Putin’s Risky Gamble Is Putting Us All At Risk
There is a global divide between those world leaders who believe in democracy and those who believe in autocracy. We can argue until the cows come home about inequality and many other important issues, but none of it will get solved if democracy doesn’t survive. If the likes of Putin were to rule the world, we would have no chance.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine should deeply concern all of us, not only because it’s a humanitarian disaster for Ukrainians, but because it has the potential to escalate into another world war. A war which would undoubtedly involve the use of nuclear weapons and possibly destroy civilization.
There is much to lament about many of the military campaigns of western democracies. Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, among others. Some of them have been complete debacles, and they always include “collateral damage” (stupid term). But Putin’s invasion is fundamentally different. It’s not about preventing autocratic communist regimes from spreading, or breaking up terrorist training camps, or preventing a madman from using weapons of mass destruction. Putin’s war is fundamentally about trying to restore some semblance of the former Soviet Union, with him as Czar, even if that means the risk of dragging the world into a nuclear war.
While democratic countries are trying to save Ukraine from an autocratic regime, other autocratic regimes have remained silent, or they’ve blamed the U.S. Where is their criticism of Putin? Even after he threatened nuclear war, where was their criticism?
