{"id":1676,"date":"2023-03-24T15:58:13","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T22:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/?p=1676"},"modified":"2023-03-25T21:39:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-26T04:39:14","slug":"eat-crumbs-and-bask-in-the-glory-of-empire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/eat-crumbs-and-bask-in-the-glory-of-empire\/","title":{"rendered":"Eat Crumbs and Bask in The Glory of Empire"},"content":{"rendered":"

Putin\u2019s Grand Plan for Europe and America<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Hitler made a fortune on the publication of Mein Kampf, few people have read his diatribe wherein he declared his hatred of democracy, Marxism and the Jews, and his belief that the Aryan race\u2014specifically, the Germanic\u2014was divinely decreed as the master race. Well, if you missed your chance to learn about his part in history and his advocacy for preordained nationalism, you now are witness to its reincarnation. President Putin believes that Providence guides Mother Russia to rule all of Europe, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans\u2014what he terms Eurasia. He detests democracies, LGBTQ people, and anybody, including Slavs, even Russians, who dare to oppose his right to re-establish\u2014and extend\u2014the former Russian empire under his rule. He has warned that any country opposing him would face the full force of Russian power. (Is this not a reference to his nuclear arsenal?) His Eurasia myth promises to replace chaotic democracies anywhere with nationalist rulers who bow to his dictates. Of course, the beneficiary of this proposed nationalist empire can only be Putin and the coterie of his chosen sycophants, who are currently his Russian oligarchs and chosen military leaders. Those he will govern are destined to a limited or even meagre subsistence while told to bask in the glory of an all-powerful state and in gratitude to its supreme leader.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What the world is seeing in Ukraine today is not merely Putin\u2019s fear of Western hegemony, but his attempt to advance Russian dominance in Europe on his way to Eurasia. Ukraine is just another hurdle to overcome. Chechnya, Crimea, and parts of Georgia and Syria are behind him. Belorussia, already cowed to his will, and Moldovia may be next, then Poland and the Baltic states. He is acting on a long-held belief that it is his destiny to restore and <\/span>extend<\/span><\/i> the Russian empire to its full glory as preordained by Providence. As a result, he will concoct any imagined pretense\u2014whether it is to rid Ukraine of neo-Nazis and protect its Russian inhabitants, or to counter NATO\u2019s infringement on Russia\u2019s hereditary lands, or to prove Russia as a legitimate counterweight to American power. Rather than a free democratic Ukraine, he will make Ukraine a vassal of Mother Russia like its former colonial status under Soviet rule. But the war he has started clearly has a purpose beyond Ukraine. Caesar recognized Gaul was divided into three parts and that he had to conquer all its parts before establishing the Roman Empire. Napoleon crossed every border with his massive army on his way to Moscow. And Hitler too was looking beyond Czechoslovakia on October 1, 1938, to extend his reign even beyond the point of Napoleon\u2019s failure. These world conquerors\u2014Putin’s kin\u2014must unleash the hell fires of war and extend their dominion to match their inflated egos (reference \u201cRecurring World Visions<\/a>\u201d).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The twentieth Century has taught us of both modern warfare\u2019s enormous devastation and its unpredictability. I certainly cannot offer a ready bromide for this recurring human ailment. But we can better cope with this current crisis if we understand how it came to be. Putin\u2019s wars have a prelude where all the discordant notes were played in advance of the main theme.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That prelude began with Putin\u2019s sudden rise to power in 2000. From an unknown former KGB operative in the 1980\u2019s, he came to prominence in St. Petersburg where he used his government position to enrich himself and his assembled gang of thieves. Meanwhile, he rose through the ranks of the KGB\u2014now the FSB\u2014to become its leader. Three months before President Yeltsin\u2019s unexpected retirement, he was appointed Vice President. Then, in January 2000, he inherited the presidency when the former President was forced into retirement at the end of 1999. (He was eventually elected in March of 2000 under a very dubious \u201cfree\u201d election, reference \u201cIs War in Europe Inevitable?<\/a>\u201d) The Soviet era and his KGB training had been the major influences in his life and on his mindset. \u00b9 Shortly after Putin became the head of state, he consolidated his power by protecting and enriching the men\u2014mostly his St. Petersburg gang\u2014who would become his oligarchs. For Americans, his approach was not dissimilar to Trump\u2019s appointments of self-interested millionaires, lobbyists, and criminally prone individuals to government positions or to his \u201ckitchen cabinet.\u201d Like Putin, Trump\u2019s back story included mob boss tactics of bending the rules and of employing sycophants to serve his self-interests. Trump\u2019s mindset was not dissimilar to Putin\u2019s.