8 Comments

Sending respect for the brave Georgians. The young lady's comment "as if by appeasement they can avoid his ill intentions" sounded very familiar. We see this happening in the US as GOP apologists excuse both putin and trump. Look at the recent cowardice from WaPo.

Regarding putin supplying weapons to the Houthis, I stand once again stunned by putin's disregard for peace and stability. He forces the West to be constantly on the defensive and responsible for avoiding WWIII. The angel on my right shoulder says "Be patient and wise". The devil on the left says "Nuke Moscow".

Expand full comment

Another missile sent to the Houthis is one less sent at Ukraine. Considering that Israel has refused to supply to Ukraine Patriot missiles *that Israel is not using (!)*, there's a kind of justice in that.

I haven't been stunned by Putin's disregard for peace and stability since 2014, when he violated the central pillar of international law and the UN Charter: invading other nations to grow an empire.

Still, listen to the angel on your right shoulder. Putin's time is coming. All we have to do is defend the rule of law until it does. I'm more worried about Xi. And, of course, us.

Expand full comment

I only recently understood that Israel and Ukraine share a common enemy, namely Iran, so I get your point.

The great Yuval Harari believes putin’s war on Ukraine is the most important war in the world right now. He understands that unlike local wars like the Middle East, Somalia etc., this one is about blatant Imperialism and has the potential to seriously disrupt the world order.

Expand full comment

Yes, that's right. For the time being, Israel has overwhelming strength so--as horrifying and damaging that the 10/7 attacks were--it is not facing an existential challenge.

Israel vs. Hamas is like the US vs. the Proud Boys. Israel vs. Hezbollah is like the US vs. Libya. Even Israel vs. Iran is, assuming no ground war, like the US vs. Venezuela. There's simply no comparison between the respective militaries. As much as Hamas or Hezbollah might like to see Israel gone, they have no way to accomplish that. And Iran, even should it develop a handful of nuclear weapons, would be facing an Israel armed with hundreds of such weapons. And, unlike 50 years ago, the Gulf States are now allies of Israel. For now, anyway.

Ukraine, on the other hand, is fighting a country three times larger and far better armed, a country that has been engaged in ethnic cleansing of Ukraine for hundreds of years and that regularly talks about using nuclear weapons to put an end to Ukraine. Just the use of nuclear blackmail makes that a far more serious conflict. And the linkages between Russia and especially China make it likely that this could expand to the Indo-Pacific, where dealing with it very likely would require a nuclear response on the party of the US...and failing to deal with it would threaten the world economy and the freedom of S. Korea, Japan, and Australia among others.

Expand full comment

Much appreciated post. It shows the lengths Georgians (and Moldovans too) will go to mitigate Russian influence and embrace EU principles. It’s a tough and long fight but necessary for an independent Georgia. Like Ukraine they must be never give up.

Expand full comment

🤞This is my hope for the future of ALL people... The bravery & committment of the younger generations to uphold & expand the freedoms fought for by those who came before them when THEY were the younger generation fighting for the survival of the free world 💪Georgia🫂 Slava Ukraine 💙💛

Expand full comment

Thanks so much for this really insightful piece

Expand full comment

Why do people not learn from history?

Appeasement of dictators and extremists has never been a viable path towards peace and prosperity. Ever.

Expand full comment