The breakdown on it is that it doesn’t matter – Putin already achieved everything he needs to, so why risk further losses? The media is incredibly full of shit, which is kind of hilarious. Putin just basically ensured that Europe is going to starve itself trying to “block” him. He’s invaded into Ukraine, yes, but […]
Tag: Russia
Geopol: Regarding the Russo-Ukrainian War
The vast majority of wars in history are two weeks or less and are characterized by fighting, then talking, then more fighting, until finally a settlement is reached. The point of the fighting is to improve your side’s negotiating power at the next round of talks. The negotiate/fight cycle has already begun between Russia and […]
2015-2016 Energy Price Drop Will Disentangle Russia, Not Crush It
Energy prices are dropping. Commodity prices are dropping, actually, in general. Production is slowing. People are finally realizing that China is as flimsy as government construction. The Euro is indeed linking Eurozone economies by failure instead of success, and doing so in a way that limits their market rights. The EU is inherently unstable. Cold […]
France in Syria: Still Not Here to Save the World
Folks have been really excited about France getting into war-mode on Syria after the Paris attacks. People were even momentarily excited about Turkey’s decision to shoot down a Russian plane the other day. Now Paris and Moscow are maybe working together on hitting ISIS? While the Washington is doing the same thing?!? Man, its like […]
Turkey Responds to Russia: “No”
As I mentioned when Russian airstrikes in Syria began, the airstrikes have nothing to do with Assad and everything to do with keeping Washington distracted, maintaining the status quo in Syria (that is, prolonging the conflict), and pressuring Turkey (as an expansion on the already decades-old play of keeping Armenia at odds with Turkey and […]
A More Likely Calculus Behind Russian Airstrikes in Syria
The media has been abuzz with talk about the Russian airstrikes in Syria. More than a few people have asked me about it. This is a record of my thoughts immediately after hearing the first news. I haven’t gone to any great trouble to find out the names of places hit or who did what […]
East Europe: Why Historical Fears of War are Well Founded
I received an email full of anti-Obama sentiment the other day. It was an indirect re-hashing of a commonly echoed sentiment most concisely summed up as The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money. The above sentiment has been variously attributed to Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Fraser […]