The Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk territory is unlikely to change the outcome of the war in Ukraine. The refusal to see that is only prolonging Ukraine’s misery.
Tag: Russia
Germany Encapsulates the West’s Totalitarian Drift
The recent totalitarian drift in Germany shows what happens when Western people cannot suppress the nagging doubt that they are not morally responsible actors but unquestioning consumers of predigested choices.
The Russian Lit Plot Twist of Today’s American Politics
Given the way things have been going in American politics, one almost needs the assistance of Russian literature for descriptors.
The Kamala Harris Hoax
The Harris honeymoon, like all the frauds perpetrated against Trump in the past, will be exposed sooner or later. The only question is whether that happens before the election.
Prisoner Swap Exposes Biden’s Weakness and Puts Americans at Risk
For as long as weak administrations govern in the White House, we should expect more Americans to be taken, with ever higher prices for their freedom imposed.
Switzerland’s Ukraine Peace Summit Was a Call for Continued War
Western demands aired at last week’s peace summit on the Russia-Ukrainian War were but the unrealistic wish list of the Biden administration and its most hawkish European cohorts.
What Europeans and Americans Really Want
Authoritarians who have managed to entrench their control over the United States and countries in Europe need to be defeated once and for all.
The Spring of the West’s Disorder
A series of unfortunate events this spring have revealed a West that does not respect itself and, therefore, cannot command the respect of others.
Wars, Rumors, and Geopolitical Logic
When nations put ideology before real-world geopolitics in formulating grand strategy they embark upon a sure path to failure.
Wokedom Westernizes Russia to Malign Her
By describing Russia as an heir to the habits of Western imperialism, the current woke psychosis, combined with crisis escalation in Ukraine, has the potential to destroy the remnant of our common European civilization.
Speaker Johnson Gets Swamped Over Ukraine
The return of GOP’s minority-party mindset is very likely to be a self-fulfilling prophecy come November.
Foreign Policy Splits the Parties
When it comes to foreign policy America’s two political parties are split—not so much against each other—but against themselves.
George Kennan: A Great and Good Man
The results of rejecting Kennan’s counsel have been disastrous, and the ongoing failure to draw upon his wisdom is a tragedy.
‘Politics of Memory’ Divides the European Union
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West has unsuccessfully tried to force its preferred topography of political memory upon former Eastern bloc nations.
War in Ukraine, Two Years Later
The war in Ukraine reflects an ongoing revolution in military affairs that started two decades ago but which needed a major conflict to become fully apparent. To put it in a nutshell, the battlefield pendulum has swung in favor of defense
Happiness in Chernobyl
The lives of the babushkas in Chernobyl are evidence that God exists everywhere, and that while destruction can often reign supreme, creation, however small, affirms our propensity for the good.
Ukraine and the Daunting, Haunting Rites of Spring
Events in Ukraine cannot help but remind observers of the haunting events of the spring of 1914.
U.S. Flunks Its Own Election Standards
Freedom House sees election corruption everywhere except in the U.S., where the government pays its bills, and the legal system coordinates with the administration to impoverish and imprison the conservative opposition.
A Letter from Switzerland: Alpine Redoubt Stays Neutral
Switzerland provides a model for a morally neutral foreign policy based on pragmatic interests rather than “defining values” and self-proclaimed exceptionality. Americans need to learn from the Swiss.
Fourteen Russian Hoaxes and What Explains Them
In the ongoing effort to redefine the government’s relationship with American citizens and obtain control over their political speech and choices, hoaxes surrounding Russia have been the go-to play.
The Swamp Boils at the Thought of Trump Leaving NATO
Now that Trump is the likely frontrunner in the next presidential election, Washington is forced to envision the possibility that he intends to curtail America’s commitments overseas.
Putin Almost Blew It
None of what Putin said is new to those who have closely followed the sad saga of post-Soviet Ukraine, but the tens, perhaps hundreds, of millions of people who will watch this interview because of the identity of the interviewer, are unlikely ever again to accept uncritically the standard narrative spewed out by Western regimes and their media lapdogs.
Why Lenin Is No Longer Relevant
Today’s woke leftists would find the Soviet dictator far too muscular and manly to make room for him in their pantheon of girly government apparatchiks and petty tyrants.
Lenin’s Tomb
Vladimir Lenin, by his confidence and cunning, left his impression on history and remains relevant 100 years after his death.
FBI and Justice Department Are Greatest Threat to Constitution
The Constitution was never intended to justify surveillance and political interference by un-elected bureaucrats.
War in Ukraine: U.S. Analysts Sink to New Depths
The topic of Ukraine brings once-reputable journals and senior analysts down to the level of propagandistic hacks. A particularly egregious example was recently published in an online edition of Foreign Policy.
