Vladimir Putin may be the greatest proof of John Steinbeck’s claim that “war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.” For most of us, there seems no plausible endgame for Putin in his invasion of Ukraine other than death and destruction for both countries. Putin seems to be thinking in a different century but using this century’s weapons.
For criminals, there is often a calculus of risk that is done in looking at the costs and penalties of a crimes. The same is true for most war criminals and Putin is clearly now in that class of criminals. There is mounting evidence of war crimes, particularly in attacks on civilian areas.
Putting aside the legal avenues for action in the short term, there is no question about the violation of international law in Russia’s invasion. The invasion was done without provocation or necessity. The response was far beyond any claim of just cause or threat. Moreover, Russia appears to be moving dangerously with in shift military tactics that will greatly increase civilian losses.
What was most notable today was the reported use of rockets and other munitions against the second largest city in Ukraine, Kharkiv.
Article 51(2) of Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, states:
The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence, the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population, are prohibited.
Article 48 of Protocol I further states:
In order to ensure respect for and protection of the civilian population and civilian objects, the Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants, and between civilian objects and military objectives, and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives.
The use of artillery and Katyusha rockets on urban centers raise serious questions of war crimes. Notably, just the day before, Putin’s ally Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko mocked the Ukrainians and described the fighting thus far as a “bed of roses.” He threatened that the Ukrainian people would face a “meat grinder” in the coming days.
Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions prohibits “violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment, and torture” when perpetrated against persons “taking no active part in the hostilities.”
Russia, and Putin in particular, could be accused of such war crimes. The concern is that not just the obvious human suffering that he is causing, but that Putin is digging himself in deeper and deeper in terms of legal, political, and economic costs.
There is great concern that Putin appears unstable and even fatalistic. If he fears prosecution, he may actually become more dangerous. That may increase further with protests in Russia.
Nevertheless, Putin is well beyond any cognizable claim of justified war. The scenes from Kharkiv suggest that he is crossing the redline on tactics. Equally concerning is the image of miles of artillery heading toward major cities as well as the positioning of thermobaric weapons. (Russia reportedly used such air-fuel bombs in Chechnya). Some sources are also reporting the use of cluster bombs. These are blunt tools that would clearly constitute war crimes if used on civilian areas. Russia has previously been accused of such war crimes in places like Syria.
The International Criminal Court is reportedly monitoring the Ukrainian situation. However, the definition of a war of aggression remains mired in debate. More importantly, while the ICC was created under the Rome Statute in 2002, Russia is not a party to that treaty. Nor is Ukraine.
It is possible for the United Nations Security Council to bring in the ICC but that is hardly likely with China and Russia exercising veto authority in the United Nations.
The World Court does claim jurisdiction in some disputes under the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Since Russia is accused of targeting the Ukrainian people, there could be a claim of genocide but Russia can challenge that characterization given its strategic objectives. As for the general “war of aggression” claim, it is also not as clear under existing rules. Again, the United Nations could ask the World Court for an opinion on such claims.
There is also the European Court of Human Rights. Both Russia and Ukraine are members of the European Court of Human Rights and the Strasbourg-based court can rule on conflicts between its 47 member states. Yet, this is a slow process without real teeth for Putin.
Nevertheless, as shown at Nuremburg, the world can claim the right to form tribunals to judge war crimes committed by rogue nations like Russia. Indeed, Russia was part of those proceedings after World War II.
Vladimir Putin remains a relic of an earlier age, but he is also a relic with one of the most powerful armies in the world. Not much has changed since World War II on meaningful legal avenues for the deterrent of such aggression. However, much has changed economically. The world has become far more interdependent on financial and market levels.
It is difficult to see how Putin thinks that his fragile economy can long survive in isolation, even with the support of countries like China. That is why this is such an important moment for testing international resolve. Indeed, even if sanctions do not force a Russian withdrawal, they could deter China in moving against Taiwan. However, they must be so complete and severe to concentrate the mind of Xi Jinping. That is still not happening with Germany and other countries actively protecting the Russian energy sector and the United States still purchasing Russian energy.
Nevertheless, the heavy sanctions against Russia will be the test of economics as an effective deterrent to military aggression. Obviously, these economic moves are done in concert with legal measures to isolate and expose Russian firms and figures. However, in the short term, the international economic system will be more important in stopping this aggression than our international legal system.
“Is Russia’s “Meat Grinder” Multiplying War Crimes?”
– Professor Turley
______________
God Bless the Ukrainians.
It’s about time America finally took in some actual homogeneous and assimilable, “American” emigrant refugees.
If America takes in enough of them, the actual American fertility rate, which is in a “death spiral,” might be reversed.
Let ’em in, give ’em sustenance, a check, a court date and a first-class plane ticket to the destination of their choice.
Supreme Court Will Hear Biggest Climate Change Case in a Decade
The lawsuit seeks to limit the EPA’s power to impose new limits on greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants
WASHINGTON — In the most important environmental case in more than a decade, the Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in a dispute that could restrict or even eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to control the pollution that is heating the planet.
A decision by the high court, with its conservative supermajority, could shred President Biden’s plans to halve the nation’s greenhouse emissions by the end of the decade, which scientists have said is necessary to avert the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.
