Wednesday night’s images on CNN were at once familiar — flak-jacketed reporters standing on the roof of a hotel listening to shells and air-raid sirens — and profoundly shocking.
These were early morning pictures coming from a European nation the size of France. It was the beginning of what former President George W. Bush rightly described Thursday as “the gravest security crisis on the European continent since World War II.”
As his tanks rolled down the highways of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin went from a seductive, late-night joke, an eccentric villain playing cybergames as provocations, to an infamous invader with civilian blood on his hands. For this invasion of Ukraine (whatever he chooses to call it), Putin will live in infamy with humanity’s other warmongers and murderers. His consorts throughout the globe, including plenty of fools in America, will come to regret their association. When British Prime Minster Boris Johnson called Putin a “bloodstained aggressor” he was right.
Johnson’s official London residence, 10 Downing Street, was illuminated Thursday night with the colors of the Ukrainian flag, symbolic support for a nation thrust into panic without provocation.
Meanwhile, on Chicago’s Kennedy Expressway Thursday morning, forlorn figures waving the Ukrainian flag on an overpass tried to get the attention of Americans still reeling from the COVID-19 crisis and struggling to process a world that has moved so swiftly from squabbling about masks to facing up to an unspeakable tyrant looking to reestablish the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
We must not look away. We must stand with the Ukrainian people, and help the large Ukrainian diaspora within our own city, a population now wracked with fear over the conditions at home.
Even as those banners waved in Chicago, those who watched air traffic around the globe saw another phenomenon in place on Thursday — private jets owned by Russian oligarchs returning from London to the Russian motherland.
Those who became wealthy through the fall of the Soviet Union have since enjoyed a globe-trotting life in Manhattan, Miami and Mayfair, dropping rubles on real estate and fancy cars, sending their children to top private schools. They have a moral responsibility to stop their leader.
These oligarchs must now be a target of sanctions. Their access to the SWIFT global financial system must be frozen. They must be made to see that Putin’s unprovoked attack threatens global stability in terrifying fashion and that any support for him undermines their own financial security.
As his forces took Chernobyl on Thursday, it seemed unlikely Putin will be moved by the raw rage of the international community. Diminished domestic support has to become a crucial weapon in a retaliatory arsenal that right now feels terribly insufficient.
Thursday events came with enough potential ramifications to scare anyone: heavy civilian casualties, a refugee crisis afflicting Europe and beyond, a further collapse of the stock market, ballooning gas prices at pumps all over the world, heating bills going through the roof, exploding interest rates making mortgages unaffordable and bringing down the real estate market.
Putin even has reminded the west of the size of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
If anyone still believes our current inflation crisis is merely transitory, Putin sent them a message to the contrary on Thursday. And if you really wanted to worry, you just had to start thinking about the proven Russian capacity to wreak havoc on the computer systems on which we all rely.
Perhaps the increased unity on Capitol Hill will be a silver lining, as might be a renewed awareness in this country of the crucial relationship between America and its traditional allies.
For those on the left, this should be a reminder of the ease with which an authoritarian regime that limits information and free speech for its people and is led by an old KGB hand such as Putin can spin the world into disaster.
Our traditional liberal American democracy, buoyed by capitalism and personal freedom, is not looking so bad, assuming we don’t rip it into pieces from within. In the face of Putin’s war, this remains the world’s best hope. It’s time for those who relentlessly attack American exceptionalism to learn a more complex view.
For those on the right, here is further confirmation of the folly of Donald Trump’s Putin dalliances. The former president had a fascination with raw Russian power, and a willingness to leverage Putin’s anti-democratic impulses for his own temporary political gain. This country has paid many prices for Trump’s profligate idiocy. This is another and the worst of all. Republicans need to move fast to fully repudiate all both men have represented.
How effective the world’s sanctions will prove is open to debate, but we should surely try with all our might. Aeroflot should be removed from flight departure boards. Financing for Russian companies should dry up like pools of water in a Chicago heat wave. Teamsters should leave Russian tech on the New Jersey dock. Formula one drivers should skip the forthcoming Russian Grand Prix. Russian soccer players (and Russians love soccer) must be stripped by FIFA of their ability to play the beautiful game.
Putin has many tricks of his own, including the power to veto any resolution by the U.N. Security Council opposing Russia attacking the people of Ukraine and spilling their collective blood.
Ponder that for a moment if you need convincing of the horror of what Putin, now a war criminal, represents.
We must repudiate past complacency and acknowledge Mitt Romney, who was early to see that Russia remained a threat to world peace — and mostly got mocked for his prescience.
Light up Chicago with the Ukrainian flag. Putin’s invasion must end in failure and with the instigator on trial.
