Exposed…
It turns out, Russia is a paper tiger. Who knew? True, they still have nukes but nukes have a single, glaring weakness. Nobody can use them without getting nuked, themselves. It kind of limits the amount of damage such a weapon can inflict. Even if Putin decided to use tactical nukes in Ukraine, his generals might well not go along with that idea. But, as we all now know, Russia’s been a big talker with no real might behind them for some time.

This got me thinking. Now that Russia has claimed – and lost – four territories inside of Ukraine they insisted were theirs, perhaps Ukraine should reconsider it’s capitulation when Russia claimed Crimea. You remember, right? Russia went into Crimea and said, “This is ours,” and because everyone thought Russia had some serious military power they might unleash, the world kind of laid down and let the insult pass. Sadly, THAT acquiescence seems to have emboldened Putin who thought he could cake-walk into Kyiv and just claim other bits of Ukraine, if not the whole thing.

But now the world knows that aside from it’s nukes – that it can’t really use – Russia doesn’t bring as much, militarily, as the world once feared. Putin launched an illegal war. This has been a money and power loser for Russia and I think Putin’s strength is fading fast. But it’s not enough for Russia to surrender some treasure and offer a public apology. I’d like to see Ukraine reclaim Crimea as it’s compensation for the completely unnecessary destruction and death…

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Russia’s allies?
Speaking of Putin’s war, it seems Saudi Arabia has chosen sides and the side they’ve chosen is NOT the United States. Now, that seems kind of stupid, since the Saudi royal family gets ALL of it’s power from the weapons and troops the US provides, but their announcement that they’re cutting production of oil in order to increase the price of a barrel seems calculated to harm America and help Putin in his war.

I get it. Foreign, sovereign nation and all that. They get to choose whom they cozy up to. But several US Congress critters have introduced a bill to stop providing weapons and military support to Saudi Arabia in response to the Saudi’s attempted sabotage of the US economy. It’s pretty simple, really. If the Saudis aren’t going to stand with us, why the hell should we stand with them? They’ve been messing with us by turning the spigot on and off for decades and now they’re doing it in the service of Putin?

The legislation put forward by Representatives Sean Casten, Tom Malinowski, and Susan Wild would pull critical defense systems and troops from the area. I doubt it will go anywhere because such a principled move would interfere with the blessed profits of the arms dealers (Glory!) but it’s a very good idea and I think the bill should pass. (Call Congress and tell them to pass it!) If the Saudis want to help the Russians so badly, that’s fine. But let’s let them rely on Russian military assistance to keep their crowns…

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As a side note…
I do think it’s important to say, here, that I wouldn’t want to be in the army that invaded Russia. Right now, the world is kind of collectively surprised by how powerful the old Soviet state isn’t. The Ukrainian troops are pushing the Russian troops around seemingly with ease and the world is kind of laughing at the Russians. But it’s important to remember, the Russian soldiers weren’t told where they were going, what they were doing, or why. They don’t WANT to be in Ukraine and they don’t believe the dangers Putin keeps pretending. Heck, I imagine there are family relations that cross those borders, as well.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainians are fighting for their homeland. The homeland defenders often offer up FAR more resistance than invaders expect. The tiny British colonies in America threw off the yoke of the greatest power on Earth (at the time). The tiny country of Vietnam threw out the United States military – the greatest power on Earth (at the time). The French take a lot of crap for laying down to the Nazi’s in WWII but they never stopped fighting. They just kept up the fight in a way that protected many irreplaceable cultural treasures. In short, people fight hardest for their homes.

So I’m not prepared to disrespect the Russian soldiers – just the moronic “leadership.” I suspect that if someone invaded Russia, they’d find a MUCH stronger, MUCH more intractable force facing them than the one we’re seeing in Ukraine…