“They could handcuff the federal government’s ability to affordably reduce greenhouse gases from power plants,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton University.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ukraine-news-alexander-vindman-putin-nuclear-saber-rattling/
Article 1, Section 8: Congress has the power to regulate ONLY the value of money, commerce among the several States (to preclude favor by one State over another), and land and naval Forces.
Property damage and bodily injury must be litigated and/or prosecuted in courts.
Regulation must be done by industries themselves, for their own benefit, and to preclude undesirable litigated insolvency.
Sorry, comrade, you lose, Karl, no “dictatorship of the proletariat” here.
“They could handcuff the federal government’s ability to” further destroy America’s energy industry, and to further impoverish Americans.
Sure wish there were truth in reporting.
Supreme Court Will Hear Biggest Climate Change Case in a Decade
The lawsuit seeks to limit the EPA’s power to impose new limits on greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants
WASHINGTON — In the most important environmental case in more than a decade, the Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in a dispute that could restrict or even eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to control the pollution that is heating the planet.
A decision by the high court, with its conservative supermajority, could shred President Biden’s plans to halve the nation’s greenhouse emissions by the end of the decade, which scientists have said is necessary to avert the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.
“They could handcuff the federal government’s ability to affordably reduce greenhouse gases from power plants,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton University.
Joe Biden is not only incompetent, entitled and lazy, he is a filthy corrupt, lying, plagiarizing, disgusting politician who knows nothing but grifting off the public office he has abused for 50 years in order to make his own family wealthy beyond their wildest dreams for doing nothing but dealing in sleeze. Biden is a disgusting sellout sleezeball politician who should be impeached ASAP.
At least he loves little children.
I’ve noted that Russian POW’s are pretty young and when questioned “why are you here” their comment was “they told us we were going on maneuvers, not to war”, “we don’t want to be here”. Many people in Russia are against what’s going on as well as those throughout the world. My hat’s off to the Ukrainian’s for the fight they’re putting up, shades of the Hungarian Freedom Fighters. We have actually found people who want democracy and are willing to fight for it. Let’s give them the equipment they need to halt the onslaught. All that equipment left in Afghanistan, how sad.
Hopefully the the Moscow Madman will be subdued by his own people and put an end to the violence.
As for the Ukrainian government being corrupt, well people who live in glass house’s shouldn’t throw stones.
Don’t forget that Germany gets much of its natural gas from Russia. They’ve been taking nuclear plants offline in the name of climate change. Britain has slowed oil production in the name of global warming. China is building coal power plants at a fast pace. Russia is supplying the coal, natural gas and oil to make up the difference. The price goes up and Putin gets richer.
Follow the money and follow those who made this possible. The elites who enrich themselves brokering deals. Putin is evil but shrewd. He saw his chance and is taking it. He opened Pandora’s box and Europe and the world now face a new reality. He’s the big man on campus ruling what remains of the fallen Soviet empire. How will we respond? How long will the west be willing to play the long game for a place many cannot locate on a map?
So We have US a WAR (WW III). [Woo Hoo – Kudos for the CIA!]
So Who wants to go? We need a Draft, Lets start with Fat Kids with Smart Phones First (pretty much all Kids), lop on all the Students that haven’t Paid off their Student Loans, Those who have Maxed-Out or have $10,000 or More in Credit Card Debt, Anyone who can’t pay their Mortgage, and Those who owe the IRS. Still not enough? How about All recent Refugees, All over-crowding Prisoners (The Dirty Dozen Top 50%), Your Grand Parents (Hey they’re going to kick anyway!),
Oh almost forgot … all: Lawyers, Bankers, Brokers, and Politicians.
>>> Charge of the Fat Kids with iPhone Brigade <<<
That outta do it! Take that you Russkies!
To the Fat Kid Brigade – There’s plenty of conscripts hiding in the “safe spaces” of universities, send them first!
“EVERY LIVING THING IN IT – MEN AND WOMEN, YOUNG AND OLD, CATTLE, SHEEP AND DONKEYS”
RESOLVE
________
Patton was right.
Joe McCarthy was right.
(George W. Bush was an idiot).
President Donald J. Trump was right, again!
Joshua was right.
______________
Joshua 6
Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”
20 When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. 21 They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.
27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.
“Putting aside the legal avenues for action in the short term, there is no question about the violation of international law in Russia’s invasion.”
– Professor Turley
______________
There is no question about the violation of international law in China’s release of “China Flu, 2019.”
China must be sued by 194 nations for violations of international law, including the witting or unwitting release of “China Flu, 2019” from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, and the willful and deliberate spread of a virulent communicable disease through controlled airline flights to other nations around the world, which caused wrongful death, bodily injuries and property damages in the amount of $50 trillion, an amount to be increased.
___________________________
“China’s Violation of International Law and the Duty to Make Reparation”
“As explained by a number of scholars, states have several duties under international law in relation to the outbreak of diseases. Most importantly, they have general obligations to prevent the spread of epidemics across borders into other countries, stemming from the customary no-harm principle, and they also have obligations under the World Health Organization (WHO) 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR), an international treaty binding 196 states including China. Pursuant to Article 6 IHR, each state party “shall notify WHO … within 24 hours of assessment of public health information, of all events which may constitute a public health emergency of international concern within its territory.” Article 7 provides that a state must share all information regarding an “unexpected or unusual public health event” with the international organization.
