Russia using North Korea’s nuclear playbook Russia and North Korea are the only two nuclear powers whose leaders continually boast about using nukes. That is no coincidence. Russia and North Korea are also the two poorest and most sanctioned among the nine nuclear powers. Both leverage nuclear weapons to compensate for everything from diplomatic isolation to economic stagnation. North… Read more.
Russia
Alexei Navalny, Russia’s Heroic Fool, Is Dead
Navalny meets his fateful end The death of Alexei Navalny is as predictable as it is deplorable. After all, any Russian who becomes a thorn in the side of Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime ends up dead. And Navalny was the thorniest of them all. Not least because of the way he lampooned Putin for living like a czar… Read more.
Biden Slams Trump’s Threat Against NATO as ‘Dumb’ and ‘Un-American’
Trump threatens NATO members Donald Trump’s norm-busting behavior has redefined the term “unprecedented.” Indeed, he has given political reporters and pundits cause to toss that term around like confetti at a New Year’s Eve bash. Case in point is the unprecedented way Trump threatened he would encourage Russia to have its way with NATO members who “do not pay… Read more.
Carlson Interviewing Putin Shows That Trump Has Normalized Treason
Carlson interviewing Putin reflects the new (Trumpian) norm Alas, we live in an America that now blithely tolerates treason. Only that explains American Tucker Carlson traveling to Moscow to interview America’s foreign enemy No. 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, has interviewed President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, the Kremlin… Read more.
Russian Figure Skater Valieva, the Doping Diva, Disqualified
Of course, that the notoriously doped-up Russians stole the Americans’ Olympic glory was bad enough. But the International Olympic Committee and the Court of Arbitration for Sport only compounded that unfairness by making the Americans wait nearly two years to resolve this matter. After all, I figured out two years ago the resolution they have finally come. IOC neutral… Read more.
Biden’s ‘Slow Yes’ for Weapons Doomed Ukraine to a Stalemate with Russia
Biden’s ‘slow yes’ helped Russia From the outset, US President Biden framed the war in Ukraine as a tectonic battle between autocracy and democracy. Yet, the US and NATO have been helping Ukraine, a democratic country, fight merely to survive rather than win. Last week, Time Magazine published a definitive update with this striking headline: “The Biden Administration’s… Read more.
Zelensky in Washington Seeking More US Aid. But Goes from Hero to Zero
Zelensky seeking more aid A year ago this month, President Volodymyr Zelensky came to Washington. He was seeking additional US aid to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s genocidal aggression. He addressed a Joint Session of Congress, where members hailed him as a hero. They viewed him as a beacon of democratic resilience. I duly commented on the Churchillian… Read more.
‘Axis of Resistance’ – of Human Shields and Cannon Fodder
Axis of Resistance summit On Thursday, Russia hosted the “Axis of Resistance” summit in Moscow. Leaders representing Russia, Iran, and Hamas convened under the aegis of resistance. But the irony hung thicker than the polluted air in a Tehran traffic jam. This naturally provokes the question: Resistance against what? Decency? International law? Frankly, its members have committed… Read more.
Nagorno-Karabakh a Casualty of War in Ukraine
Bogged down in Ukraine, Russia leaves Nagorno-Karabakh high and dry America assumed responsibility for the welfare and security of pro-Western Afghans. That’s why it shocked the world when America suddenly fled Afghanistan. Because it left Afghans to the jihadi mercies of the Taliban. That abandonment was as unconscionable as it was shameful. Russia assumed responsibility for the ethnic Armenians of… Read more.
North Korea Is Meeting Russia to Supply Weapons from China
North Korea supplying Russia Chinese weapons The X factor in the war in Ukraine is whether China will end up supplying weapons to Russia the way the US is supplying them to Ukraine. I submit that China will not. But it faces an abiding dilemma: China has a geostrategic interest in seeing Russia prevail. But it fears doing… Read more.