After the end of the Cold War, foreign policy experts across the spectrum assured us that things had changed. Wars of pure border conquest were over. Wars over oil would soon be a thing of the past. Instead, the increasingly intertwined world would move toward peace. Thomas Friedman suggested in his massive 1999 bestseller “The Lexus and the Olive Tree” that no two countries with McDonald’s would go to war with each other; Francis Fukuyama stated in “The End of History and the Last Man” that we had reached the “end-point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.”
The West set about proving these dubious theses by embracing what could be termed an ostrich foreign policy: a willingness to place security considerations last and to pursue utopian goals with alacrity. Germany spent decades making itself more dependent on Russian natural gas and oil in order to pursue the dream of green energy, meanwhile slashing its defense budget as a percentage of GDP. France acted similarly. So did the United Kingdom.
The West banked instead on more economic interdependence via the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization, more diplomacy at Davos and the United Nations.
Most of all, the West banked on its own unwillingness to recognize reality. When, in 2012, Mitt Romney made the crucial error of reminding Americans that Russia was a geopolitical foe, President Barack Obama openly mocked him. So did Obama’s complaint media. The 1980s had called, and they wanted their foreign policy back.
When aggressive global competitors made clear that they did not buy into the West’s vision of a grand and glorious materialist future combined with welfare statism — that they believed their own national histories had yet to be fully written, and that their centuries-old territorial ambitions were still quite alive — the West simply looked the other way. When Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, the West did nothing. When Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, the West did nothing. When China abrogated its treaty with the U.K. and took over Hong Kong in 2020, the West did nothing. And, of course, President Joe Biden precipitously removed American support for the Afghan regime, toppling it in favor of the Taliban.
The West decided that it would make a war-free future a reality by simply ending war.
Now, as the West is finding out, ending war is a game that requires two players. Russian President Vladimir Putin saw Western weakness as the impetus for his final grand strategic move: the destruction and occupation of Ukraine. And the West has been shocked back into reality: yes, opponents of American hegemony are territorially ambitious; yes, they want more than mere integration into world markets; yes, they are willing to murder and invade in order to achieve their goals. Times and technologies may change, but human nature remains the same.
As George Orwell wrote in 1940 about the rise of the Nazis, “Nearly all western thought since the last war, certainly all ‘progressive’ thought, has assumed tacitly that human beings desire nothing beyond ease, security and avoidance of pain… Hitler, because in his own joyless mind he feels it with exceptional strength, knows that human beings don’t only want comfort, safety, short working-hours, hygiene, birth-control and, in general, common sense; they also, at least intermittently, want struggle and self-sacrifice, not to mention drums, flags and loyalty-parades.”
The West rose to meet Hitler’s challenge. It appears that the West is rising again to meet the challenge of Russian aggression. We can only hope that the West’s newfound commitment to a very old idea — the idea that only a sense of Western purpose combined with some very hardheaded thinking about hard power can preserve freedom — lasts longer than Putin’s invasion. If it doesn’t, the reshaping of the world order will continue, to the lasting detriment of a West that is only now removing its head from the sand.
Ben Shapiro, 38, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and editor-in-chief of DailyWire.com.
COPYRIGHT 2022 CREATORS.COM
i;o;
With freedom comes Sacrifice. These are not just words but an essence of ‘being’. One must look into himself(her), and judge their character and resolve to not only want freedom for themselves and family but for our fellow man as well. However, our fellow man must be willing to embrace this Sacrifice equally. Then you will achieve true freedom
nmin
This commentary is spot on. Trump made the NATO countries pay up and then along came Biden. Well, here’s the result. Now let’s see the resolve.
We and our Government need to embrace the Stockdale Paradox, ” Retain Faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of difficulties, AT THE SAME TIME Confront The Most Brutal Facts OF Your Current Realities. Anything less and we are fooling ourselves.
Following the Gospel I believe this is prophecy being fulfilled. My understanding is that the Ukraine leads the Kabal to prepare for the Antichrist with One World Order. Russia does not agree to One World Order and that is the reason he is trying to rid the Kabal from the Ukraine.
I urge you to consider that the deep state is behind this conflict. When all the Marxists and DAVOS are approving of this conflict, doesn’t that start alarms ringing?
Pushing the NATO border directly across from Russia is a threat that Russia WILL mobilise against.
This is Afghanistan 2.0, if you can’t see this then vote for Biden in 2024
I just don’t understand why any intelligent person with even a glance at history can escape the fact that it is overwhelming with wars. Just as with any other form of life (especially within the Animal Kingdom of like it or not, we are a part of) has war as a necessary part of existence. War is rooted in the basic fact that living things must consume (by killing) others in order to survive. In this light, war is a normal part of life. Since we as intelligent humans know this, it would be smart to be prepared for it by creating and maintaining military forces.
You Decide ——-
Why is Ukraine the West’s Fault? Featuring John Mearsheimer
youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4&t=2671s
Simply put, as we all know, Freedom isn’t free.