…
“Conclusion”
“I am…suggesting that China…act[ed] recklessly in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, making consequential mistakes that the leaders in Beijing will need to answer for eventually and assume responsibility for under international law, at least for their failure to adhere to the reporting obligations under the IHR. It is clear that the Chinese Communist Party’s actions contributed to a faster spread of the virus, and these failures stem from the serious structural deficiencies of an authoritarian regime that—at least initially—was more concerned about its global reputation and the country’s economy than the health of its citizens and everyone else on this planet.”
– Henning Lahmann, Lawfare, May 7, 2020
not sure why my comment posted hours ago is still labeled as “under moderation.” I’ve removed a cuss word (which occurred in a direct quote) and I repost it below.
The premise for this speculation seems awfully thin.
You name one alleged offense. In support of this, you link to a Reuters — a known purveyor of propaganda as we have seen over the years.
Reuters’ sole source for the allegation was:
“Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said.”
No details. No pictures. No independent confirmation.
In war, truth is always the first casualty. Now let’s talk about who has been waging war on whom the past eight years. The Kiev regime has in fact been waging war on ethnic minorities, primarily in the east, for the last 8 years since it was installed in a violent coup of that country’s democratically elected government, styled the “Euromaidan Revolution” of 2014.
The coup prompted Donetsk and Lugansk in the east, and Crimea, in the south, to declare independence and secede.
The two eastern republics ( Donetsk and Lugansk) came under shelling again by the Ukrainian forces last week, which Russia cited as the provocation to send its peacekeeping force to those independent territories.
We should note that Kiev has continued its attacks on the eastern region in violation of the Minsk ceasefire agreements it signed years ago (mediated and guaranteed by Russia, Germany and France).
20,000 have died, primarily ethnic Russians. Nobody is howling outrage and shedding tears for them. Why?
Who was behind the overthrow of Ukraine’s government? Well, we know. WAR$hington was behind it. Handing out millions of dollars to protest organizers, and scheming about whom they were going to put into the new government. See the Victoria Nuland-Geoffery Pyatt “f__k the EU” call, which was captured and leaked by somebody clever– perhaps the Russians.
Likewise, WAR$hington has been solidly behind the 8-year long ethnic cleansing campaign by Kiev against its inconvenient minority, pumping billions of dollars of weapons into Ukraine to bomb and blockade its fellow citizens.
It’s also been known for years that WAR$hington installed 15 biowarfare labs around Ukraine. The Russians certainly know that, just as they’re well aware that WAR$hington was turning Ukraine into a de facto NATO state. As Putin had been repeatedly warning, using Ukraine as a “dagger against Russia’s throat” and continued attacks upon the ethnic Russians of the east were his two red lines.
Perhaps one of the last straws, as well, was Zelensky’s recent threats to obtain nuclear weapons.
Let’s note one more thing. The recent shelling against the independent republic of Donetsk in the East was reportedly conducted by one of Kiev’s proxy militias, called the Azov Battallion. Those guys boast a proud lineage back to World War II — i.e., to the literal Nazis. Read up on Stephan Bandera and his followers in Ukraine today and you’ll know why Putin spoke of a need to “demilitarize and de-Nazify” that country.
My comment posted 5 hours ago is STILL “awaiting moderation”?
Two possible explanations:
– you included a word that the WordPress filter rejects;
– you included more than two web URLs.
I think it was because I said a bad word.
Best line: “Putin seems to be thinking in a different century but using this century’s weapons.”
Is anyone surprised by the news of war crimes? This is barbaric, but totally expected from a maniac like Putin ruling in a world where the opposition leaders are weak. Won’t be long before Xi battles Putin for front-page news. Speaking of which, has covid disappeared?
President Biden is MIA. Gone for a long weekend at home. Yet again. We have his snide, annoyingly arrogant, condescending press secretary answering questions. Not a peep from the Commander in Chief. Where’s Joe?
“Ukrainian Ambassador to the @UN @SergiyKyslytsya reads text messages between a Russian soldier and his mother moments before he was killed.”
https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1498323215621533698 — has CSpan video with translations of the exchange, the soldier is afraid and confused, as they were told they’d be welcomed and are instead find war
Putin is sending his citizens to death.
In the Old Days, the Cavalry Would Come to the Rescue Just in Time!
Lest we forget…Hillary Clinton recklessly jeopardized national security for personal gain by fabricating evidence of collusion between an American president and the Kremlin.
Lest we forget, Russia interfered in the 2016 election, there’s plenty of evidence of collusion between members of the Trump Campaign and Russia (Stone working with Guccifer 2 to dump Russia-hacked DNC emails, …). Trump publicly welcomed interference: “Russia, if you’re listening …”
Lest we forget…..When then candidate Biden actually accused the Russians and Putin of spreading disinfo about his son by accusing Russia of planting Hunter’s hard drive?
Candidate Biden flatout lied to coverup his own family corruption by making false accusations against Russia, a nuclear power, jeopardizing our country’s national security — again — to protect his crackaddict corrupt son and his own self-interest?
“The Russians did it!”
It’s a Democrat specialty.
Biden is a disgrace. He said in an interview the other day that he hoped his legacy would be “I restored the soul of this country.”
