Is Putin the Chamberlain of Our Time?
Is Putin the Chamberlain of Our Time?
Paul Craig Roberts
Recently I asked a knowledgeable person about the absence of a Russian-Chinese-Iranian mutual defense treaty that would halt the move toward wider war in the Middle East. He said such a treaty was prevented by Chinese distrust of Russia and Russian distrust of Iran. It is extraordinary that distrust among obvious allies prevents the prevention of wider war that would become nuclear war.
It is extraordinary also that Putin doesn’t realize that his unwillingness or inability to act proactively has played into the hands of America’s hegemonic neoconservatives.
In Ukraine Putin’s pretense that he wasn’t really at war allowed the West to escalate the conflict until Putin had to warn NATO that it was on the verge of being at war with Russia.
In the Middle East, Putin withheld air defense systems and failed to protect the Muslims from air attacks, thus escalating the conflict. Apparently, Putin also caused Iran and Hezbollah to lose their strategic advantage by sitting on them, thus permitting Israel to decimate the Hezbollah leadership that twice repelled Israel’s attempted invasions of Lebanon.
Thinking about all the charges against Chamberlain for encouraging Hitler’s aggression, it was nothing compared to the US/NATO/Israeli aggression Putin has encouraged by doing nothing.
As I predicted he would, Putin found himself with his back to the wall in Ukraine and had to threaten the West with nuclear weapons. Hopefully, the West believes him, and, if not, that he doesn’t mean it.
Now Putin’s lack of proactive action finds him with his back to the wall also in the Middle East. If the reports below are correct, and I do not know that they are, Putin is forced to repair the damage resulting from his inaction by belatedly taking steps that the West will use to Russia’s propaganda disadvantage.
It is extraordinary that such a capable leader as Putin can be so inept in dealing with external threats.
Here are the reports:
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