Monday, March 10, 2014

Welcome to the Crossroads of Misfortune and Oblivion.

When the United States was funding and training the Mujahadeen back in the 80s it was done with short-term goals in mind, and in the long-term the United States has come to regret that decision, for the Mujahadeen went on to become the Taliban and the people who were behind the 911 attacks.  That bit of blowback has changed our entire society, and we now are told that we must accept the increased level of government and government intrusion into our lives.  Few connect our current situation with the decisions of Reagan, but the links are easy to find.

We now find ourselves in another situation where our decisions will have long-felt ramifications.  Russia has invaded the Ukraine, a nation that gave up its nuclear weapons in return for security guarantees.  Those guarantees are not being met, and Russia is consolidating its hold over the Crimea.  If we fail to act, and act soon, we will see the rebirth of the nuclear age.  It will become painfully clear that the only true security to a nations sovereignty is their ability to completely annihilate the enemy...and nukes allow small nations that ability. 

So this is the crossroads that find ourselves at, though the media seems to largely be ignoring this issue.  Our choices are unpleasant but clear.  We either stand with the Ukraine as we promised them we would, and risk a hot war with Russia, or we allow Russia to take Crimea, with no guarantee that they will stop there (there are other European nations with ethnic Russian minorities in them), and the understanding that getting rid of the existing nukes in this world stops now, and nations that dont have it will start to seriously consider whether developing nuclear weapons will be in their best interest. 

No one wants to fight a war against Russia.  They have a lot of people and historically have shown no aversion to losing millions in battle.  No one wants a return to the nuclear arms race.  It only increased the likelihood that unstable leaders (and they do exist) will start something that we will all come to regret.   Yet those are the choices that face us.  Inaction rarely wins the day...it just delays things until the other side is ready to make their move.