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suzc's avatar

Exactly. The one glimmer of hope is how Europe has stood up to Putin and strengthened NATO. That is because Europe still remembers. And because Europeans seem better educated. And more willing to look at the long game than Americans with their 10-second attention spans.

(My greatest prayer now is that Xi is not as stupid as Putin and other ego-blinded dictators.)

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knowltok's avatar

I don't disagree with the broader point, but I would suggest that Europe forgot and now re-remembers. It beggars my belief to the extent Europe was dependent on Russia energy.

They also did spend time coasting on their defense spending. In part that worked into our design (and is why we shouldn't be as upset as idiot Trump was about it), but from their own perspective, that was a strategic mistake that they likely aren't going to have to pay for in part because the Russian military was much weaker than thought and because 4 years of Biden buys time (and no one take that as rah, rah America saves the day).

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suzc's avatar

I would agree with this too. In particular I have been impressed with the head of NATO but also with various EU leaders. Russia is right on their borders and they are awake now even if they slumbered a bit long.

What is that Monty Python line: "Nobody EXPECTS the Spanish Inquisition!"

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