Being the primary purpose of this website is other than political, remarks will be kept to a minimum. However, on top of the China started Coronavirus Pandemic, we need to address such major global problems, as not to resolve some issues may prevent our progress in developing peace of mind through beneficial sleep and dreams. We have a third major problem, that of environmental degradation, that has been addressed in the Chapter entitled “Evolution and the End of the Ice Age.” We will return to the ecology issues, but his short post address the current Russian problem.
The West, primarily the United States, long battled the Communist regimes, primarily China and Russia since the end of World War II. NATO was formed, and the Warsaw Pact countered it. The US began a policy dominated by the belief that Communist regimes were like dominoes falling. Korea, Vietnam and numerous other smaller wars (and so called “conflicts”) were fought to prevent Communism from spreading. Kissinger’s geopolitics and Kennedy’s defense of freedom became hallmarks of the 1960s and 1970s.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall in the 1980s, the US proclaimed the end of the Cold War, and the USSR was dissolved fairly quickly. Dominance was maintained in most former republics, but more former “client states” were drawn into NATO. The Warsaw Pact was no more.
From the map below, one can see the growth of NATO, effectively growing closer and closer to Russia. Putin is a politician and head of state, and also effectively a dictator and megalomaniac. A long list of disturbing characteristics includes limiting free speech and press, access to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and presiding over a crumbling military. The potential for a nuclear disaster exists outside of a war, as demonstrated by Chernobyl and several close calls involving the launch of nuclear missiles. In the US, the Trump administration divided the US and alienated the world. Biden took over in a cloud of claims of Russian interference in the US election, and somehow Biden’s son was involved in some sort of trouble involving the Ukraine. Allegations flew from both sides. In Ukraine, Zelinsky, a former comedian and actor, became President and continued his satire of Putin, started in his TV shows, as head of state. Too many dominant personalities, and Putin saw the growth of NATO as a noose around Russia, while being irritated by Zelinsky.
From The Guaradian, the map below shows the effect of Ukraine joining NATO, where the former Warsaw Pact/ USSR client states can be seen as falling dominoes, threatening Putin’s sense of geopolitical security.
In 1962, the US and USSR came close to a nuclear war over the positioning of Soviet missiles in Cuba. Following a dramatic showdown, the missiles were withdrawn from Cuba, and US missiles in Turkey were pulled back. Now, both Finland and Sweden are being forced towards joining NATO, whose nations become effectively proxy states of the US in the containment of Russia. The Cold War is not only returned to, but in a hot state of conflict. Boris Johnson of the UK has gone to both Sweden and Finland, signing defense pacts. While Finland fought a terrible war with Russia in World War Two, Sweden ends more than 150 years of peace and neutrality. With the West pouring weapons into Ukraine, Putin’s conventional war grinds to one of attrition, and concerns grow greater concerning his being cornered, with the possibility of the use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. China has an opportunity to oppose Putin, but shows no willingness to do so. Putin is not one to lose face. Politicians of all countries must think of all the consequences and work toward peace.
Egos should never be allowed to run so amok. We need to return to DreamDharma.
Reference material:
https://www.politico.eu/article/europes-leaders-fall-out-of-key-on-ukraine/
https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-russia-war-nato-eu-us-alliance-solidarity/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/10/putin-nuclear-weapons-us-intelligence-avril-haines
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/14/russia-says-it-will-reinforce-borders-if-sweden-and-finland-join-nato
Dream Dharma ~ ~ ~ ~ 