There is a line
There is a boundary, a Deadline which when crossed means death. In this instance it could mean the near extension of the human race along with most other life on earth.
FYI the term deadline comes from the Confederate prisoner of war camps: “a boundary line in a prison that prisoners can cross only at the risk of being shot” Free online dictionary.
Putin appears to be running right up to the edge of that line.
That war crimes are being done in Ukraine, at Putin’s direction, are obvious. The tragedy and pathos are mind numbing.
It is like watching a cruse ship, full of passengers, burning up and there is seemingly little outside observers can do.
The monster waiting to be unleashed is mutually assured destruction. Putin is betting that the NATO allies will not start a nuclear Armageddon and he is correct. It is like sinking the ship to put out the fire.
Putin’s army will occupy Ukraine. They will not pacify it. The loss of life and human mayhem will be mind boggling. The Russian population will not be cable to ignore the cumulative loss of life by their military. The Russian economy and social structure will become a version of what is seen in North Korea. This has happened before in Russia; in fact, it has happened several times. The creation of a national prison has led to popular revolts; the last one caused the breakup of the Soviet Union. It also provides an example of what can happen when a country cannot keep a republic.
The G.W. Bush presidency undercut our authority (if we ever had it) to call out countries that start unprovoked war. The neo-cons wanted to show that a capitalist, Ayn Rand style version of the Marshall plan that rebuilt Europe, would turn Iraq into a free-market country in the middle of the dictatorial kingdoms in the middle east. The plan was not to occupy and control a country. The capitalists and free marketeers would do that for us. It turned out that Iraq is now an Arab version of a kleptocracy.
The free world has been trained to expect nearly instant gratification, much like a toddler, but this is the time for adult, delayed gratification, even to the point of abandonment.
We must contain this wildfire of aggression with economic and social firebreaks. Putin’s Russia and all other aggressors must see that the world will not idly sit by and do nothing. There must be consequences.
This will take time, patience, skill, and innovative thinking to use all the levers of an internet connected world to prod Russia to wake up and reset the Russian governmental structure once again.
Unfortunately, climate change may be an unfortunate ally.