Does anyone think there is any chance that the plane crash that killed Putin’s most dangerous rival is anything but an assassination orchestrated by him? The targeted leader of the mercenary Wagner Group, Vevgeny Prigozhin, and his loyal following was the only leader capable of leading any meaningful coup in Russia. This is a no-brainer. But it’s also a wake-up call for the West, particularly President Biden and the U.S. isolationist crowd, both left and right, about the nature of the brutal politics that dominate Russia’s governance and what will be necessary to stop Putin. It’s also a message to the Republican Party whose presidential candidates were on the debate stage yesterday and whose disappointing responses to questions about the war in Ukraine were far short of the attitude that should be forthcoming from a serious presidential candidate, which is that the U. S. must do much more and much faster in leading and helping to make sure that Putin is not only defeated, but humiliated. In Reagan’s terms, we win, they lose. And don’t give me this stuff that several of them, including Ron DeSantis, are peddling about how we should prioritize control of our own borders, as if doing both at the same time is mutually exclusive for a world power and leader of the free world.
You are dead on again Jim!
I fully agree Jim. If they can’t do both, plus a lot more than both, they need to apply for a job on an assembly line.
The Russians eat their own/always have and always will. You’re right–they are a one trick pony and it’s a once in a lifetime chance to bring them to heel assuming we don’t run out of nerve…
We know that if Trump became president that he would fold to Putin within a week. Some other Rs would join him. I would be so bold as to move to get Ukraine in NATO now. We should have confronted Putin when he clearly violated the Budapest Agreement when he invaded Crimea.
You are probably correct that it was a brutal assassination of Prigozhin and his top Wagner leadership, including his flight crew. The alternative is it was a brutal ruse to make it appear like he is dead while making further inroads in Africa. But, such a ruse would require Prigozhin to be silent and not seek publicity. That does not appear to be possible. Anyway, killing him makes about as much sense for Putin as Hitler killing Rommel.
Agree Jim
I think it was an assassination just like everybody else. I doubt that Trump would fold to Putin like Biden already has. I also believe that others need to step up in helping Ukraine (I think Norway said recently planes would now be delayed for delivery until late 2024). I believe that a lot of the money sent to Ukraine should be reduced and used on our southern border for starters. Strength in we win they lose is a good quote and it is too bad we didn’t use it in Vietnam for all of the fallen in a no-win deal because of weak leadership which we have now. All of these thoughts assume that the federal government can spend money only where needed and stop the deficit spending.