An excellent analysis by George Soros. His prescriptions for assisting Ukraine are better in my mind than the ones proposed by Paul Gregory's article I posted yesterday.
by George Soros
Wake Up, Europe
by George Soros
Europe is facing a challenge from Russia to its very existence. Neither the European leaders nor their citizens are fully aware of this challenge or know how best to deal with it. I attribute this mainly to the fact that the European Union in general and the eurozone in particular lost their way after the financial crisis of 2008.
The fiscal rules that currently prevail in Europe have aroused a lot of popular resentment. Anti-Europe parties captured nearly 30 percent of the seats in the latest elections for the European Parliament but they had no realistic alternative to the EU to point to until recently. Now Russia is presenting an alternative that poses a fundamental challenge to the values and principles on which the European Union was originally founded. It is based on the use of force that manifests itself in repression at home and aggression abroad, as opposed to the rule of law. What is shocking is that Vladimir Putin’s Russia has proved to be in some ways superior to the European Union—more flexible and constantly springing surprises. That has given it a tactical advantage, at least in the near term.
Europe and the United States—each for its own reasons—are determined to avoid any direct military confrontation with Russia. Russia is taking advantage of their reluctance. Violating its treaty obligations, Russia has annexed Crimea and established separatist enclaves in eastern Ukraine. In August, when the recently installed government in Kiev threatened to win the low-level war in eastern Ukraine against separatist forces backed by Russia, President Putin invaded Ukraine with regular armed forces in violation of the Russian law that exempts conscripts from foreign service without their consent.
Read the rest HERE
I think everyone thought aggression from Russia was over and now that it has returned the western nations would prefer to ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist - the focus is on the middle east, for that is where the oil is.
ReplyDeletethe Ol'Buzzard
It may be where the oil is but at what point will America be willing to come to Europe and save our asses one more time or face a hostile Russian dominated Eurasia? Or is the world being divided into three a la 1984 and America is quite all right with that?
ReplyDelete