JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Big Lesson From the West’s Last Invasion of Russia” – Foreign Policy: Theodore Bunzel
“What the Allied intervention in the Russian civil war teaches us about Ukraine today.”
“… Despite the current pall of pessimism pervading Western capitals, today’s war in Ukraine presents some of the more propitious circumstances a policymaker could hope for …. Ukraine is a worthy and competent ally, fighting to defend its territory with a highly motivated population …. The Ukrainian cause is a righteous one … easily explained to Western publics. … [I]t’s clear by [Putin’s] actions and hesitancy to fully mobilize Russian society that he senses a ceiling on what he can ask from his population. Though Russia’s manpower and materiel are larger than Ukraine’s, the amount needed to keep Ukraine armed and in the fight is completely manageable …. a pittance compared with the returns: holding the line on international norms; standing up for the Ukrainians and, in doing so, Western values; bogging down Russia in a strategic sinkhole and reducing its capacity to threaten the rest of NATO’s eastern flank; and fortifying the trans-Atlantic alliance. Today, Western capitals are much more united than … in 1918, and [their] defense coordination … is strong. Though they can sharpen the shared sense of an endgame in Ukraine, everybody knows that the conflict will end in some sort of negotiated settlement — the questions will be on whose terms. If the United States and its allies can avoid the pitfalls of the Western intervention in the Russian civil war — developing a clear long-term strategy, continuing to coordinate closely, and reinforcing domestic support by making the case to their own populations — then they have a real shot of prevailing over Putin. …”
Click here for: “The Big Lesson From the West’s Last Invasion of Russia; What the Allied intervention in the Russian civil war teaches us about Ukraine today.” – Foreign Policy: Theodore Bunzel