Vance has it right in Munich

While driving down to Ivins from Park City yesterday (14 February 2025) I listened to J.D. Vance's Munich speech. I couldn't agree with Vance more. It's time for Europe to turn the spotlight inward. A far greater danger than is Russia to Europe is Europe's own straying from democratic values... free speech for one.

I also listened to Pete Hegseth's speech the day before (13 February 2025) in Brussels where he amplified on Trump's Truth Social post (scroll) about his 90-minute conversation with Vladimir Putin about (among other things) ending the war in Ukraine. Time to face reality. Russia has won this war. Trump realizes this and knows that it is time to secure a peace where further Russia penetration in Ukraine is curtailed and where Ukraine can live in peace where is new borders are secure and guaranteed by a revitalized Europe (if Europe follows J.D.'s advice).

Putin has achieved most of the objectives he had at the outset of Russia's "Special Military Operation" against Ukraine. Ukraine will not become a member of NATO. Much of the Russian-speaking lands of Ukraine are already under Russia's control. The NATO alliance is back on its heels. Sanctions against Russia have failed. A multipolar world is now a reality. Europe's economy is weaker than before the war due to the boycott of Russian energy and the destruction of Nord Stream. The Russian army has modernized and become battle-hardened. Russia as a conservative, religious based society has been strengthened. Russia's global presence has been strengthened. Russia's centrality as dominant influence in Eurasia has been certified.

Three years ago, I warned of the likelihood of a bad outcome for the West re Ukraine. I noted that Western leadership was weak, purposeless, incompetent, self-loathing and flaccid. I warned of the West's ephemeral attention span. I warned of Russia's capacity to endure pain on a level incomprehensible in the West, not to mention Russia's 10x population superiority versus Ukraine. For me, the outcome in Ukraine was easy to see (well documented in my blogs over the last three years). www.stephendewitttaylor.com.

There is no reason for the US and Russia to be kinetic enemies. As Trump said in his Truth Social post, the US and Russia worked together to destroy Hitler's threat. It was right for the US and the West to resist the adventurous Bolsheviks post WWII, but today's Russia does not pose a military threat to Europe so long as Europe regains its commitment to democratic values and shores up its military strength... ie. grows a pair. Also, with Trump in power the US, if need be, can trim Russia's sails by pumping more oil. Restrained US oil production during the Biden administration was the primary contributor to Russia's economic strength during its war with Ukraine.

Neocon pushing forward the Russian bogyman hypothesis has run its course.