What if We're Already Fighting the Third World War with Russia?

[swag]

https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/what-if-were-already-fighting-the-third-world-war-with-russia

By Susan B. Glasser
September 29, 2022

Excerpt:

On Thursday, I spoke with the Russia expert Fiona Hill. She told me she believes there’s an element of self-delusion to much of the current commentary about the possibility of Washington and the West continuing to back Ukraine while avoiding conflict with Putin—who, after all, launched his war against Ukraine not in February but eight years ago when he invaded the country and illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula. As far as Hill is concerned, we are already fighting in the Third World War, whether we acknowledge it or not. “We’ve been in this for a long time, and we’ve failed to recognize it,” she said.

Her chilling thought raises a searing question about U.S. policy: If the goal is to avoid a conflict in which we are already fighting, then does the rest of Washington’s approach to Russian aggression need to be reconsidered? Hill’s line of thinking is one reason why there are increased calls from many Russia watchers not to kowtow to Putin’s demands at a moment when both his weaknesses and those of his system have been so clearly revealed.

There is also the matter of Putin getting the West wrong. We in Washington hardly have a monopoly on misguided assumptions being a driving factor in international affairs. Many indicators suggest, in fact, that they were a major reason why this war happened. Putin not only failed to understand that Ukrainians would stand and fight against his aggression; he also failed to foresee the U.S. and its nato allies remaining united and funding the Ukrainian resistance. Moscow’s bogus annexations of more Ukrainian territory seems likely to produce only more Western sanctions—and the possible extension of the war that Putin looks increasingly like he is losing. “The problem is, of course, us misreading him, but also him misreading us,” Hill observed.

Nuclear brinksmanship between a wounded, sulking Russian dictator and an increasingly alarmed nato alliance—with Ukraine trapped in the middle—is just about a worst-case scenario for a world that hardly needs another crisis. Will Washington stay the course? ?

[relayerbob]

1. What if?

We've been fighting it since at least 2008, whether we understood it or not. Trump and Brexit are no accident, nor is Q. Putin has made it clear since day 1, his first goal was to destroy the West, who he perceives as having destroyed the Soviet Union. Obama knew it. Biden knows it. Trump was on their side.

So, yes, she is correct.

[usonian]

2. Plus 100

Putin's strategy of destroying the West from inside is unraveling. And we all can help by voting his cult out of office.

Cyber war has been raging a long time.

Our current leaders, not sworn to Lord Putin, are aware of this, I am sure, and are strategizing appropriately.

UK has collapsed under Tory mismanagement and will awake from its slumber.

[2naSalit]

5. +1

[3Hotdogs]

3. Was Crimea our Rhineland ---

and wel pulled a Neville Chamberlain?

[tirebiter]

4. More like 4th

I consider the Cold War to be WWIII. Said so at my fathers funeral. Got a lot of nodding heads in agreement.

[no_hypocrisy]

8. You could be right. My father was sent to Czechoslavakia in 1945 after VE-Day.

His mission was to prevent WWIII as Russia refused to pull out of the country.

[yaesu]

6. I'm pretty sure the smart responsible people in government believe we are also fighting

a 3rd WW. Excluding the repuke party who just believe in selling our country to the highest bidder.

[mahina]

7. I accept that. We are at least in a hot proxy war.

And how lucky are we they are weaker than we thought.

As long as our Koch bris/ Fox inc/ Seid/ Heritage Foundation/ dark money mofos don’t actively arm him we are in better shape than I could have imagined. Knock wood.

I’m sure Joe knows that very well as did everyone in the room with him. With trump we would have handed him the keys.

[Duppers]

9. Indeed!

We've also thought exactly that.

[Irish_Dem]

10. Duh. Putin has been waging war against the US for some time.

He installed his puppet in 2016 into the WH.
And he owns half the US congress.