Opinion: The West Must Act Faster Against Russia’s Aggression

4 comments

1. Two and a half years later: we must act faster!

2. We have been saying this for years. We needed NATO boots on the ground when Putler first invaded. The US should be sending at least $200B more for aid and weapons asap.

3. The West is failing to see that the longer we wait, the more putins propaganda, and the far right groups are spreading. We are already in this war if you are a Western nation. Fascism is rearing its ugly head, and the longer we wait to combat it, the more it will spread.

   Europe had their wake-up call this past week with so many far-right groups winning elections. It’s not just the ignorant Americans anymore. It’s a global phenomenon occurring right now in every part of the planet. Humans are reverting back to our animal instincts because they sense danger on the horizon; the rise of strongman politics, Clanishness, the search for a leader who will “save” them.

4. The author Anders Åslund is a senior fellow at the Stockholm Free World Forum and Adjunct Professor Georgetown University.

   >Slowly the West has come to its senses and united against Putin’s war of aggression. While the collective West now understands that it needs to stand up to Putin, it remains uncertain on how to do so and it does not understand that speed is vital. **Wars are won with shock and awe, not with hesitation and deliberation.**

   >The rising Western insight is that Putin needs permanent wars to stay in power. Within Russia, imperialism gives him legitimacy as well as a cause of repression. For him, a bad war is preferable to a good peace. **Putin is today’s Hitler. Since he will not stop his wars, the only plausible end to his war is his demise or death.**

   >Western political leaders do not want to spell this out, but they had better understand that the sooner Putin dies or is ousted, the earlier the war will end. The West needs to do everything to make sure that Ukraine not only “prevails” but wins and that Russia not only “fails” but is defeated.

   >**The West should change its military strategy towards Ukraine. It should give Ukraine all the arms it requires as soon as possible and allow Ukrainians to hit whatever they care to in Russia.** We should welcome Ukrainian bomb attacks on Russian arms and fuel depots, armaments factories, critical infrastructure, and oil refineries. **The West must stop offering Russia a sanctuary and do so to Ukraine instead.**

   …
   >For all these reasons, the West needs to act as fast as possible to tip the military balance against Russia. The West must act now while it is sound and united! It can no longer afford fantasies about the risk of Putin launching a nuclear war or Russian “red lines.” Learn Russian reality from the wise Balts!