To be America's friend ...

'It may be dangerous to be America's enemy but to be America's friend is fatal.'
Kissinger.

A chum wrote in an email

“I feel so sorry for the Ukrainians and somewhat concerned for us Europeans, not least because I’m not sure whether we need to be more concerned about the Russians, or the Americans in our midst! “


I replied

The Uke's have been poorly served by their leaders.  They have a history of it, but not the shedding of their blood like the past few years. smh

Their population is no more able to rid themselves of lousy leaders and replace them with competents than we are. :(

I'll take it the background, at least post 2014, is known to you.

Behind it is the US endeavour for hegemony.  It's long had designs for the breakup of Russia into smaller, powerless statelets.  Periodically there are discussion documents  https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB10014.html

 

Once Russia is out of the way, they can go full on at China.  Last thing they want is Russia and China teaming up. (see BRICS)

Back in 2022 the EU revealed it wasn't an economic union but an arm of NATO, when it sanctioned Russian energy in a bid to stop the invasion.  NATO has since been exposed as a paper tiger.

As Gen Cavoli (SACEUR at the time) said early last year, they hadn't imagined the scale of operations Russia was able to carry out.  :facepalm:

Today, the EU is facing financial collapse and NATO is out of guns 'n' ammo.
I anticipate they'll have both broken into smaller, regional alignments a few years hence.

The US is dusting its hands and walking away.   A paradigm countries in the far east it seeks to woo will learn from.

 

OBTW  the above cartoon is from early '24.

So, who to fear more ??  Being tied to the US, as we are, is a greater danger to us than a handful of exiled Russian oligarchs, buying influence in the Press, Parliament or wherrever.
It's taken Chelski years to recover from the loss of Abramovich.

Sec State Rubio stating it baldly.