Monday, February 27, 2023

Op-ed:
Ukraine...Putin's Proxy War
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio 
 
I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
 
- Albert Einstein, no need to say more

Last week in my article An Essay On Ukraine I wrote about history's lessons now seemingly unlearned and why Ukraine is not just a harbinger back to the past but a dangerous foreboding of a possible future...a future that if not handled correctly now, will not play out well in our, Ukraine's, or the free world's favor. And while Vladimir Putin currently has garnered for himself the leading actor role in this current modern day game of war...a war with seemingly no end in sight...the United States, under the misplaced leadership of Joe Biden, is being seen by both allies and enemies alike as but a laughing stock at best. And to add to Ukraine's and now our woes, we see what was a somewhat self-contained war being expanded on a worldwide scale as a new player is set to upstage all the current key players, with said player's name being Red China, who of course is talking out of both sides of its mouth.

Red China...the very nation who via manpower alone deems itself always ready for war...recently saw its leaders flexing political muscle by first threatening to side with and help arm Putin's Russia in its war against Ukraine, and then days later saying that China is now willing to mediate and help bring this “horrifying invasion” to an end, but that they would do so only while remaining committed to their “no limits” partnership with Russia. Obviously now playing both sides of the political coin...as well as having armed both sides with non-lethal drones...China has introduced what they call a 12-Point Plan* to end the war...a plan courtesy of a country known for its flagrant violations of basic human rights. But know that China did abstain when the United Nations General Assembly voted last week on a nonbinding resolution calling for Russia to end hostilities in Ukraine and withdraw its troops from the former Soviet state. 

And with China's now adding...as per its Foreign Ministry website...that “Nuclear weapons must not be used and nuclear wars must not be fought...The threat or use of nuclear weapons should be opposed,” we do know that China herself is running scared...especially as they plan to soon “reabsorb” Taiwan back into the mainland's fold, for even they know that Putin is acting irrationally what with his not taking a nuclear option in regards to Ukraine off the proverbial table.

But no matter China's incursion into the political discourse...no matter its abstaining from the UN's above stated resolution...we also saw last week the Duma (Russia's lower House of Parliament) unanimously approving Putin's “suspending” of the all-important “New START Treaty”...the very treaty they and we signed back in 2010 (extended in 2021 by five years) with this being the very treaty that placed specific limits on the the number of “strategic nuclear warheads” that both the U.S. and Russia can have.

And isn't almost everything of importance about numbers, in this case limiting to 1,500 the number of nuclear warheads both the U.S. and Russia can possess, while the NATO nations of France and the United Kingdom do have 290 and 225 such warheads respectively. But while those seem like large numbers, know that said numbers are far from the truth what with Russia currently having in its possession 5,977 nuclear warheads to our 5,428 such weapons. But when NATO's weapons are added into our total, the numbers shift to we the “good guys” having 5,943 such weapons with Russia having 5,977...still leaving our side to lag behind a bit. But when Israel's estimated 80 to 400 (if not more) such weapons are also added to our side, and China's (as per the latest Pentagon estimate) 250 to 350 nuclear warheads are added to Russia's total, that number shifts in favor of our side...as in our having 6,343 strategic nuclear warheads compared to Russia and China having 6,327 such weapons combined...thus allowing we the “good guys” to outnumber the “bad guys” by 16 nuclear warheads.

Outrageous numbers indeed...numbers equating to what would surely be nuclear annihilation. So why do I even bring these numbers up...simply to show the foolishness of the “New START Treaty” itself... foolishness as it's obviously not being adhered to by either side. And when the cumulative numbers of nuclear warheads on each side are added up...equaling 12,670 such weapons now being in play...the fact is that if even a single handful of such warheads were launched in regards to Ukraine we would see “Mother Earth” herself becoming but a distant memory in the universe's ever unfolding story.

No, Putin's withdrawing from the “New START Treaty” is not the real issue here as all it does is show the world that a 1,500 nuclear warhead limit was always laughable at best. And with nuclear armageddon now dangerously close at hand, it must be understood that Putin's invasion of Ukraine was indeed based solely upon politics and not as a means towards simple military conquest. Why so...because each side could easily wipe out the other with just the push of a single button.

Then why is Vladimir Putin masquerading this current blood and guts war with Ukraine as being a threat to Russia's security especially with NATO sitting ever so close to Russia's border? It's because Ukraine has become Putin's proxy and in his mind a justifiable reason for being at war with the United States...the very country that saw President Reagan bringing both “Mother Russia” and the Soviet Union itself to its knees.

And here let's remember that for Vladimir Putin “saving face” is as important to him and to Russia as it is to China and it's leader Xi Jinping.

