If all the governments that have now acted to punish Russia would have warned Putin of what they would if Ukraine were invaded, Putin would not have invaded --but each government wanted to stay in the Kremlin's good graces, leaving warnings to others. Needed a NATO that works
69
142
808
Replies
@ELuttwak
Dear
@ELuttwak
wouldnโt Europe be in a much better place today had there been no NATO- there wasnโt a need for one after fall of Iron curtain. Strange to see a learned man like u completely disregard the games US has been playing in Ukraine in the runup to 2022
Keep this Ukrainian war aside, is this a fact that EU and Russia had a much better working relationship today despite expanded NATO. I wonder how would Europe look today, had there been no NATO today- good, bad or worse?
2
15
51
0
0
0
@ELuttwak
@WeTheBrandon
Additionally, I don't hear anyone offering incentive for him to back off, like removal of sanctions for x action(s).
0
1
4
@ELuttwak
Maybe they can tell him now if he backs off from Ukraine, all sanctions will be removed
0
0
0
@ELuttwak
goes both ways. Putin warned repeatedly what he would do w/ continued NATO encroachment & foreign meddling in Ukraine... his response was *entirely* predictable. Was the effort worth the consequences & collateral damage?
1
1
11
@ELuttwak
I donโt think so. P was basing on a quick victory and โnormalizationโ and the rest of the world shrugging their shoulders. Not unreasonable as there is historical president. It was clear he was preparing for it. He thought nato was a dead letter. He rolled the dice and he lost.
0
0
1
@ELuttwak
Putin is an expert propagandist and could have foreseen that the war would inflame public opinion in Europe against him. This strengthened the transatlantic alliance and stiffened the anti-Russian response from European governments above what they were willing to do last week
0
0
4
@ELuttwak
Do you think that Putin genuinely thought there would be limited or no response? Would warnings have been enough, or think he would have thought it a bluff?
(Seriously asking your take here, not an attack)
0
0
4
@ELuttwak
And now we have one. NATO is back and better than ever. Time to establish a pacific counterpart to check china.
1
0
0
@ELuttwak
Well, since you were convinced Russia wasnโt going to invade, it seems strange that you are now offering advice like this.
For the record, NATO was rather explicit in advance of the attack that Russia would face severe sanctions.
0
0
10
@ELuttwak
I have different view. Putin was warned repeatedly about sanctions and it did not help. He was publicly making fun of sanctions. Looks like now he is surprised by their impact.
0
0
1
@ELuttwak
That sounds reasonable, but then we wouldnโt have the fastest unraveling of Putinโs decades long subterfuge into the EU in record time. A notable sacrifice for a quick result.
0
0
1
0
0
1
@ELuttwak
Many years ago I wrote a paper arguing that if the United Kingdom would have committed to fighting in World War I than Germany likely doesnโt go to war. Obviously I could have been wrong, but by waiting to commit it always raises the chances of the war happening
0
0
1