Ukraine
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three New York Times reader comments this week --
Chris Lawrence
Ottawa
I never understand why discussion of not allowing the Ukraine to join NATO seems so acceptable when talking about a peaceful resolution to this conflict.
NATO is an alliance literally created to prevent Russia from unprovoked aggression against its smaller neighbors, why shouldn't the Ukraine be allowed to join, and more to the point who is Putin to think he can decide this?
Bevan Davies
Kennebunk, Maine
It is worrying that Ukraine might win the battle but the country will be destroyed in the process by the Russians. A negotiated peace agreement must include reparations, otherwise Putin will just get away with pulverizing the country.
Frank
Albuquerque
The unpalatable truth is that a Russian defeat -- especially a humiliating one -- is arguably the most dangerous outcome of all for the world as a whole.
We are already seeing subtle enthusiasm for conventional war against Russia from US and NATO generals who believe, likely correctly, that NATO would make short work of the Russian army.
Yet we are also apparently dealing with a delusional tyrant who equates his own personal fate with that of Russia itself, and has thousands of nuclear weapons at his disposal.
It's hard to overstate the danger here, and arguments in favor of increased confrontation, no matter their emotional appeal, should frighten everyone. Cooler heads have rarely been more important.
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Today in the Washington Post, they had an Opinion article headlined,
Vladimir Kara-Murza from jail: Russia will be free. I've never been so sure.
some Reader Comments
|| Russia will go Nuclear before it is free.
|| Unfortunately it will take a near miracle to dislodge Putin from power, as he has an iron grip on the armed forces. A group of generals could carry out a coup and remove him. The oligarchs would probably be happy to be rid of him...and get funds released and yachts liberated.
|| I've seen a few Russian You Tubers' video blogs lately who have recently left Russia, and they are not at all optimistic about Russia's future and think it's headed down a dark path to a Soviet-style life which could last a few decades.
They're scared about their futures, sad at what could have been, sympathetic about Ukraine, dismayed at how popular Putin is and how people believe the Kremlin's propaganda, etc.
|| Vladimir Kara-Murza: a man of extreme courage and moral ethics who is a giant when compared to the evil Putin. Russians should look for leadership, to this man instead of a tinpot dictator.
|| Russia and Russians have never been "free" and the majority of Russians are fine with that and always have been. They are not Americans. They do not think like Americans. They do not have the same opinions or ideals or beliefs as Americans.
The above is why Putin's approval ratings soared after he took the Crimea and have now again after he invaded Ukraine.
|| The only way Russians might be "free" one day is if the survivors of some nuclear holocaust, precipitated by their leaders, crawled out of the ground and found their entire government had been destroyed. But even in that case they would probably start over again in the same manner.
|| True; for nearly over 1000 years Russians have had a king or czar or dictator running their country, abusing and terrorizing the citizens and using hunger and misery as a weapon to keep the population in check and subservient.
|| Россия! Вы позволяете маленькому бывшему офицеру КГБ ходить по вам!
Россия без Путина!
|| В России полно маленьких Путиных!
|| Есть и Кара-Мурзы.
|| Russia will always be despotic, no matter who rules.
It's in the Russian DNA.
When I visited the Hermitage Museum many years ago, I asked the guide why there were so many empty spaces on the walls where it was obvious that something had been there before.
She said "This is Russia." That seems to be the general attitude of Russians to any problem or issue, no matter how small. "This is Russia. We live with it and don't ask why."
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A little bit like, "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."
-30-
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