A growing number of Brits want to rejoin the EU (eg, YouGov). For the EU, there is no operational or tactical need. Strategically, the EU would be more powerful against China and USA; this is, however, a belief. The enlargement of the European Union is causing a similar debate (eg, EuroNews, Politico, Reuters).
The Dutch PM made an interesting (Dutch) comment about an EU enlargement by 2030: “The question is not when candidate-countries must be ready but if they are ready”. I could not agree more. The former EU President, Jean-Claude Juncker, was clear about the if: “Ukraine is totally corrupt“.
Western operational and tactical (military) support of Ukraine, against its Russian invaders, has always had a strategic downside: admitting Ukraine into the EU and/or NATO and losing a buffer state. Russia and Ukraine are like Abel and Cain; there is not much difference (eg, corruption).
George Friedman comes to a similar conclusion in his recent GPF article:
“But the United States is engaged in a different conflict: keeping Russia away from NATO. It would provide sufficient force to keep the Russians at a distance but not enough to crush them.”
Quotes from a 2023 GPF article: The War Is Over, but No One Knows How to Stop Fighting
“Russia has kept the U.S. away from its border but little else. Ukraine has retained sovereignty over a good deal of the country. And the U.S. has made a Russian penetration beyond Ukraine highly unlikely.”
My arguments above deal with logic and ratio and are thus about Knowledge. However, the fundamental issue in the above is Power. Power is (mostly) about emotion (eg, greed, lust, temptation). The only thing that Power cares about is Power. Also see Lord Acton quote below.
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority; still more when you superadd the tendency of the certainty of corruption by authority.”
A quote by Lord Acton a.k.a. John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834-1902)
Temptation (1983) by Heaven 17
band, lyrics, video, Wiki-band, Wiki-song
Keep us from temptation (oh)
Keep us from temptation
Keep us from temptation
Lead us not into temptation, oh
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless in quotes or stated otherwise.
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