RWL #264
“I need ammunition, not a ride.”
Greetings from the University of New Hampshire! I am terribly sad as I try to follow the unfolding invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s forces. It’s a horror show (see tank video below), but the Ukrainian people seem to be resisting bravely, with the Ukrainian president Zelensky refusing to evacuate, but instead making his presence felt by being out with the soldiers and visible in the city, telling Western powers, “I need ammunition, not a ride.” I have a hard time imagining any of the crop of political leaders in our country making such a brave stand.
I do believe we could have done more, and I do believe the West (not just the US) bears responsibility for this. For example, as I noted a couple of weeks ago, Germany and many other European countries have strengthened Russia by closing down their nuclear power generation and relying on fossil fuels. If you know you have a mad man with nuclear and conventional weapons and no belief in basic human rights, you don’t hand your strategic security over to him. If the Ukrainians continue to fight, this could be the last gasp of Soviet aggression. I know - it’s Russia - but Putin is a Soviet at heart. As former President Obama mockingly said to Senator Mitt Romney when they were campaigning against each other, “The 80’s called and they want their foreign policy back.” If only someone had told Putin.
The links I have chosen this week represent the best of what I have read, watched, or listened to this week myself. I hope you find them useful. Keep the good people of Ukraine in your thoughts and prayers - I hope they can sustain their courage for their own sake as well as ours.
(We had about 8 inches of snow on Friday - I took the pic above on Saturday morning on the trail behind the LHH. I feel like it captures the uncertainty of what is coming down the tracks.)
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Read
What: Foreign Affairs, The Shoals of Ukraine: Where American Illusions and Great-Power Politics Collide (from 2020)
Why: This article is from two years ago, but it provides an excellent primer to bring you up to speed on Ukraine since it declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1992. It also shows how various politicians have failed to deal with the realities of Putin’s desires to bring back the “glory” of the Soviet Union.
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What: Foreign Affairs, Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault (from 2014)
Why: The crisis referenced in the title of this article is Putin’s annexation of Crimea. It’s useful to read The Shoals article above first to understand the overall picture. The author, John Mearsheimer, is well known as a scholar of the “realist school” of international affairs. He blames the West for goading Putin. Here is a recent interview with Mearsheimer prior to the invasion.
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What: Axios, Elon Musk says SpaceX’s Starlink satellites now active over Ukraine
Why: This is how things go in an age of Twitter. Stopping Putin from controlling the narrative and preventing the world from seeing the horrors he is inflicting is critical. Providing communications that can get around Russian interference can potentially make all the difference. As I’ve mentioned recently, I am coming to like Musk more. This earns him major points on my tally.
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Watch
What: "We'll Defend Ourselves, You'll See Our Faces, Not Backs" | Ukrainian President's Message To Russia (9 min)
Why: President Zelensky’s address to his people, to the Russian people, and to the world. You have to read the subtitles, but this video will be watched in history classes someday as an act of courage, and of liberal values.
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What: Ukrainian woman offers seeds to Russian soldiers so 'sunflowers grow when they die' (1 min)
Why: If you haven’t seen this yet, do watch it. Real courage to tell off an armed invader.
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What: Ukrainians Try To Pull Driver From Wreckage After Military Vehicle Runs Over Car
Why: A Russian tank was filmed going out of its way to run over a civilian car. It turns out the car was being driven by an old man. There are multiple versions of this video. This encapsulates Russia’s aggression for me. A cowardly attack on a basically defenseless country.
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Listen
What: Honestly with Bari Weiss, America Is Afraid of War. Putin Knows It. (23 min)
Why: This is a solo monologue by Zoe Strimpel in light of the invasion of Ukraine on the collapse of Western authority, self and geopolitical understanding— and the predictably catastrophic results of our politics of retrenchment, appeasement and pacifism.
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What: Conversations with Bill Kristol, Anne Applebaum: Putin’s War on Ukraine and its Consequences (43 min)
Why: Applebaum’s view supports my own. I’ll just cut from the description:
“What is driving Vladimir Putin? What wider ramifications might follow from the war? Why should the fate of Ukraine concern us all? To discuss these questions, we are joined by Anne Applebaum, a leading historian and commentator on Ukraine, Russia, and Eastern Europe. As she argues, Vladimir Putin’s fear that Ukraine had been advancing toward democracy lies at the root of the conflict. Drawing on her deep knowledge of the region and its history, Applebaum presents a bracing account of the origins of the war and its possible consequences.”
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line at mark.bonica@unh.edu , or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
If you’re looking for a searchable archive, you can see my draft folder here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jwGLdjsb1WKtgH_2C-_3VvrYCtqLplFO?usp=sharing
Finally, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://markbonica.substack.com/welcome
See you next week!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Associate Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast:
http://healthleaderforge.org
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picaso
Well, at least that Russian soldier was more polite than Trudeau's martial police force crushing the peaceful Ottawa protests - I wish, Putin would have taken his advice to not "escalate" this situation unnecessary!
Apart from the full picture also acknowledging Russia's repeatedly ignored security concerns regarding NATO expansion up to it's doorstep (breaking former promises) defacto making it Russia's Cuba crisis, the alleged Ukrainian assaults on Russian minority, as well as the devastating Russophobic Russia hoax demonizing and harassing Russia (ruthlessly sacrificing foreign relations in favor of a fraudulent domestic smear campaign), this invasion however is an escalation now solely on Putin: I surely hope those brave Ukrainians manage against all odds to throw back this Russian assault and make it the second demolishing Winterwar experience for the Russians (just like the Finish crushed the Soviets in winter 1939-40)