OMG this man is DELUSIONAL. He’s doing the OPPOSITE and yet he believes his own lies. Sick man.
It’s called “delusions of grandeur.” Telling symptom of severe mental/personality disorder.
He also thinks he’s black, btw…
Lest we forget…..When special counsel Mueller denied knowing anything about the Steele Dossier — the one PAID for by Clinton that was the BASIS for his entire special counsel….and all Mueller would answer is: “I’m not going to get into that,” and….. “It’s not my purview.”
Yeah, “not his purview.” Nothing to see….except CORRUPTION and lies.
LMAO…. Please get into 2022 … Or even 2017. Because all that Russia hacking nonsense had already been completely refuted by experts as of mid-2017. (As if the SLIGHTEST shred of evidence had EVER been advanced for that hoax at all.)
You’re mistaken.
That’s not all. Let’s recall that Ukraine, since the overthrow in 2014, has been something of a colony particularly for the Democratic machine. Neocon Republicans seemed to have been cut a small piece of the pie: Sleazy John McCain was instrumental in the 2014 coup, and many RINOs, particularly in the Senate, provided and continue to provide cover fire against criticism of Washington’s coup and other illegal activities there.
But the major rewards of looting that I’m aware of seemed to have gone to Democrats: Bidens, Kerry, Pelosis. The Clintons are rewarded via Ukrainian oligarchs like Victor Pinchuk giving at least $8.6 million to their foundation, ostensibly to “fund a program to train future Ukrainian leaders and professionals . . .Several alumni are current members of the Ukrainian Parliament” (WSJ) So, paying the Clintons to raise a political army to take over Ukraine.
(There is yet more financial looting involving the Ukrainian government that involves some very high up people in the Obama-Biden Administration, that was supposedly being looked into in 2020 when our orchestrated communist race riots suddenly broke out.)
Then, in 2015 – 16, we saw Ukraine weaponized as a launch pad for Democratic political war against the Trump campaign and presidency. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that the Democrat Party has absorbed and cultivated a Ukrainian political mafia. Ukrainian Americans, such as the hideous Chalupa sisters, are key players in the propaganda and political machinations of Russiagate.
The Clintocrats got their apparatchiks in Kiev government to come out vocally in favor of Clinton.
And they used the Ukrainian government apparatus in conjunction with Soros AstroTurf NGOs to gin up a fake “anti-corruption” dossier targeting Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort.
And remember that the first Trump impeachment effort was manned largely by people who worked in and around the Kiev U.S. embassy, including that POS Vindman, an actual citizen of Ukraine with overt loyalties to that country, who somehow ended up sitting on our National Security Council and doing his best to overthrow his own commander-in-chief.
“the international economic system will be more important in stopping this aggression than our international legal system.”
So now we’re cheering for corporatists?
Rose asks:
“So now we’re cheering for corporatists?”
In this case, yes, if CEO’s will put principle ahead of profits for a change.
Jeff,
What principle? Whose principle? The World Economic Forum’s? Pretty sure corporations aren’t going to suddenly remember freedom and justice and human rights after the last two years have demonstrated they’d rather bend things to their own will.
Principle of international law and order. Many nations are taking costly steps to punish Putin for his invasion. I don’t know how long their putting principle ahead of profits will continue in the long run, but it’s a step in the right direction. We should encourage their sacrifice for the people of Ukraine, rather than maligning their motives.
Never let a good crisis go to waste.
In this case, corporations and the majority of nations are doing the right thing by putting their money where their mouths are. It sets a new precedent. The one good thing to emerge from this calamity. You don’t see that?
Wolves in sheep’s clothing. Looks like a power move to me.
“It sets a new precedent”
That sounds ominous.
I could not disagree more. It’s a beautiful thing to see corporations, countries and some on Fox News condemning, distancing and ostracizing Putin. I’m surprised that you think that this development is a bad thing.
Far too many things involving corporations and national governments have been bad things. Kumbayah ain’t in their repertoire right now, especially now. Whatever is going on in Ukraine is likely going to serve several purposes–a smokescreen, a distraction, a pretext, Why not. They’ve pulled plenty of other crap.
Ok. I give up. I just don’t share your suspicion of corporations and governments. I have more faith than you in mankind especially after witnessing the nearly universal reaction of both corporations’ and nations’ willingness to sacrifice the prosperity of their stockholders and their citizens for the sake of the people of Ukraine.
As in, “I, for one, welcome our robot overlords”?
Oh yes they will because gaslighting and victim-blaming is what evil narcissists do.
Really, Professor Turley, your rant ignores actual, factual reality to pile on anti-Russian and Putin propaganda with the rest of western mainstream media. Fortunately, your commitment to free speech allows more accurate speech about Ukraine and Russia in the comments to outweigh the ignorance of your original post. Your membership in Washington’s chickenhawk war party is duly noted.
Really, Professor Turley, your rant ignores actual, factual reality to pile on anti-Russian and Putin propaganda with the rest of western mainstream media
And then there is your rant, written from the comfort of your mancave, with little to no experience living in the horrors of what Ukrainians are now experiencing, Such is the hubris of self-absorbed Americans, too numerous to count in our world today. If you bothered to check the global news sources, plenty of Eastern European and Asian news sites (and nations) are articulating similar thoughts to Western news media and countries. Fortunately some of us surveil the horizon before inserting foot in mouth
Propaganda knows no national boundaries. Bet you still believe in Iraqi WMDs too. Surveilling the horizon certainly did not keep you from inserting your foot in your mouth, so I’m not sure what good it did you.
