The Russian foreign minister has been in Tehran; a Hamas delegation has been in Moscow. It stands to reason. They are all lined up: Russia, Iran, China, North Korea . . . (Venezuela, Cuba, Hamas . . .) They are aligned in Ukraine, in the Middle East, and elsewhere.
Americans may not like U.S. leadership in the world. Others may not like it either. But the alternative is worse, for one and all.
In 2018, Robert Kagan published a book called “The Jungle Grows Back: America and Our Imperiled World.” A great deal of meaning is packed into that phrase: “the jungle grows back.” Civilization needs constant tending, constant attention. This may be wearying or disagreeable or unfair. But there is no alternative — no acceptable alternative.
People often call people like me “hawkish” or even “pro-war.” Look, if I had my way, there would be no militaries at all. No tanks or missiles. No police departments. No locks on doors. But I don’t get my way. We deal with the world as it is. This is realism. Fantasy is folly.
• A word from a Ukrainian writer:
• Have you seen Avdiivka lately?
Many Americans persist in the fantasy that Russian-speakers in Ukraine long to be ruled by Russia. They persist in the fantasy that Putin is liberating these people from their Ukrainian, Nazi oppressors.
Here is Charlie Kirk, the young Republican leader: “Ukraine’s war goals include seizing regions like Crimea, regions that are ethnically Russian, speak Russian, and want to be part of Russia.” (For his full statement, go here.)
This brings to mind Marjorie Taylor Greene, another Republican leader. She follows the line of “Israel, good; Ukraine, bad” (though she does not want the United States to assist either nation). A statement:
The question of aid aside, she is vile on the subject of the Ukrainians — just vile. These people are fighting and dying every day to defend hearth and home. To keep their nation alive. They have been invaded by a monstrous neighbor, bent on subjugating them. They are fighting for their very right to exist. They are setting an example, for one and all, of courage and patriotism.
It is not surprising that Congresswoman Greene can’t understand them.
• Many people — I know some of them — oppose Ukraine because Kyiv has been the site of gay-pride parades. (That kind of thing will happen in a free society. Try demonstrating against Putin in Russia. Many have — brave souls — and have paid a terrible price.)
These same people tend to be pro-Israel (for now). The odd thing is, Tel Aviv is pretty much the gayest city in the world. And you will never see a gay-pride parade in Gaza.
The world is cracked — always has been (or “fallen,” if you like). But the present moment seems especially nuts.
• Nikki Haley, running for president, has said something important:
Will this help her in the GOP primaries? I doubt it, but I am glad — very glad — she said it.
• A report from the Associated Press begins,
The White House on Thursday said Russia is executing soldiers who have failed to follow orders and threatening entire units with death if they retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire.
I can hear Bill Buckley saying: “Pour encourager les autres.”
• An interesting report from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty:
Ukrainian officials took journalists to see a new unit formed by Russian volunteers, mostly from ethnic minorities in Siberia, on October 24. Soldiers from these minorities make up a disproportionately large share of men drafted to fight by the Russian Army. A Ukrainian officer said recruits to the new unit were motivated by the desire to fight Russian imperialism, both in Ukraine and in their own homelands.
• Remember the name of Olga Nazarenko. There are many such Russians, and they serve as a conscience for the whole, vast nation:
That report comes from Novaya Gazeta, the independent Russian newspaper, now operating as it can, and where it can. In 2021, its editor-in-chief, Dmitry Muratov, shared the Nobel Peace Prize. Six correspondents for the paper have been murdered.
Amazing, the bravery of these Russians. Astounding.