Imperialism
Russia
Fig. 1. Historic Russian empire, from the New York Times, possibly March 6, 2014, fair use.[1]
I shouldn’t have to say this. I should be able to assume that the U.S. is in fact studying what’s going on with Vladimir Putin and Russia very carefully. With the stupidity I see around me pretty close to 100 percent of the time, I cannot.
But if indeed Putin is sending a message (see below), then I hope an understanding of that message is being taken into account with these as yet unannounced sanctions.[2]
In 2021, [Joe] Biden told reporters that if [Alexey] Navalny died, the consequences for Russia would be “devastating.” Asked directly about that on Friday, the president said his remark was three years ago, and they’ve faced “a hell of a lot of consequences” since then.[3]
I also hope these sanctions will actually prove effective.
Matt Berg, “US to announce ‘major sanctions package’ on Russia following Navalny death,” Politico, February 20, 2024, https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/20/russia-sanctions-navalny-putin-00142183
Ukraine
Fig. 1. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[4] fair use.
A man’s corpse, found riddled with bullets and run over by a vehicle in Spain last week, was identified as that of Russian military pilot Maksim Kuzminov, who flew his Mi-8 helicopter to Ukraine in a dramatic defection in August, Ukrainian officials said.
His apparent murder — after a very public threat to his life last year on Russian state television — has raised questions about whether this was a Russian-ordered assassination carried out on European soil.
News of Kuzminov’s violent demise emerged just days after the sudden death in prison of Russian political opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which European and U.S. officials have framed as evidence of the Russian government’s unchecked brutality.[5]
In this era, when you see two attacks at about the same time from the same source, it’s time to look for a less obvious message.
Robyn Dixon, “Bullet-riddled body found in Spain was Russian defector, Ukraine says,” Washington Post, February 20, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/20/spain-russia-ukraine-kuminov-assassination-defector/
Israel
Palestine
Fig. 1. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[6] fair use.
Susie Coen, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Gutteridge, “US moves to stop Israel’s invasion of Rafah,” Telegraph, February 19, 2024, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/02/19/us-use-un-force-israel-halt-rafah-invasion-hamas-idf/
- [1]New York Times, “Ukraine Crisis in Maps,” n.d., http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/02/27/world/europe/ukraine-divisions-crimea.html↩
- [2]Matt Berg, “US to announce ‘major sanctions package’ on Russia following Navalny death,” Politico, February 20, 2024, https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/20/russia-sanctions-navalny-putin-00142183↩
- [3]Matt Berg, “US to announce ‘major sanctions package’ on Russia following Navalny death,” Politico, February 20, 2024, https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/20/russia-sanctions-navalny-putin-00142183↩
- [4]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q↩
- [5]Robyn Dixon et al., “Bullet-riddled body found in Spain was Russian defector, Ukraine says,” Washington Post, February 20, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/20/spain-russia-ukraine-kuminov-assassination-defector/↩
- [6]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