And while we're at it, I find all this talk about Putin being crazy or having syphillis or Parkinsons kinda funny. It's the same line that's always trot out whenever a country's leader counters American interests. Castro? Crazy. Gaddafi? Insane. Saddam? Lunatic. The Kims? Nutty. Khomeini? Psycho. Lumumba? Deranged. Chavez? Maniac. Seems like sanity is directly correlated to the willingness to be subordinate to American interests.
There are many rational reasons why Putin, the definitionally precarious leader of a kleptocratic oligarchy with internal power struggles ruling over a country with water/climate concerns and a potentially waning strangehold on their economically prized European gas domination and a buffer state neighbour increasingly leaning towards joining a military alliance with a hegemonic enemy, would make this move. It was a gamble, the odds of which paying off are looking increasingly diminished due to the heroism of Ukrainians, but it wasn't particularly irrational. By all metrics the Gulf War (so say nothing of the Iraq War) was a far more irrational venture than Putin's invasion. But for some reason American leadership never gets the tag of irrationality. That's only reserved for foreigners, usually darker ones. Edward Said rolling over in his grave.
Putin's nationalistic aspirations of Russian growth and relevance are diametrically opposed by American interests, hence CIA supporting Pro-Western forces during Euromaidan, which Putin viewed as a massive antagonism. Those same Pro-Western Ukrainians going so hard in the paint is what's making this whole thing go t*ts up for Putin. All respect to them. Russian imperialists should fukk off. But the idea that NATO is a completely benign and democratic defensive organization and not an extension of the American Military Industrial Complex running an international protection racket in exchange for social and economic dominance over member nations is naive as hell. It's rational for Putin to feel threatened by the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO. *cue some smoothbrained idiot drooling about how this is a defense of Russian imperialism*
An American education is really an exercise is solipsism, as seen by the hysterics in here of posters ridiculously trying to appeal to the timing and sensitivity of Ukrainians fighting for their country as reasons why posters on a message board completely removed from the conflict cannot engage in nuanced discourse. Idiocy.
