Important things to take from recent developments:
- Russia has seriously miscalculated; managing to unite all of NATO and the EU and even getting Sweden and Switzerland to unite on imposing sanctions and providing arms and other aid to Ukraine.
- Putin has evidenced that he is seriously isolated and even more paranoid about COVID, etc. then most of us have thought.
- Given that he cannot sweep into Ukraine as expected and establish a puppet government; he has definitely grabbed the tar-baby, letting go will be the problem.
- As he struggles against the sanctions, and is bogged down by the active resistance, and body bags start coming home and he faces growing opposition by the Russian people he will be tempted to double down on the scorched earth policy, even to using (tactical) nuclear weapons.
- I can only hope that if he orders use of nuclear weapons his underlings will step in and either retire him to a dacha somewhere or give him the 9mm retirement package.
- If “Things get out of hand” we can only hope it is restricted to a brief exchange before we all step back from the brink.
Now for some memes:
Tom Lehr HERE