Wednesday night’s images on CNN were at once familiar — flak-jacketed reporters standing on the roof of a hotel listening to shells and air-raid sirens — and profoundly shocking. These were early morning pictures coming from a European nation the size of France. It was the beginning of what former President George W. Bush rightly described Thursday as “the gravest security crisis on the European continent since World War II.” As his tanks rolled down the highways of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin went from a seductive, late-night joke, an eccentric villain playing cybergames as provocations, to an infamous invader with civilian blood on his hands. For this invasion of Ukraine (whatever he chooses to call it), Putin will live in infamy with humanity’s other warmongers and murderers. His consorts throughout the globe, including plenty of fools in America, will come to regret their association. When British Prime Minster Boris Johnson called Putin a “bloodstained aggressor” he was right. Johnson’s official London residence, 10 Downing Street, was illuminated Thursday night with the colors of the Ukrainian flag, symbolic support for a nation thrust into panic without provocation. Meanwhile, on Chicago’s Kennedy Expressway Thursday morning, forlorn figures waving the Ukrainian flag on an overpass tried to get the attention of Americans still reeling from the COVID-19 crisis and struggling to process a world that has moved so swiftly from squabbling about masks to facing up to an unspeakable tyrant looking to reestablish the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. We must not look away. We must stand with the Ukrainian people, and help the large Ukrainian diaspora within our own city, a population now wracked with fear over the conditions at home. Even as those banners waved in Chicago, those who watched air traffic around the globe saw another phenomenon in place on Thursday — private jets owned by Russian oligarchs returning from London to the Russian motherland. Those who became wealthy through the fall of the Soviet Union have since enjoyed a globe-trotting life in Manhattan, Miami and Mayfair, dropping rubles on real estate and fancy cars, sending their children to top private schools. They have a moral responsibility to stop their leader. These oligarchs must now be a target of sanctions. Their access to the SWIFT global financial system must be frozen. They must be made to see that Putin’s unprovoked attack threatens global stability in terrifying fashion and that any support for him undermines their own financial security. As his forces took Chernobyl on Thursday, it seemed unlikely Putin will be moved by the raw rage of the international community. Diminished domestic support has to become a crucial weapon in a retaliatory arsenal that right now feels terribly insufficient. Thursday events came with enough potential ramifications to scare anyone: heavy civilian casualties, a refugee crisis afflicting Europe and beyond, a further collapse of the stock market, ballooning gas prices at pumps all over the world, heating bills going through the roof, exploding interest rates making mortgages unaffordable and bringing down the real estate market. Putin even has reminded the west of the size of Russia’s nuclear arsenal. If anyone still believes our current inflation crisis is merely transitory, Putin sent them a message to the contrary on Thursday. And if you really wanted to worry, you just had to start thinking about the proven Russian capacity to wreak havoc on the computer systems on which we all rely. Perhaps the increased unity on Capitol Hill will be a silver lining, as might be a renewed awareness in this country of the crucial relationship between America and its traditional allies. For those on the left, this should be a reminder of the ease with which an authoritarian regime that limits information and free speech for its people and is led by an old KGB hand such as Putin can spin the world into disaster. Our traditional liberal American democracy, buoyed by capitalism and personal freedom, is not looking so bad, assuming we don’t rip it into pieces from within. In the face of Putin’s war, this remains the world’s best hope. It’s time for those who relentlessly attack American exceptionalism to learn a more complex view. For those on the right, here is further confirmation of the folly of Donald Trump’s Putin dalliances. The former president had a fascination with raw Russian power, and a willingness to leverage Putin’s anti-democratic impulses for his own temporary political gain. This country has paid many prices for Trump’s profligate idiocy. This is another and the worst of all. Republicans need to move fast to fully repudiate all both men have represented. How effective the world’s sanctions will prove is open to debate, but we should surely try with all our might. Aeroflot should be removed from flight departure boards. Financing for Russian companies should dry up like pools of water in a Chicago heat wave. Teamsters should leave Russian tech on the New Jersey dock. Formula one drivers should skip the forthcoming Russian Grand Prix. Russian soccer players (and Russians love soccer) must be stripped by FIFA of their ability to play the beautiful game. Putin has many tricks of his own, including the power to veto any resolution by the U.N. Security Council opposing Russia attacking the people of Ukraine and spilling their collective blood. Ponder that for a moment if you need convincing of the horror of what Putin, now a war criminal, represents. We must repudiate past complacency and acknowledge Mitt Romney, who was early to see that Russia remained a threat to world peace — and mostly got mocked for his prescience. Light up Chicago with the Ukrainian flag. Putin’s invasion must end in failure and with the instigator on trial.