Not a word said about the bioweapons facilites we placed there. Not a word about the criminal establishment of Bidet, Piglosi, Rumney, and Kerr-less in Ukraine energy. Or the fact the Zelensky is mega wealthy and has a 33M house in Miami. This is some serious shortcomings from Mr. Shapiro. He usually does better, but he seems to be where Fox News is riding. They’re Lainstream Media Lite. That we’re even looking that direction is ludicrous, with our country’s condition. Ugh.
We allowed Russia and China to develop hypersonic nuclear weapons while we sat on our rear. Steal our technology.Our country is finished it’s too late to play catch up now. China’s currency will become the new dollar and Russian sanctions won’t matter. The US dollar will be worthless.
Shapiro missed it. He is correct in his thesis about the West in General however they have not joined the fight with worthless sanctions. We are still buying Russian crude and the Biden crime syndicate still alive and well. Oh where is Hunter.
“The west did nothing…” No one else did either. The most brutal will survive at the expense of the pacifist. Detent is dead now. The brutal leaders do not fear anyone. “Sanctions” do not work. The UN is useless. The ONLY way forward now is a blood bath of innocent people. America is absolutely toothless in this because of blind, political ambition and hatred on the part of Nancy Pelosi and her ilk. They’ve finally killed the goose that laid the golden egg. Congrats you bunch of damned fools.
If we had a stronger president and government I would say go help Ukraine. But we do not and doing so would open up Putin using nuclear. He is already using vacuum bombs and killing women and children by blowing up their homes, hospitals, day care, etc.
In my opinion, when Putin needs more time to do more things with his military, he is willing to go back to peace talks? Then, having gained time to do more harm without much gain for anyone, the peace talks stop.
Without oil independence we may go to war but winning is not possible. We need to drill here at home. If we were to be oil independent, Russia would not have started any attacks and we could have shipped oil to Europe.
Putin’s just taking advantage of fellow Comrade President Jackass Josef Biden and his merry followers!
What everybody do not realize is that the terrorist Markxist Barry Soetoro a.k.a. Barack Hussein Obama is the one in control of the White House. He organized and paid for the election fraud and now he is the Commander. From the beginning, he wants Russia to invade Ukraine. He does want to be a Democracy. He wants Ukraine to under the control of Russia.
Id say weve been awake since 2014 move into Crimea
Might this be the beginning of the fight between nationalism versus globalism I am sure Putin hates the idea of being told obey or else
Surely this is not multiple choice: sooner or later. The best answer is the only answer. Stop the aggressor outside of the first victim. When a blundering defense makes an error and underestimates the vicious aggressor, stop him when you know. Stop him when you do wake up.
Don’t trust ANYTHING coming out of the White House today. As we all know, they lie to us on a daily basis. Why trust them now? Before condemning Putin and the Russian government, do your homework. Not everything that comes out of Putin’s mouth is a lie. Please take a look at:
What the Media Is HIDING About Ukraine/Russia
rumble.com/vw4t0e-what-the-media-is-hiding-about-ukrainerussia.html
Something needs to be done about Putin. He just thinks he can invade any country and make it Russian territory without anyone doing anything to stop him. What he is doing in Ukraine is awful and killing and destroying in residential areas are war crimes and he should be tried and sentenced as the Nazis were after World War II. However, I am so upset with our President for not opening up the gas and oil fields and pipelines so that we do not purchase from Russia which gives him money to pay for his atrocities.
Always excellent articles. Thank you!
In the 1930’s we had let our military go to pot. Then Hitler invaded Poland. It wasn’t our problem, so we pretty much ignored it. When Japan invaded us, we weren’t ready. We had to scramble to catch up, but we did — at great loss. By 2019 Trump had rebuilt our military on the basis of,”Peace through strength”. Biden has let military readiness lapse and reduced our military effectiveness with “wokeness”. Now Putin invades Ukraine. We don’t want to get involved and are much less ready that we were one year ago. Will the time come when we are forced to get involved? Will we be ready? Does history repeat itself?
Folks,we are being hard sold on a narrative driven by the “swamp” in want of a better term. Please use a simple search engine to look up the “Minsk Accords”, then look into why those accords were held then look into who didnt actually follow the Minsk accords. Ukraine is NOT a bastion of democracy…..the now sainted Zelinksy jailed journalists that wrote negative pieces about him, shut down newspapers that didn’t support him……JAILED his political opponent.
Putin is a ham handed moron…no doubt…..but he is doing exactly what any American leader would do if their adversaries were about to arm themselves right on our border. Ukraine it was believed was striving for NATO membership…this would put the full power of chapter 5 of the NATO accord right on Russias doorstep…..and remember the reason NATO was formed.
You want to follow morons that are suggesting we join Ukraine in their fight against Russia and risk the worlds annihilation in so doing? PLEASE look into what led to the Minsk accords. What is now Ukraine is a construct of anti Russian residents of the entirety of Ukraine funded and formed by the United States intelligence services…….they are puppets of the CIA in other words.
DO NOT BUY THE B.S. we really are buying into a false narrative
Ahhh, yes. “Human nature”. That simple concept that reaches out and bites the braindead Commies’ butts every time. For decades. One really would think they’d learn, since it’s been happening regularly since 1960. Apparently it requires War for idiots, perverts, and the stupid to SEE reality. God help us.
