By J. Robert Smith
- Dec. 8, 2021
- 2-min read
The Ukraine is in Russia’s crosshairs. Vladimir Putin is massing troops, weapons, and equipment along the Ukrainian border. Putin doesn’t want Ukraine to become part of NATO or align with it in any way. He regards that as a direct threat to Russia.
Democrats, neocons, and military contractors are squawking. “We can’t let Russia invade the Ukraine,” they cry. “We must slap sanctions on Russia, make Putin and his fellow oligarchs feel pain,” they say with blood in their eyes. “And if all else fails, the U.S. needs to intervene militarily. Send troops! Bomb Russia!”
Anyone outside the DC establishment think this is sheer madness? Must we explain why a rush to confrontation and conflict with the Russians is folly?
Proving that the contemporary madness plaguing our society isn’t exclusive to Democrats and the left, Mississippi GOP senator Roger Wicker isn’t ruling out nuclear war over the developing Ukrainian crisis.
From Media-ite, December 7:
“I’ll [grant] you this, Neil [Cavuto, Fox News],” said Wicker. “I would not rule out military action. I think we start making a mistake when we take options off the table. So I would hope the president keeps that option on the table.”
“What does military action mean, senator?” Cavuto pressed.
“Well, military action could mean that we standoff with our ships in the Black Sea and we rain destruction on Russian military capability,” the senator said. “It could mean that. It could mean that we participate – and I would not rule that out. I would not rule out American troops on the ground.”
He added that as a matter of policy, in the U.S. “we don’t rule out first-use nuclear action. We don’t think it will happen. But there’s certain things in negotiations – if you’re going to be tough – that you don’t take off the table. And so I think the president should say that everything is on the table.” [Underline added]
Does Sen. Wicker live in a bubble? Does he not grasp that the Russians possess nuclear weapons? That they have retaliatory power that permits them to strike the United States? Does he not comprehend that nuclear war with Russia would cost millions of innocent lives, here and there?
How is a man who lacks prudence, restraint, and good judgment elected to the U.S. Senate? Sad to say, Wicker isn’t alone. Increasingly, elected officials lack gravitas… the maturity to lead in smart and sensible ways.
During the Cold War, no congressman or senator would have been given a platform to spout such lunacy. Today, it’s par for the course.
Whatever his personal faults, Jack Kennedy acted with solid judgment and great restraint in resolving the Berlin Wall Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis. For that matter, so did Nikita Khrushchev, the USSR’s leader at the time. Both men sought solutions to avoid war that could have escalated into catastrophic nuclear exchanges.
Where are those men today?
Also, fellow American Thinker contributor Selwyn Duke has a strong analysis at AT today headlined: “Are you ready for nuclear war over Ukraine?”
It’s well worth reading. The link can be found here.
J. Robert Smith can be found regularly at Gab @JRobertSmith and occasionally on Parler, again @JRobertSmith.