And so with China now entering the fray no matter in what capacity, the war being fought in Ukraine is really a war between the East vs. the West...between democracy vs. communism...between capitalism vs. socialism...and most importantly between freedom and conquest through attrition...now all being fought as we move dangerously closer to either all out nuclear war or a one world government finally trumping all.

Two possible scenarios, neither one of them good nor desirable. So unless we put our collective fear of Vladimir Putin's threats aside Ukraine will indeed become ground zero for nuclear war...the very thing Putin seems to have no fear of. In fact, Putin's actions alone reek of his itching for nuclear war...baited actions bolstered by Red China's entering the battleground discourse...for better or worse. Why else would Putin be continuing to fight a war that he appears to be militarily losing if not for having the nuclear option readily on the table. Remember, threats of armageddon in some form or another have appeared throughout mankind's history, and history does tend to repeat itself even when our eyes are wide open.

Simply, history lessons unlearned will once again become today's sad reality especially when madmen and fools continue running the show. And when self-serving political interests, more times than not, override both common sense and what passes for basic logic...a nuclear fought World War III cannot be far behind.

So how do we and NATO...how does Ukraine...stop what could be a now suicidal leaning Vladimir Putin from turning blood already spilled into an nuclear initiated World War III?

First, it must be decidedly understood that Vladimir Putin totally underestimated both Vlodymyr Zelenskyy's and the Ukrainian people's ability to not only fight back, but to hold onto territory he now covets, thus leading to tangible emotions bubbling over. So Putin really has but one single option left...if not nuclear war...and that option is to keep U.S. due-diligence focused solely on how the rest of the world regards and acts upon his overtly “imperialistic ambitions,” while at the same time he accepts as fact that any negotiated settlement reached will be both fragile at best and reliant upon third-party intervention.

And here I do not mean Red China's playing both sides with its recent incursion, but how Israel...yes Israel...reacts to the very conflict that they, up until now, have tried hard to stay out of.

Israel could well be the much needed third party to bring both sides to table. Why so...because what most forget is that Israel has a good working and personal relationship with both Ukraine and Russia. In fact, Putin considers Israel to be a “crucial regional player”...a player who happens to have considerable influence here in the U.S. And with US News & World Report now listing the Jewish State of Israel as the world’s 10th-most powerful nation...due to its military strength and in relation to its political and global economic successes...Israel might be able to accomplish the task that up until now has been impossible...as in getting both Putin and Zelenskyy to make the necessary concessions needed for ending not just ongoing hostilities but the war itself.

Remember, Putin and Russia are hurting both on the battlefield and economically at home as the bills of war do add up while sanctions placed are hurting. War is indeed an expensive game to play both in blood and treasure, meaning that war cannot go on forever. Exit options are not just about “saving face” but about the reality being that's it's better to negotiate and settle than to outright lose in war. This is truly the place Putin now finds himself in even though he will not admit it, while Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his forces have most of the world on their side. Simply, better to negotiate the best possible “out” then to blow us all up...something I think that even Vladimir Putin would dare not do.

So what can Israel offer as a peacemaker that others could not? The answer is really quite simple in that by Israel's having avoided taking public positions as to where they stand in regards to this war, Israel has been able to work behind the scenes with all parties involved for while it silently bolsters Ukraine, Israel has not alienated Putin nor Russia. In other words, in Israel's looking out for Israel they have also succeeded in maintaining good relations with the U.S. and Ukraine while at the same time working to strengthen Putin's acceptance of Israel’s freedom to operate militarily against Iranian forces out for their destruction, including those forces currently active in Syria.

In other words, no other country but Israel has alienated any side in this war, and that alone makes Israel an ideal candidate in trying to bring a negotiated end to said war. Diplomacy can still work in regards to Ukraine, but China is not the country to do so as their ties to Russia run too deep. And besides with Israel having the world's only workable EMP device they actually can bring this war to an end if it and Putin truly gets out of hand. Just saying...case closed. 

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* China's 12-Point Plan to end the Russia vs. Ukraine War: 1. Respecting the sovereignty of all countries 2. Abandoning the Cold War mentality. 3. Ceasing hostilities 4. Resuming peace talks 5. Resolving the humanitarian crisis 6. Protecting civilians and prisoners of war (POWs) 7. Keeping nuclear power plants safe 8. Reducing strategic risks 9. Facilitating grain exports 10. Stopping unilateral sanctions 11. Keeping industrial and supply chains stable 12. Promoting post-conflict reconstruction. 
 
Copyright © 2023 / Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved. 

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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, The Fundamental Transformation of Education.
 
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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!
 
Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 28th, from 7-8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'Ukraine...Putin's Proxy War'; 'The Fundamental Transformation of Education'; and important news of the day. Hope you can tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com. Click 'LISTEN LIVE' starting at 6:50 pm EST with show beginning at 7pm EST.