Armenians in Peril, Again
The ongoing war between Azerbaijan and Armenia threatens the existence of Christian communities in the Near East. The Biden White House is unlikely to intervene in any way for fear of losing support from Turkey.
The Russian Conundrum
It is in the American interest to avoid the risk of direct intervention in Ukraine regardless of the course of the war because neither the security nor the prosperity of the United States depends upon its outcome.
A Very Russian Drama
The aborted Wagner coup was an internal conflict within Russia's elites. Although resolved peacefully, it undermined Putin's authority and has increased the chance that he will be tempted to make risky moves—even nuclear ones.
Civilizations Clash—in Ukraine and at Home
Ukraine and Russia were at peace until a civilizational divide: one chose the West and one chose Slavic-Orthodoxy. Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" thesis has proven correct—and predicts a similar rift within America.
Is Direct Clash Between NATO and Russia Possible?
Chronicles Foreign Affairs Editor Srdja Trifkovic assesses the status of the Russo-Ukrainian War after the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam.
The Importance of Bahkmut
After the fall of Bakhmut, the moment of truth will come if the Ukrainian counteroffensive fizzles out, and especially if the Russians respond by starting a major advance of their own.
Blinken, the Posthuman Diplomat
Antony Blinken is an inherently corrupt Washington insider: he is an ideologue who seeks permanent cultural revolution at home and the imposition of its fruits abroad.
Polemics & Exchanges: May 2023
Letters between Polish-American Chronicles columnist Tom Piatak and Polish national Michal Krupa, debating Poland's role in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Russia Blues
The Ukrainian campaign is not just the fight to retain strategic depth along Russia’s vulnerable southwestern flank; it is also the struggle to retain its status as a great power. The Biden administration is now more than ready for reckless escalation, a deadly game of chicken with nuclear stakes. The future is dark.
Letter From Istanbul: A Beleaguered Sultan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a wily, seasoned politician who identifies Turkey with himself. Even his opponents privately admit that it is hard to imagine his orderly departure from the helm.
Europe Diminished
The foreign policy consensus between Europe and the U.S. leads only to unnecessary new wars abroad and to the suicide pact of multiculturalism at home.
The Ephemeral and the Historic
The International Criminal Court’s sham indictment of Vladimir Putin for war crimes is overshadowed by China’s truly historic rise in diplomacy.
Ron DeSantis Joins the Fight for Sanity Against the Foreign Policy Blob
The truth is that the vitriolic reaction to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week says everything about the foreign blob’s personal and vocational insecurities, and nothing about DeSantis’ call for measured prudence in Eastern Europe.
The Unmentionable Paleoconservatives
Unlike the rigid groupthink of the American conservative establishment, paleoconservatism offers latitude for serious debate grounded in time-honored principles.
On Unjust Peace
The Ukrainian invasion may not have happened if the American government had not tried to push NATO to the borders of Russia. Conflict happens in international relations and does not require woke ideological hysteria as a response.
Uncertain Endgame in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine was started by Russia, but it was willed, engineered and choreographed by the U.S.-led West. It is both a mistake and a crime, a minus-sum game for the declining European remnant.
Are We the Baddies?
It appears the U.S. government has attacked the civilian infrastructure of a NATO ally for the purposes of maintaining geostrategic advantage over both Europe and Russia, revealing the utter moral bankruptcy of U.S. foreign policy.
A Tale of Three War Orations
Three speeches given on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Russo-Ukrainian War reveal that the most principled voice of realism and moderation is coming from a small European nation, Hungary, whose leader is keeping his nation out of the unfolding tragedy.
Modi and the Art of Realpolitik
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an unabashed realist who has been using the crisis between Russia and the collective West to increase his country’s global clout.
Kissinger’s Flawed Blueprint for Peace
The war in Ukraine is most unlikely to end in a negotiated compromise because a mutually acceptable agreement is structurally impossible. It will continue until one side concludes that its continuation is not worth the cost.
Why Putin Will Have to Go
Putin must go if Russia is to recover from the current impasse created by him, if she is to avoid becoming China’s supplicant, or a brutally carved-up Western colony.
Putin’s ‘Winter War’ on Ukraine
Vladimir Putin intends to conscript the coming winter of 2022-23 as an ally of his failing army—a strategy that has worked for Russia is past conflicts.
Putin’s Surrender of Kherson May Spell His Doom
Putin's abandonment of Kherson, the only regional center that Russia managed to capture in over eight months, was an unforced error that will erode his ability to stay in power.
Putin’s Lack of a Grand Strategy
Vladimir Putin lacks the kind of grand vision and decisive temperament needed to make Russia a highly respected world power in the current global environment.