Excellent article. A true assessment of the “West”…
Depresses me that someone could cause so much death and destruction in this day and age. The days of Hitler returns and the misery it brought to civilization. If his government doesn’t get rid of him I honestly think there’s a good chance for WW3 especially with Biden’s dementia mentality. I’m not 100% sure if the elections were successfully hacked or not. But it’s odd Donald Trump has such a large following and Biden a handful of people seen him campaign. But never the less this president has done everything to undermine this country along with his administration, has the left got that strong they can convince a president to help destroy this country, I wonder. If that’s the case he doing a great job in accomplishing that.
What happened to HEROD shud happen to PUTIN.
They didnt get their way So they KILL – but in the END – PAID/WILL PAY
SO be it Putin
Great article, complacency and weakness in the world view is dangerous and can be exploited.
Our lesson at home is complacency,and willingness to not be engaged in Freedom, results in inept, self serving leaders and marxist democrats attempting to possess Our government and destroy Our Country from within.
We the People MUST be active participants and DEMAND Our wishes be followed or REMOVE the hapless, hopeless so called representatives currently occupying space for their personal ambitions..
Freedom isn’t free, many brave Patriots died preserving and providing it.
The WEST goes beyond the ostrich with its head in the sand. The West has tried to accomplish an almost impossible physical act that incorporates their own the head and another part of their anatomy. I hear Putin spewing all this garbage about Denazification and how he is fighting the Nazis. With his desire to reestablish the old U.S.S.R. boundaries he has become what he is supposed to hate. A true Nationalist. He is a NAZI.
I hate to say it, but, the book of Revelation chapter 13, describes what in store for the faithful in the end times. If you substitute politics for the beasts described, and how God uses them to bring glory to Him and his bride.
PUTIN, needs to GO anyway ,Anybody, USSR will pay for the Dummy PUTIN !
ALL FAKE NEWS. HOW LONG CAN A SMALL COUNTRY, LIKE UKRAINE , STOP A HUGE MILITARY COUNTRY, LIKE RUSSIA, ? ALL WE GET IN THIS COUNTRY IS NEWS FIT TO PRINT OR PRINTED TO FIT.
Cut off Russia’s exporting of oil…and get the USA pipeline back open. The talk by the likes of J Kerry about pollution are 2-faced…i.e. Kerry’s personal fuel use as well as other elites’. And yes..investigate price gauging by oil companies..
i;o;
With freedom comes Sacrifice. These are not just words but an essence of ‘being’. One must look into himself(her), and judge their character and resolve to not only want freedom for themselves and family but for our fellow man as well. However, our fellow man must be willing to embrace this Sacrifice equally. Then you will achieve true freedom
nmin
This commentary is spot on. Trump made the NATO countries pay up and then along came Biden. Well, here’s the result. Now let’s see the resolve.
We and our Government need to embrace the Stockdale Paradox, ” Retain Faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of difficulties, AT THE SAME TIME Confront The Most Brutal Facts OF Your Current Realities. Anything less and we are fooling ourselves.
Following the Gospel I believe this is prophecy being fulfilled. My understanding is that the Ukraine leads the Kabal to prepare for the Antichrist with One World Order. Russia does not agree to One World Order and that is the reason he is trying to rid the Kabal from the Ukraine.
I urge you to consider that the deep state is behind this conflict. When all the Marxists and DAVOS are approving of this conflict, doesn’t that start alarms ringing?
Pushing the NATO border directly across from Russia is a threat that Russia WILL mobilise against.
This is Afghanistan 2.0, if you can’t see this then vote for Biden in 2024
I just don’t understand why any intelligent person with even a glance at history can escape the fact that it is overwhelming with wars. Just as with any other form of life (especially within the Animal Kingdom of like it or not, we are a part of) has war as a necessary part of existence. War is rooted in the basic fact that living things must consume (by killing) others in order to survive. In this light, war is a normal part of life. Since we as intelligent humans know this, it would be smart to be prepared for it by creating and maintaining military forces.
You Decide ——-
Why is Ukraine the West’s Fault? Featuring John Mearsheimer
youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4&t=2671s
Simply put, as we all know, Freedom isn’t free.
Not a word said about the bioweapons facilites we placed there. Not a word about the criminal establishment of Bidet, Piglosi, Rumney, and Kerr-less in Ukraine energy. Or the fact the Zelensky is mega wealthy and has a 33M house in Miami. This is some serious shortcomings from Mr. Shapiro. He usually does better, but he seems to be where Fox News is riding. They’re Lainstream Media Lite. That we’re even looking that direction is ludicrous, with our country’s condition. Ugh.
We allowed Russia and China to develop hypersonic nuclear weapons while we sat on our rear. Steal our technology.Our country is finished it’s too late to play catch up now. China’s currency will become the new dollar and Russian sanctions won’t matter. The US dollar will be worthless.
Shapiro missed it. He is correct in his thesis about the West in General however they have not joined the fight with worthless sanctions. We are still buying Russian crude and the Biden crime syndicate still alive and well. Oh where is Hunter.