Just Security:
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Is Essentially Not About NATO
There is no reason to take Putin at his word. His Feb. 21 diatribe conferring Russian recognition of independence for the two eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and his order for Russian troops to move in as ostensible “peacekeepers” shows clearly his disdain for diplomatic resolutions.
Moreover, this is not even primarily about NATO.
NATO’s eastward expansion may have played a role in straining the relationship between Russia and the West, but mainly because, for Russia, seeing former satellites eagerly abandon it for the greener pastures of Euro-Atlantic integration stung. However, Putin’s rhetoric and actions over almost two decades reveal that his goals extend beyond imposing neutrality on Ukraine or even staving off further NATO expansion. The larger objective is to re-establish Russian political and cultural dominance over a nation that Putin sees as one with Russia, and then follow up by undoing the European rules-based order and security architecture established in the aftermath of World War II. Given these goals, Ukrainian neutrality is a woefully insufficient concession for Putin.
Politico:
Ukraine’s Jewish President Zelenskiy asks Putin: ‘How could I be a Nazi?’
Ukrainian president calls on Russians to consider the cost of war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared war on Ukraine and pledged to oversee a “demilitarization and de-Nazification” of the country — which is led by a Jewish president.
Hours before Putin’s televised address, Volodymyr Zelenskiy had delivered his own final, powerful but ultimately fruitless plea for peace, in which he pushed back at Putin’s unfounded accusations that Ukraine was being run by Nazis.
Addressing the Russian public directly and in Russian, his native language, Zelenskiy said: “The Ukraine on your news and Ukraine in real life are two completely different countries — and the main difference between them is: Ours is real. You are told we are Nazis. But could a people who lost more than 8 million lives in the battle against Nazism support Nazism?”
Greg Sargent/WaPo:
Biden will slap sanctions on Putin. Here’s what a tough response looks like.
To understand what a very robust sanctions response should look like, and what sort of impact it might have, I reached out to Edward Fishman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and former State Department official. An edited and condensed version of our exchange follows.
Greg Sargent: What do you think a very robust U.S. sanctions response looks like?
Edward Fishman: The centerpiece of the Biden administration’s response should be full blocking sanctions against all the major Russian state-owned banks. The administration understandably has signaled it is not going to target Russia’s oil sales directly.
So if you’re going to leave Russian oil exports off the table, the only way to deliver the swift and severe consequences that the president has promised is to deal a hammer blow to the Russian financial sector.
Josh Barro:
Rick Scott Just Gave a Huge Gift to Democrats
The GOP Senate campaign chair wants to revive an unpopular economic agenda — including a tax increase on over 100 million Americans
Liberals on Twitter will mostly notice the culture-war content of the document, and they may underestimate the strength of the political ground that Republicans stand on with many of those issues. But the big opportunity for Democrats — and the potential wrench in McConnell’s campaign strategy — lies in a short statement about taxes: “All Americans should pay income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount.”
In a typical year, nearly half1 of American tax filers have no federal income tax liability. A promise to make all Americans pay federal income tax is a promise to raise taxes on well over one hundred million people.
Historically, one of the best things Democrats had going for them was that Republicans were associated with unpopular ideas about the economy. When Mitt Romney ran for president in 2012, his platform included raising the retirement age for Social Security and benefit cuts for higher earners. For Medicare, he proposed a “premium support” structure that would have forced some seniors to either pay more for their traditional health plan or switch to a private one.
Lithuanian minister of foreign affairs:
Estonia prime minister:
Garry Kasparov/Twitter:
Ok, after years of warnings were ignored and hearing "Garry, you were right!" all damn day today, I'll repeat what I said in 2014: Stop telling me I was right and listen to what I'm saying now. My recommendations follow:
-Support Ukraine militarily, immediately, everything but boots on the ground. All weapons, intel, cyber.
-Bankrupt Putin's war machine. Freeze & seize Russia's finances & those of him and his gang.
-Kick Russia out of every intl & financial institution. PACE, Interpol, etc
-Recall all ambassadors from Russia. There is no point in talking. The new unified message is "stop or be isolated completely".
-Ban all elements of Putin's global propaganda machine. Turn them off, shut them down, send them home. Stop helping the dictator spread lies & hate.
-Expose and act against Putin's lackeys in the free world. If Schröder and his ilk continue to work for Putin, bring charges. Ask the owners & advertisers of networks platforming Putin propagandists like Carlson why they allow it.
Margaret Sullivan/WaPo:
Now is the time to remember what Fox’s own lawyers said about Tucker Carlson
His ugly defense of Vladimir Putin should be seen in the light of his employer’s argument that no one should take him seriously
He defended the murderous instigator Vladimir Putin while disparaging legitimate heroes like Alexander Vindman, the Ukrainian-born retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and former White House national security aide who was a key witness to Donald Trump’s abuses of power in his first impeachment and who has warned of Putin’s aggressions — but whom Carlson preferred to paint as some kind of sanctimonious warmonger.
Carlson glibly broad-brushed Vindman’s criticism of the GOP’s Putin apologists with his usual schoolboy sarcasm: “Your job is to take up arms in defense of Alexander Vindman’s home country, or else you’re evil.”
Carlson insisted that Ukraine was not a democracy but a “pure client state” of the U.S. government. And, in a particularly obnoxious rant, he suggested that Putin is morally superior to “permanent Washington,” some vaguely malign force that Carlson claims is manufacturing a global pandemic, teaching children to embrace racial discrimination and trying to snuff out Christianity.