Europe currently relies on Russia for 40 percent of its energy needs. The old gibe that Russia is a “gas station with nukes” was only somewhat exaggerated. Oil and gas account for nearly 40 percent of Russia’s federal revenue and 60 percent of exports. Without energy revenue, Russia is defanged. (It’s remarkable that the West maintained its vigilance throughout the Cold War, and there were moments when it was iffy.) One way we’ll know if the democracies have truly grappled with the moment is what they do on energy.Įnergy policy would seem to be the surest path toward the better world we all hope for.
The human tendency toward complacency and denial is very strong.
The shift in attitudes toward Russia has been vertigo-inducing, but it remains to be seen whether it will stick. MONA CHAREN: An Answer to Putin (and Climate Change) in Plain Sight. The U.S.-India relationship has grown stronger in the last two decades, especially with the 2005 nuclear deal, significant growth in foreign direct investment, defense and trade agreements, and joint military exercises. Narasimha Rao, India started to shift toward a more pro-Western outlook.
#TALE OF 2 WASTELANDS MORE CARRY FREE#
In the early 1990s, following the collapse of the USSR and India’s acceptance of free markets under Prime Minister P. Although Prime Minister Nehru cofounded the Non-Aligned Movement, he generally found himself on the side of the Soviets-as did most subsequent Indian governments. Modern India was set up by a strong socialist, Jawaharlal Nehru, and had Soviet-like five-year plans for most of its history. Security Council considered a resolution condemning Russia’s actions-a symbolic measure that Russia was sure to veto-India’s representative said his delegation was “ disturbed by developments in Ukraine” but abstained from voting for or against the resolution.ĭespite recent strengthening of the U.S.-India relationship, India has a long history with Russia (and the Soviet Union before that) and remains dependent on Russia for much of it’s defense equipment. The government of India has been reluctant to condemn the invasion in the same language as other countries and international bodies. When Russia began its unprovoked invasion of its democratic neighbor Ukraine last week, the initial response from the world’s largest democracy was silence. When a ghoul seeks to destroy your birthplace, your soul is unmoored.ĪNIK JOSHI: Why India Didn’t Back Ukraine at the U.N. This could change at any moment, and so while I’m here, I’m not really here. But the world does.Īs I type this, the people I know and love in Ukraine are alive and accounted for-scared, angry, tortured, shaking with righteous fury, fighting on the battlefield, cradling terrified children and animals, but alive. Would anyone do that for an artificial identity and homeland?Ĭlosed off in his palaces, surrounded by a circle of pliant yes-men in expensive suits, men made rich like shiny ticks off the Kremlin’s corruption, Putin does not see Ukrainians. Instead, Ukrainians are throwing themselves at tanks. When we insist on being real, we’re called extremist and dangerous. We are an artificial people in the eyes of the Russian Reich. The ethnonationalist speech that Putin gave before he started this latest atrocity is an echo of every insult I’ve ever received from a Russian for identifying with Ukraine. He believes that Americans should treat one another as compatriots, not enemies, and that they should care about people in other countries. He believes that the free world must stand together. Biden believes in democracy and the rule of law. But the gap between his vision of America and Trump’s vision of America makes those faults insignificant.
He botched the negotiations on his Build Back Better plan, misjudged the pullout from Afghanistan, and underrated the severity of inflation. They applied terms such as “dictator,” “regime,” and “communist countries” not to Putin, but to Democrats who enforced vaccine mandates or mask mandates.īiden has his faults. Meanwhile, in a 75-minute forum to lay out their agenda, House Republicans barely mentioned Ukraine. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did the same on Tuesday. Tom Cotton repeatedly ducked questions about Trump’s praise of Putin. But they suck up to him, refuse to renounce his arguments, and often parrot them. Many Republicans pretend that Trump doesn’t represent their party.
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