Lyudmila Zhernovskaya01:56, 04/09/24

Putin can be easily outwitted, but this requires a Western leader who will decide to do this.

The West has failed to respond to the challenge of the Russian threat; it needs strong leaders who are able to mobilize people.

Rutgers University political science professor Alexander Motyl writes about this in a column for The Hill . He suggested analyzing the recent statement by Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Bart Eide that no one is doing enough for Ukraine to win the war.

“The logical thought behind it is this: if you believe, as Eide and most NATO countries claim, that Putin’s Russia is an existential threat to Europe, then you will do everything you can to counter that threat, helping Ukraine win. Now Let’s put it this way: if, as Eide says, you are not doing everything you can to help Ukraine, then it follows that you do not consider Putin’s Russia an existential threat to Europe,” he writes.

The professor notes that the delay, insufficient support and reluctance to impose tough sanctions against the Russian Federation indicate that NATO member countries do not really mean what they say. On this issue, the position of the prime ministers of Hungary and Slovakia, as well as Donald Trump, is more honest.

He notes that even Poland, which is an ally of Ukraine, “does not seem to understand that blocking the border to Ukrainian trucks and destroying the Ukrainian economy is not the way to demonstrate its understanding of the Russian threat.”

The Baltic countries are aware of the threat. Also recently, French President Emmanuel Macron “saw the light” and went over to the side of Putin’s most determined critics, albeit rhetorically.

“The United States is the biggest hypocrite. With the exception of a small group of ardent Trump supporters in Congress, the American political class claims that the vast majority supports Ukraine and understands the scale of the Russian threat. And yet Washington has proven unable to subordinate electoral politics and personal ambitions to the obvious possibility that The defeat of Ukraine will mean the continuation of Russian expansion and the Third World War – and the death of thousands of Americans,” he emphasizes.

Motyl believes that the West’s inability to believe that Putin is the new Hitler can be explained by hopes that it is just a “bad dream.” “Unfortunately, if Putin goes his way, their sleep may turn out to be permanent,” he emphasizes.

He is sure that the West lacks a new Winston Churchill or Franklin Roosevelt, who will be able to mobilize people and boldly face the threat from the Russian Federation.

“The irony is that Putin is a serial loser, a strategic imbecile who can easily be outwitted by a Western leader who dares to try. President Vladimir Zelensky, despite all his shortcomings, rose to the occasion and, despite his lack of political experience, managed to unite the nation and say “no” to Putin. Therefore, the emergence of strong leaders is possible even today,” he writes.

The professor excludes that Joe Biden or Donald Trump could become such a leader. “Unfortunately, President Joe Biden has failed to lead the world against Putin. Donald Trump has demonstrated that he cannot be a leader, period. This could leave the fate of Ukraine and the West in the hands of Mr. Macron. Will he be able to cope with this task and become Charles de Gaullem? – asks Motyl.

(C)UNIAN 2024