Russian Realism, theamericanconservative.com

Doug Bandow, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute

Russia’s destructive attack on Ukraine was unjustified and has earned Moscow opprobrium the world over. The fact that the latter had some legitimate grievances against the U.S. and NATO does not excuse Moscow’s brutal military assault on its neighbor. There was no imminent military threat to be preempted. And Russian President Vladimir Putin had not exhausted alternative strategies. The decision for war was Putin’s and he will forever bear the blame for plunging the two largest European states into catastrophic conflict. [….]

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is morally wrong and practically disastrous. Western allies are right to take Ukraine’s side. However, Washington’s principal duty is to the American people, not Europe or Kiev. U.S. and European policy should be directed at ending, rather than fueling, the war. Extravagant claims about Ukraine’s global importance, that the future of the world depends on the outcome of the current conflict, are simple nonsense. Läs artikel