“Turkey dubs Russia invasion of Ukraine ‘war’ in shift of rhetoric”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/27/turkey-calls-russia-invasion-of-ukraine-war-eyes-sea-movements
that darned Erdogan is such a Biden propagandist.
“Japan considering sanctions on Belarus over its support for Russian invasion of Ukraine”
Japantoday com
Of course the Japanese are as MSM bootlickers as they come
“MANILA — The Philippines explicitly condemns the invasion of Ukraine and “strongly urge(s) the cessation of hostilities”, it said in a statement it will deliver at the United Nations General Assembly’s emergency special session in New York, Monday.”
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/28/22/ph-explicitly-condemns-invasion-of-ukraine
But what do those Asians know?
/sarc
Surveil this…
The Land Where History Died, Part 1 — David Stockman
https://www.unz.com/article/the-land-where-history-died-part-1/
Or perhaps these comments from inside the Ukraine…
https://www.unz.com/article/the-land-where-history-died-part-1/#comment-5202523
Although I certainly do not agree with every comment posted in the replies to Stockman’s original article, you’ll find a much more accurate picture of why this situation currently exists than any mainstream media story… Stop paying attention to the mainstream media — or do you prefer lies about the Empire of Chaos with a little exceptional nation sugar on top?
Really, Professor Turley, your rant ignores actual, factual reality to pile on anti-Russian and Putin propaganda with the rest of western mainstream media.
Translation: Erdogan, Japan and Philippines are deep state western mainstream media. Who knew?!
https://nypost.com/2022/02/28/strange-left-right-alliance-making-excuses-for-putin/
“It’s usually pretty easy to figure out what’s happening when an unexpected fight breaks out between Bambi and Godzilla, but as Ukraine fights for its life against Vlad the Invader, some strange alliances are forming. From the left and the right you hear: Hey, give the giant radioactive lizard a break, he’s misunderstood.
Steve Bannon, for instance, takes what you might call the anti-anti-Russian line from the right: Hey, what have we got against Jackbootin’ Putin? At least “Putin ain’t woke,” Bannon said on his podcast in a chat with Blackwater soldier of fortune Erik Prince, who chimed in, “The Russian people still know which bathroom to use … they don’t have boys swimming in college girls’ meets.”
Does that put us on the same side as Putin? I think I might need a little more convincing.
Meanwhile, J.D. Vance, the “Hillbilly Elegy” guy who is running for Senate in Ohio on a MAGA platform, was outraged by the idea that the Biden administration is backing Ukraine: “We did not serve in the Marine Corps to go and fight Vladimir Putin because he didn’t believe in transgender rights, which is what the US State Department is saying is a major problem with Russia.”
Stop making excuses for the U.S., E.U. and NATO…
Experts Warned For Years That NATO Expansion Would Lead To This — Caitlin Johnstone
…if westerners were to get it into their heads that this whole terrible war could have been avoided by simply solidifying a policy of neutrality for Ukraine and issuing a guarantee that it would never be added to NATO, they would begin asking why this did not happen. …it doesn’t really make sense to refuse to make such low-cost concessions if the only alternative is mass military slaughter. I mean, unless your goal was to provoke mass military slaughter to advance your own geostrategic objectives.
So they work hard to present the narrative that the invasion has nothing to do with NATO at all, and occurred solely because Putin is an evil madman who hates freedom and wants to destroy democracy.
https://caityjohnstone.medium.com/experts-warned-for-years-that-nato-expansion-would-lead-to-this-ba6cf54e4900
Western media has proved itself unreliable at best — to name just one example, where are Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction? That you continue listening to western mainstream media, and the Empire of Chaos’ client states, indicates you understand little of the real world — a world where facts and history matter.
If you are absolutely convinced that Ukraine is the “victim” of a megalomaniacal madman, why not volunteer to fight the evil invaders — show us your conviction in your deeply held beliefs. Or are you simply another chickenhawk?
You are rather fond of moving the goal posts. You stated originally, as you well know, “something something western news media” when you have been shown to be absolutely wrong with 3 Non-Western / Asian media sources. Suck it up “Spanky”. You got spanked and you are desperately trying to redeem your nonsense.
LOL…
A new type of war, cyberwar by “Anonymous” combating Putin’s propaganda.
…..
“Greetings World,
We are Anonymous.
We see the clouds of war, wrought by a madman pushing his propagandic agenda on to a free people and it angers us. Russian forces surrounded and invaded Ukraine all because Vladimir Putin wants to dominate a sovereign nation and to control Ukraine’s autonomy.
Immediately we hit his propaganda network Russia Today, and took out many of Russia’s government sites. These actions will continue. We, as activists, will not sit idle as Russian forces kill and murder innocent people trying to defend their homeland.
To all of the Russian soldiers who may read or hear of this message, and to any of their family and friends who may be able to pass this message along, we strongly encourage all of you in the Russian forces to lay down your weapons and just walk away. Putin’s crimes do not have to be your crimes.
