In the classic Seinfeld episode, those two morons Kramer and Newman are playing Risk on the subway. Kramer taunts Newman on the feeble nature of his position and he states that the Ukraine is weak. Where upon a Ukrainian émigré takes offense and smashes the board sending Kramer’s armies flying in all directions.
If you look at a map of Europe Ukraine is a large country pressed between Russia and the former Soviet block countries. It has over 40,000,000 people living in it and among European countries only Russia has a larger area. It has also been a part of the Russian civilization in one form or another for a thousand years. Thinking that the Russians in their current revitalized nationalism would allow the Ukraine to join NATO is a bit daft. The Russians can bring to bear enormous military pressure on the Ukraine. In addition, there is a very strong Russian minority living in the Ukraine. And NATO consists of countries that are not willing to send their armies into the Ukraine to fight the Russians toe to toe to save it. That leaves one other alternative. The United States would have to launch an all-out thermonuclear strike against Russia. Whether China would have to be nuked too is debatable.
So, Dementia Joe is going to blow up the world for Ukraine. I think not. All that is going on is Biden is trying to distract the country from runaway inflation, COVID fascism, rampant crime in the cities and critical race theory being taught in the schools.
I doubt that anyone takes this seriously other than the Neocons. They’re probably practically orgasmic just contemplating Ukraine (and sure why not Belarus) joining NATO. But they’re dopier than Newman and Kramer.
To be totally honest twenty years ago when Russia was on the ropes with the Chechnya revolt in full swing, it might have been possible to consider a scenario where Russia collapsed into the arms of NATO and joined Europe as a client state. Those days are far behind us. A more likely future might see the Eastern European countries balancing their interests between the EU and Russia to get the best of both worlds. Western Europe has proven itself much more problematic in terms of intellectual and cultural freedom than these eastern countries imagined. With the Soviet Union gone, places like Hungary and the Czech Republic find threats to their freedom and cultural heritage coming from Brussels not Moscow. In fact, Russia’s pro-Christian, anti-woke orientation is more inviting for these recently freed states than Western Europe’s post-religious, pro-immigrant stance.
And even the much wimpier claim that the West will employ trade and monetary sanctions against the Russians rings pretty hollow when you realize that Europe depends on natural gas to keep it from freezing in the winter and the Russians can increase the price of that commodity very easily. In fact, Germany is waiting very patiently for the Americans to wake up and realize that Russia is about to become Europe’s energy provider with the Nord Stream 2 about to come on line. At that point, Germany will become a client of Russia and knowing the Germans they will prove very cordial neighbors.
So, not that it really needs to be said but Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine is just noise. And that noise can’t be heard over the screaming about the real problems that the Democrats have caused in this country. That tail just won’t wag that dog this time.