“NATO is the only tool available for that task, indeed”
Yurii SHCHERBAK, writer, former ambassador of Ukraine to the US, Canada and Israel:
“First of all, this short article by Paul Jones [‘Putting Putin in His Place,’ available at Forbes.com – Ed.] adequately describes this drama of the 21st century that can grow and probably will grow into the hybrid World War III. Current events in Ukraine have to do, of course, with the fate of the world. The author’s diagnosis of these events features almost mathematic precision. It is important that he turns his attention to leadership, the nature of the two leaders, who are now actually opposed to each other. On the one hand, it is Vladimir Putin’s adventurism, his lying skills, his understanding of the weaknesses of the West. On the other, it is weak Barack Obama, totally lacking willpower, who, I think, may remove the US from the world stage, as his current policy is a literal failure for the US and its future. If the US leave the world stage as the leader of the free world, the world will be plunged into a darkness produced by these forces of evil that today rear their heads as two terrorist states: Putin’s Russia and the Islamic State, which is expanding its territory due to violence and aggression of its founders.
“This article actually raises the question of the role of personality in history, and its author notes that Putin is sensitive to certain things and can be put in place. He determines Putin’s success addiction as a major feature. It is kind of like drug addiction, for these military and political successes have clouded Putin’s common sense. He apparently imagines himself to be a new Napoleon, Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin, despite lacking size and scale compared with these historical figures. So, he has made a fatal error by firstly, including Russia on the list of terrorist states, making it a state sponsor of terrorism, and secondly, jeopardizing his personal future, because he will not stay in the Kremlin for long without further successes, which constantly encourage him to continue aggressive actions and continue the war, to further extend its authority in other areas. On the other hand, Obama staying ‘comatose’ is very dangerous for the world, and it undermines the author’s thesis that only NATO can stop Putin. Clearly, NATO will not be able to resist and is unlikely to be the leader in opposing Putin without the US and its president Obama. By saying constantly that NATO is not going to fight for Ukraine, Obama gives Putin a virtual right to decide the fate of Ukraine as he pleases. This is very dangerous. Obama called Ebola the threat number one in his speech at the UN General Assembly. However, Russia is threatening to seize a part of Europe, it has violated all international agreements and international security system, so it is a far graver threat, at least in Europe. Judging from Obama’s speech at the UN, It does not look like he correctly assesses the situation at all.
“When we talk about Europe, the author describes in detail the weaknesses of each country. This weakness of the EU means it cannot make NATO stronger, as same countries are members of both and are now experiencing hard times. If many of them are trying every effort to downplay the conflict with Putin, they will not allow NATO to somehow aggravate the confrontation with Russia either.
“NATO is the only tool available for that task, indeed. Therefore, NATO is our only hope, for some of its leaders are sober people, generals who can understand the true intentions of Putin and Russia’s military plans due to the alliance’s intelligence capabilities. They realize the real threat posed by that country. On the other hand, they are well aware of Russia’s weaknesses as well – economic, political, military – and understand what the hybrid war is. As for the hope the author places on the middle class, authoritarian dictatorial country is hardly the place for this group to rise up and play an effective role in the overthrow of Putin.
“Comparing Putin with Nikita Khrushchev is absolutely incorrect, though, because this time it is absolutely different. Moreover, Khrushchev had no such support as Putin has today from either the ruling class or the people.
“To sum up, while giving a fairly accurate diagnosis of what is happening, and relying on NATO only, the author’s forecast cannot be considered an accurate prophesy on the future course of events. In my opinion, we should not ignore the willpower of the EU, in particular its will to engage in the economic component of the war now waged on Russia. The EU will understand that Russia poses a serious challenge for the union’s existence and prosperity, and they will have to respond to the Russian aggression.”
“UKRAINE SHOULD PREPARE FOR A TOTAL WAR USING EVERY BIT OF ITS POTENTIAL”
“What is Ukraine to do in this situation until NATO revives its determination? Ukraine should prepare for a total war using every bit of its potential, never relax, and do not believe this ‘peace’ by any means. It is only a temporary breathing space, and a new offensive can start at any moment. Therefore, on the contrary, Ukraine should strengthen its efforts on defense, mobilization, economy, take much more decisive actions to militarize the nation and prepare for war, because we have seen and got rid of all illusions, knowing now that, although the West provided an unprecedented moral support to Ukraine, it is not ready for a serious confrontation with Russia.
“So, despite the fact that we have the status of a strategic partner, we need to insist that Ukraine become an ally of the US. We must strengthen our information capacity to convince Europe that this is the beginning of World War III, and it should be repeated endlessly. Of course, we must strengthen our interaction with those who may become our staunch allies, especially Poland, the Baltic States, Moldova and Georgia, including creating military alliances with them. Of course, we should immediately carry out the necessary reforms in the meantime, whereby people would see that there is a positive change in Ukraine. Otherwise, the domestic situation will grow unstable and can spiral out of control, which may bring about a tragic end of the Ukrainian state. Therefore, we must be prepared to fight and wage war.”
Interviewed by Mykola SIRUK, The Day