We stand with the Ukrainian people.
We stand with the Russian people who oppose the dictator Putin.
We stand with all of the people in the world who crave changing this insane rock into a better place for all of us to live.
We are Anonymous,
We are Legion.
We do not forgive,
We do not forget.
Vlad should have expected us.”
“ANONYMOUS” lol.
Is that the same “anonymous” that provides most of the propaganda dumped on us by the WAR$hington Compost, New York Slimes and CIANN?
^^^^
Not the sharpest pencil in the box.
Spanky can tell you who they are after he polishes off his case of Ritz Crackers and Cheez Whiz.
Only some people’s propaganda and mis-,dis-, and mal-information is okay.
““I’m concerned about Russian disinformation spreading online, so today I wrote to the CEOs of major tech companies to ask them to restrict the spread of Russian propaganda,” US Senator Mark Warner tweeted on Friday.
Since then YouTube has announced that it has suppressed videos by Russian state media channels so that they’ll be seen by fewer people in accordance with its openly acknowledged policy of algorithmically censoring unauthorized content, as well as de-monetizing all such videos on the platform. Google and Facebook/Instagram parent company Meta both banned Russian state media from running ads and monetizing on their platforms in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Twitter announced a pause on ads in both Russia and Ukraine.
“Glad to see action from tech companies to reign in Russian propaganda and disinformation after my letter to their CEOs yesterday,” Warner tweeted on Saturday. “These are important first steps, but I’ll keep pushing for more.”
For years US lawmakers have been using threats of profit-destroying consequences to pressure Silicon Valley companies into limiting online speech in a way that aligns with the interests of Washington, effectively creating a system of government censorship by proxy. It would appear that we’re seeing a new expansion of this phenomenon today.”
I couldn’t paste the url for some reason. Tech glitch…???
A link which discusses why Putin has done what he has done. Instead of seeking to integrate Russia into a European system and disbanding NATO, which no longer had a purpose after 1989, the “West” consolidated the existing disparities and then exacerbated them by expanding NATO, which is not a “defensive alliance” — there is no such thing. All military alliances wield weapons.
All NATO had to do was recognize the geopolitical reality that Ukraine must be a buffer state and not offer it membership. That’s all, and they could not do that. Others have noted that the US would not stand for Chinese troops in Mexico or Russian nukes in Cuba, and rightly so — but this is much woke ideology — one rule for me, another for you.
https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/02/26/the-peace-that-could-have-been/
All reliable reports so far suggest that the Russians took out military targets and did their best to avoid hitting civilian areas. I feel sorry for the soldiers who were killed and their families, on both sides. But to avoid damage to a city, the Ukrainian military cannot fortify it nor hide in it. When it does so, the city becomes a military target.
The crime of ‘aggressive war’ was created in 1945 by pretending that the 1928 Briand-Kellogg Pact had the force of international law (it did not, which is why the ‘crime’ was controversial), in order to be able to try Nazi leaders war crimes rather than simply shoot them. We did not try members of the the German air force for attacking cities, even thought the Soviets wanted to do so, because both the British and American air forces targeted civilian areas in order to starve German factories of ‘workers.’ (Read Harris or a good history.) Nor did we try members of the German navy for unrestricted submarine warfare because British and American submarines sank on sight in the Mediterranean (including Italian ships with British POW) and in the Pacific. (Read John Dower’s War without Mercy).
Others have noted that the victors not only write the history of a war, they enforce international law afterward. Precisely. They lie during the war, then they lie some more afterward and call it history, and sometimes justice.
I include Greenwald’s latest on war propaganda, which is worth the time it takes to read it.
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/war-propaganda-about-ukraine-becoming?utm_source=url
I remember the Falklans War; I lost friends in Vietnam; and I remember Cechnya, Iraq, Aghanistan, Syria, Libya, and a small island in the Caribbean called Grenada . . . . and I am still waiting for a great many politicians and military leaders to face justice, and only a handful of them are Russian.
It is depressing to see Turley offer a knee-jerk reaction rather than a well-thought out discussion of what international law might apply in this situation, and to see him repeat the claim that Putin is deranged. All our enemies have been deranged, Hitler and Mussolini, to Saddam, who told the Americans that they had let the genie out of the bottle by destroying Iraq when they pulled him out of his hole, and Qaddafi, whose crimes included offering the Russians a naval base at Benghazi (which NATO wanted) and to create and support the African Union as a step toward real independence for that continent. . . . War is always horrible; moralizing is always depressing.
I suppose you are cool with Putin and his mouthpiece offering to kick off a Nuclear Attack is being sane and rational?
If you do…..Scooter you are well down that road and around the bend yourself.
I assume you know that Russians will use tactical nukes if necessary to overcome NATO, and that Putin has supersonic missiles which our ABM systems cannot intercept? (A fellow I knew years ago went on a training exercise in Germany. He was very excited to go, but when he got back, he was a bit subdued. I asked why. Well, he replied, we only lasted thirty minutes; the Soviets took us out with tactical nukes. No link for that, just personal experience.)
I also assume that you know that the CIA, USAID, and State Department arranged the coup in 2014, which is the root cause of this current mess? And that Ukraine pledged not to rearm with nukes, but Zelensky just recently asked for them? Or that NATO would station nukes in Ukraine if it joined? Or that Ukraine was formed in 1991 by breaking away from the USSR, but I guess you’re ‘cool’ with breaking up states you don’t like?
