The war in Ukraine is a topic that I and a lot of others have more or less checked out from. It’s seemingly intractable. Europe couldn’t deal with it. Biden couldn’t, Trump is trying, playing good cop bad cop to Putin, then Zelensky, Putin, Zelensky… Russia has lost 1% of its male population to the war. I don’t know about Ukraine. Putin has no intension to stop. In fact, the rest of Europe is certain he’s ready to invade them, with what and how I have no idea but most of the rest of Europe has less fight in them then Ukraine. No one wants to really give Ukraine the means to win because if they don’t follow through, the doners are next on the hit list. Thus, I have a proposal to shut this thing down.
Of the following, I’m sketchy on details but I vaguely recall the history from my long years of following news that no one else cared about so I think I have the broad strokes so just follow on that basis. At one time Ukraine had nukes. Everyone wanted less, so we said, give them up and we’ll take care of you. Fast forward twenty or thirty years, our promises, explicit or implied were forgotten. We didn’t take care of them so here we are today. The options are do nothing and Ukraine eventually falls by attrition which may also be suicidal to Russia, inviting a counter invasion there by China or Islamist conglomerations. No part of that equation is a better world for us. Second option is to continue to support them halfway and the war will go on indefinitely. Third, support them all the way. This is not a singular approach though. We don’t need or want to entangle ourselves in yet another European war. Just give them back their nukes.
Whatever or however many nuclear warheads they had when they disarmed, replace them, one for one, perhaps on mobile Tomahawk platforms. That is the only language that Putin understands. We can caveat them as a loan, no need to re-set up a permanent nuclear power. Set it up with a tactical removal plan. Furthermore, encourage Zelensky to act a little crazy, like he has no sense or reason, sort of like Putin. Generate doubt and uncertainty, play it up. I suspect the war would be resolved in a few weeks.
Europe would go crazy having a mass pee-of-their-own-pants, but they could credibly disown themselves from the process. Trump is ‘crazy’. Putin fears and respects him. Putin really is crazy in a Captain Ahab sort of way. USSR glory is his white whale. We just need a dozen or so warheads and a ‘crazy’ Zelensky. Nukes and MAD (mutually assured destruction) is the only tool that will stymie hugely bloody conventional wars, let it work in Ukraine as well. Peace on earth and goodwill toward all the bloody men dying in Ukraine.
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A helpful introduction to the author in my ABOUT