Hilary Clinton recently likened Russian activities in Crimea to those of Hitler's early expansionism in Europe during the 1930s. In doing so, Clinton made a blunder of epic proportions. Clearly Clinton has not paid much attention to the war on the Eastern Front in WWII. If nothing else, Clinton failed to appreciate the effect of WWII on the Russian psyche. The "Great Patriotic War", as it is known in Russia, was fought on a scale unimaginable to most in the West. From 1941 until the end of the war in 1945, the USSR bore the brunt of the fighting in Europe. The war on the Eastern Front claimed between 21-28 million Soviet lives, most of them civilians (the U.S. Army, by contrast, lost 141,000 dead in the battle for Europe). The Battle of Stalingrad alone cost the Russians well over 1 million casualties, including 40,000 civilians. Over the course of the war, millions of Soviet civilians were executed or sent to perish in Nazi labor camps. Crops were burned or confiscated leaving untold thousands to die from starvation. Villages, towns, and cities were destroyed leaving tens of thousands more to die from exposure during the harsh Russian winters. The war in the East was fought with a savagery unimaginable to the comfortable Western mind. It was a war of annihilation.
For Clinton to compare Russia in any way to Hitler and Nazi Germany is an outrage to the millions of Russians who died fighting Hitler. If Clinton was searching for an analogy to shock people into action she would have done better to choose Stalin to make her point. But she didn't. She chose Hitler because Hitler is always an easy target. By doing so she made a statement sure to mobilize the Russian people into a unified indignation. The only way Clinton could have done worse would have been to claim that Israel's settler policy is analogous to Hitler's call for "Lebensraum". Even then, she would not have done much worse.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military is boosting its NATO presence in eastern Europe to bolster the defenses of U.S. allies in the region as a response to Russia's actions in the Crimean Peninsula. To that end, a Defense Department official confirmed that the U.S. will "augment" NATO's mission in Baltic countries. The U.S. has stationed four F-15s to the Baltic Air Policing rotation, a loose collection of NATO and local air forces policing the Baltic region, and plans to send more forces. "This action comes at the request of our Baltic Allies and further demonstrates our commitment to NATO security," the official said. In doing so, the U.S. is expanding its sphere of influence further eastward into territory long considered by Russia to be its prerogative.
Some have taken to comparing the recent series of events in Ukraine with the events that led up to WWII. It is nothing of the sort. If anything, it is like WWI where a complex web of treaties and political miscalculations led to a local conflict blossoming into a world war that no one wanted. By taking on further obligations in Eastern Europe, NATO increases the chances of a conflict with Russia. We should also be careful of fanning the flames of nationalism, which is what we are doing whenever we support a tribe, a religion, an ethnicity, or a race in its struggle for autonomy and self determination. Nationalism has caused more wars, violence, and suffering in Europe than any other factor except, perhaps, religion which itself can be considered a variety of nationalism. Clinton's choice of words will only exacerbate tension in Crimea and elsewhere in and near Russia. Russia increasingly feels beleaguered. It is not a good time to humiliate or insult it. Crimea is not Kazakhstan, Moldavia, or the Baltic States. It has been part of Russia for over 300 years. It is a jewel in her crown. It is one of her children. Like any mother, "Mother Russia" has always been disinclined to part with her children. The nearer those children are to her, the more dear they are. She will not give up Crimea without a struggle.
Remember the U.S. once had a region that sought to break away. I am sure everyone remembers how that turned out.
For Clinton to compare Russia in any way to Hitler and Nazi Germany is an outrage to the millions of Russians who died fighting Hitler. If Clinton was searching for an analogy to shock people into action she would have done better to choose Stalin to make her point. But she didn't. She chose Hitler because Hitler is always an easy target. By doing so she made a statement sure to mobilize the Russian people into a unified indignation. The only way Clinton could have done worse would have been to claim that Israel's settler policy is analogous to Hitler's call for "Lebensraum". Even then, she would not have done much worse.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military is boosting its NATO presence in eastern Europe to bolster the defenses of U.S. allies in the region as a response to Russia's actions in the Crimean Peninsula. To that end, a Defense Department official confirmed that the U.S. will "augment" NATO's mission in Baltic countries. The U.S. has stationed four F-15s to the Baltic Air Policing rotation, a loose collection of NATO and local air forces policing the Baltic region, and plans to send more forces. "This action comes at the request of our Baltic Allies and further demonstrates our commitment to NATO security," the official said. In doing so, the U.S. is expanding its sphere of influence further eastward into territory long considered by Russia to be its prerogative.
Some have taken to comparing the recent series of events in Ukraine with the events that led up to WWII. It is nothing of the sort. If anything, it is like WWI where a complex web of treaties and political miscalculations led to a local conflict blossoming into a world war that no one wanted. By taking on further obligations in Eastern Europe, NATO increases the chances of a conflict with Russia. We should also be careful of fanning the flames of nationalism, which is what we are doing whenever we support a tribe, a religion, an ethnicity, or a race in its struggle for autonomy and self determination. Nationalism has caused more wars, violence, and suffering in Europe than any other factor except, perhaps, religion which itself can be considered a variety of nationalism. Clinton's choice of words will only exacerbate tension in Crimea and elsewhere in and near Russia. Russia increasingly feels beleaguered. It is not a good time to humiliate or insult it. Crimea is not Kazakhstan, Moldavia, or the Baltic States. It has been part of Russia for over 300 years. It is a jewel in her crown. It is one of her children. Like any mother, "Mother Russia" has always been disinclined to part with her children. The nearer those children are to her, the more dear they are. She will not give up Crimea without a struggle.
Remember the U.S. once had a region that sought to break away. I am sure everyone remembers how that turned out.