I am a bit old to be called ‘Scooter,” so I assume that you have no argument, since you defaulted to name calling?
I have no dog in this fight — I have Ukrainian and Russian friends, and feel badly for both sides. I lived in eastern Europe, both before 1989 and after; I didn’t just visit, and I can manage in two of their languages if pressed. So I just feel sadness at what has happened. We had a chance to improve the world, and we blew it. Not Putin, not Zelensky — we did.
Are you cool with the WAR$hington installed stand-up comic president, zielinski, openly speaking of getting nukes and attacking Russia (MONTHS ago)?
“NATO, which is not a “defensive alliance” — there is no such thing. ”
Bullsh*t. NATO has not started any wars. Russia started this war.
“All NATO had to do was recognize the geopolitical reality that Ukraine must be a buffer state and not offer it membership.”
NATO didn’t offer Ukraine membership, idiot. In fact, NATO rejected Ukraine’s request to join.
Idiot? Perhaps, but I do have a couple of advanced degrees and some understanding of military tactics, diplomacy, and international law. I would urge you to read some history. Not Wikipedia, serious histories written by serious historians and serious political scientists. You might start with the link provided by another commenter to Mearsheimer. Historians and political scientists do not always agree, but they do know what a military alliance is, what a buffer state is, and how international relations work.
In the current instance, the Russians repeatedly signalled that if NATO persisted in opening the door to Ukrainian membership, then they would have to act before that happened. Hence the recognition of Luhansk and Donetsk and the attack on Ukraine. So, yes, the Russians attacked first, but the Obama Administration formulated a doctrine of preemptive prevention which would justify the attack because, from Moscow’s perspective, NATO or nukes in Ukraine was unacceptable. They made that plain. I strongly suspect we knew that they would act. So the question is why did we press the issue? To force action? I would prefer not to believe that was the case and fall back on amateurism and incompetence.
Two points.
First, any state can recognize a breakaway state, and if enough do so, and the recognized state controls and can defend its territory, then it is a state like any other. That is how most current states were formed, including our own.
Second, in operational terms, once Putin commited to recognizing Luhansk and Donetsk within their ‘constitutional frontiers,’ he was going to send troops to those frontiers, which would have triggered a confronation with Ukraine. If so, then the Russian forces would have been easy targets and closely grouped within the two breakaway republics — so the Russians took out all of Ukraine’s offensive capabilities and their ports — to protect their own forces. It’s kind of operational tactics 101.
I cannot tell you how upset I am that the Russians and Ukrainians are at each other throats. It’s a tragedy. But you will not resolve it by moralizing; you will help to end it by understanding what actually happened, and why.
An old guy,
“To force action? I would prefer not to believe that was the case and fall back on amateurism and incompetence.”
Timing and messaging are right on. This, like too many things since 2020, appears to be calculated rather than amateurish and incompetent.
It was a clear series of provocations from WAR$hington/Kiev that led to this place. And it’s very clear that WAR$hington needs a new enemy and it needs new distractions from the jaw-dropping and spectacular disaster of its idiot dictator.
None of which changes the fact that the sentences of yours that I quoted were false.
Apparently the faculty in your grad programs didn’t teach you to admit your mistakes.
“First, any state can recognize a breakaway state, and if enough do so, and the recognized state controls and can defend its territory, then it is a state like any other. That is how most current states were formed, including our own.”
An Old Guy, international law says something different, though many others believe might makes right. According to international law, Russia is an occupier of Crimea no matter how the people in Crimea feel, no matter the facts on the ground. Also, according to international law, Luhansk and Donetsk are part of Ukraine. The deciding factor is the highest administrative body of a region. Ukraine existed at the time of this International agreement. The underlying idea was to prevent hostilities by promoting stable and predictable boundaries. Unless the government of Ukraine gives up land, that land is occupied by a hostile force, but the actual borders of the original country remain intact.
Are you referring to the Helsinski Accords? There is international law and international practice, and practice makes for customary law, regardless of the ‘setteled’ law.
There was a referendum in Crimea, which Kiev/Kyiv and the US and its allies did not recognize, but Russia and its allies did. So Crimea is both in practice and, for some states, in legally part of Russia.
The US did not recognize Communist China; recognized Taiwan as the legitimate Chinese government in exile — for how many years? Twenty or so? It didn’t matter. Mao & cpy. won out in the end because the US and its allies would not, and probably could not, reconquer China for the KMT.
International law is malleable, like domestic law (which is why both sides fight so hard for seats on the Supreme Court).
When Slovenia broke away from Yugoslavia in 1991, Belgrade did not recognize the new state until forced to do so. The EC and US did so at once, but put artificial roadblocks in the way of the other Yugoslav republics. So for the next four years a very brutal war was fought to see whether Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina would gain their independence. That was settled in 1995, long after Helsinki, and the wars of “secession” were in Europe. Nobody got that upset because the EC had what it wanted, Slovenia, and the US was still trying to hold together Yugoslavia, so it gave Milosevic a free hand and turned a blind eye to the atrocities in Croatia. It was not until the Muslim countries began to lobby DC and the EC over Bosnia and Herzegovina that the ICTY was established, but initially only to try crimes there. It then invented its own case law based on a very general mandate from the Security Council — including the category of ‘joint criminal enterprise,’ loosely based on our RICO laws, which allowed it to indict and guarantee a conviction for whomever it wanted, but not Muslims, mostly Serbs and some Croats. The ICTY did not investigate NATO crimes in Kosovo because NATO refused to cooperate, so war crimes went unpunished and part of Serbia became independent.
