcasts
Article ‘Biden’s Saudi Arabia visit was worse than an embarrassment.’ My response – ‘Glad Mr Biden stuck to his guns. No bowing to the prince. Fist bump was good enough. And the restating that he thought MBS was responsible for Jamal Khashoggi’s death, a mark of political courage. Schiff didn’t like the president’s performance? Too bad. Don’t think Biden is worried. The Saudis have to grow up. Take responsibility for their actions. Like Russia and China better than the West? Go for it. can’t wait for the photo showing MBS embracing the exemplary human being that Putin is. Or hugging the ‘historical figure’ the Communists have made of Xi Jinping. Close my eyes and I can see them rising towards the heavens. Hand in hand. As to Iran, they’re a problem but not crazy. Not yet. They’re likely to get a good deal of money for signing on again and give Israel more time to prepare for that moment when they finally build it. Our surveillance and that of the Israelis will detect if they choose to go crazy and build the bomb. We’ll be ready. It won’t be pretty.’
Theocracies of any kind are a form of arrested political development. Whatever your belief in a supreme deity, it is man who must learn to govern his affairs. Theocrats thwart the development of the individual. They do it, not in the interest of furthering mankind but out of selfish reasons. Instructing their subjects on what to do and not, while they sweeten their own existences.
Article ‘Some risks are worth taking for Ukraine’ My response – ‘Why let Putin decide what is escalatory? Abiding by his terms is putting him on the driver’s seat. There are over three times more Russians than Ukrainians. Ukraine will run out of soldiers before Russia does. For the West to not firmly push for victory reveals timidity on our part. I am with those who have been advocating for sending planes to the Ukrainians. The idea that Russia will control more territory at the end of this conflict than it did before the start must not be acceptable. So let it be us to escalate instead. There will be no nuclear war because Putin doesn’t want to be burnt to a crisp and China will be the first to say, ‘Don’t do it because the West will nuke us too and we don’t want to see Xi roasting’
Whereas I feel Mr Biden has done an exemplary job in uniting the West, I believe there is room for more push. Leaders like France’s Macron have muddied the waters when he talks of not humiliating Russia. Oh so very mindful of Putin’s feelings, but meanwhile, thousands and thousands of Ukrainians keep dying and their infrastructure is ravaged.
We need to challenge Putin. Ukraine is ready to go on the offensive.
Oscar Valdes, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple and google podcasts
Oscar Valdes 