International law? Right. There are two international laws — the ones in the books, and the ones which are enforced by the major powers. I don’t like being a cynic, but there you go. I am sure you can think of more examples. We could begin with Nicaragua or Greneda or Iraq or Afghanistan or Yemen . . . .
“Are you referring to the Helsinski Accords? ”
No. Turn of the century international law.
“There was a referendum in Crimea, which Kiev/Kyiv and the US and its allies did not recognize, but Russia and its allies did. So Crimea is both in practice and, for some states, in legally part of Russia.”
That is your ‘law’, not international law as recognized by the United Nations and the great powers when international law was created.
Crimea is an occupied territory according to international law.
“International law is malleable”
International law is not malleable in the way you think. Political situations are malleable, but unless international law is changed in writing, international law doesn’t change. All the fighting in Yugoslavia and border changes don’t alter international law. I don’t know the status of those borders for sure, but they may have finally been satisfied under international law for all I know.
My comments only had to do with what the law is, not how the law is applied. According to international law, Ukraine’s borders remain unchanged, and Crimea is an occupied territory.
It’s always be those who know the least — or simply have the least integrity and honesty — who pull out the ad hominem attacks.
And yeah I’m syntactically incorrect thanks to dictating this awkwardly into a phone while in the midst of doing 10 other things. So snicker at my broken sentence – I’m talking about your lack of facts or principles.
Why is Ukraine the West’s fault? Featuring John Mearsheimer.
https://youtu.be/JrMiSQAGOS4
This video is from 6 years ago, with over 11 million views.
If you were to read the recent comments, you would see how prescient, perhaps more accurately predictable, events have unfolded.
As an “American,” I understand “Americans” antipathy to reading. If one were inclined to understand the facts, actions and dangers of militarism and imperialism, one might read Chalmers Johnson the author of books such as
Blowback
The Sorrows Of Empire
Nemesis.
Dismantling the Empire
Chalmers Johnson has been “labeled” a “liberal” and he was a C.I.A. consultant, who was consulted frequently.
The late Chalmers Johnson was not an oligarch or an academic hack who failed to understand the economic, financial and political self interested individuals and forces which have destroyed the Constitutional, [d]emocratic, Republic which was once the United States.
dennis hanna
I watched that one a couple of months ago. Mearsheimer gives a historically honest, thorough, and realistic explanation of why things have come to this pass.
A great one to follow that with is Vladimir Pozner,
How the United States Created Vladimir Putin.
Dennis,
Thanks for posting this lecture. It was very interesting. He was prescient in stating that Russian invading Ukraine would be a disaster for Russia, but he was wrong in predicting that Putin was too clever to make that mistake after he had already “wrecked” Ukraine by making it virtually impossible for it to join the EU by virtue of the Donbas.
Whether or not you agree with the Russian perspective, it’s always illuminating to hear what they are thinking in order to gain the full context. Despite the argument that the US has had too much hubris in facilitating the spread of democracy in Eastern Europe, the professor did not account for the desires of the Ukrainian people themselves. The western half of the country wanted to align with the West whereas the eastern ethnic Russian speaking half wanted to remain tied to Russia. This polarization exists in Moldova as well which had a hot civil war after the fall of the USSR, and there is a Russian enclave called Transnistria which broke away from Moldova and declared its independence but no country recognizes its statehood. The eastern half of Moldova wants to join the EU as well and signed the same Association Agreement with the EU which Ukraine did.
Whatever the desires of Putin to maintain a hold on Ukraine and Moldova (he provides free gas to Transnistria and has maintained 2000 “peacekeeping troops” there), these populations overwhelmingly want to gravitate economically, travel visa free and find gainful employment in Europe. Putin would have been wiser had he developed Russia to be nearly as attractive as Europe to the aspirations of the liberated people of Eastern Europe.
You haven’t at all considered that maybe Putin was responding to a series of provocations? Where should we start – constant NATO expansion to his doorstep, NATO troops and nuclear weapons pouring into neighboring states, renewed attacks by Ukraine on the Russian speaking population in the independent republics of the donbas (which is the reason he sent troops in the first place – officially, a peacekeeping mission) , and to top it off, recent talk (weeks ago) by WAR$hington puppet/comic Zelensky to secure nuclear weapons with which to attack Russia?
Be that as it may, none of it justifies an invasion of a sovereign country in violation of the UN to which Russia is a signatory. Moreover, the Ukrainian people’s majoritarian vote to align themselves with the EU is paramount. Putin apparently miscalculated because everything he had hoped to achieve has now backfired- possibly more NATO expansion to countries on his doorstep and NATO troops pouring into neighboring states.
Hypocrisy and historical amnesia are always disgusting. Thank you for that well informed post. To the list of “Allied” war crimes we could include
Eisenhower’s holocaust.