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It should not be surprising then that Putin\u2019s intelligence network had noted Trump\u2019s potential as an \u201cidiot source\u201d long before he won the presidency. He had been weaned on laundered money from Russian oligarchs. And Putin, as the experienced KGB handler he once was, tested this source by inviting him to Russia and offering him free publicity and a Moscow venue for his beauty pageant. Subsequently, he used the opportunity his newly won supplicant provided to assist Trump\u2019s campaign for the Presidency. He had his intelligence operatives engineer a massive online effort to support Trump\u2019s candidacy. If he did not personally suggest, he most certainly approved of the man who volunteered to lead the candidate\u2019s campaign for free (reference \u201cWhy Does Putin Favor Trump?<\/a>\u201d written in 2015). That man was Paul Manafort, a Putin operative who had served\/guided Yanukovych, the Ukrainian President who also served at Putin\u2019s pleasure.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Putin’s grand plan was hatched early in his Presidency and implemented in stages by –<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0(1) amassing a 600 billion rubles government surplus in a strained Russian economy, as a future war fund secretly financed by the Russian people, <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(2) staging a coup in Crimea, followed by the invasion and occupation of Ukraine\u2019s Donetsk<\/span> and<\/span> Luhansk regions,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(3) setting up a favorable bilateral relation with the President of Belorussia who later would allow the placement of the Russian military on Ukraine\u2019s northern border, close to Ukraine\u2019s capitol,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(4) planning the elaborate movement of 70-75% of Russia\u2019s military resources from all sectors of the country to strategic locations surrounding Ukraine.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(5) and, of course, abetting the election of Donald Trump to lessen America\u2019s official aversion to Putin\u2019s annexation of Crimea and his ongoing incursions into southeastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Putin\u2019s plan succeeded in duping enough Americans needed to elect his candidate, he must have been delighted to see how President Trump responded to his wishes by – <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(1) reducing America\u2019s short range nuclear missiles deployed in Europe,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(2) decommissioning the spy plane that had previously been part of mutually agreed overflights of American and Russian terrain to assure both signatories were adhering to their nuclear arms treaties,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(3) destroying the plane\u2019s ultramodern surveillance equipment, thereby prohibiting its future reuse,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(4) reducing American support for NATO, even to the extent of pulling troops back from Eastern Europe.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(5) and delaying arms shipments to Ukraine while accusing Ukraine of meddling in America\u2019s Presidential election\u2014thereby exonerating Russia, the actual perpetrator.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Within a few short years, Putin had been able to concoct this elaborate plan to attack and subjugate a democratically free state, while neutralizing any American opposition. In his mind, he was on a divinely ordained mission to restore the Russian empire that had fallen victim to the hegemony of European democracies and to the United States. Does his elaborate plan not remind us of another obstinately determined and deranged visionary of 20<\/span>th<\/span> century vintage?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As one might expect, the reference here is to Adolph Hitler. Of course, Hitler revealed his megalomania much earlier than Putin. In 1924, he had been arrested, trialed, and convicted of treason. But he denounced the verdict in his rebuttal: \u201cYou may pronounce us guilty a thousand times over, but the goddess of the eternal court of history will smile and tear to tatters the brief of the state prosecutor and the sentence of this court. For she acquits us.\u201d After his three and a half weeks in court, he spent another 9 months in the Old Fortress at Landsberg where he dictated <\/span>Mein Kampf<\/span><\/i> to his forever loyal Rudolf Hess. \u00b2 This self-proclaimed bible fortified his quest for power and subjugation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Putin, likewise, has written lengthy treatises justifying his tactics, much of its philosophy torn from the pages of Ivan Ilyin\u2019s writings. Note that Ilyin \u201cbegan his article on \u2018Russian Nationalism\u2019 with the simple claim that \u2018National Russia has enemies.\u2019\u201d \u00b3 How often have we heard this refrain repeated by Putin? The world is Russia\u2019s enemy until subjugated by Russia under its nuclear umbrella. And Putin has no need to call upon some goddess to justify his actions, for he believes Divine Providence already guides him. But, as warned in the Bible, \u201cBeware of false prophets who come to you in sheep\u2019s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves\u201d (Mathew, 7:15). And further, \u201cThey speak visions of their own mind, not from the mouth of the Lord.\u201d (Jeremiah, 23:16). Putin, like one such ravenous wolf, has concocted a scheme out of his bewitched mind to swallow up the nation of Ukraine. He has become our 21<\/span>st<\/span> Century Hitler. But he wields not the \u201csword of the spirit\u201d (Ephesians 6:17), nor Hitler\u2019s blitzkrieg, but an unprovoked and genocidal war under the threatening cloud of nuclear war. Stated bluntly, Putin threatens an apocalypse unless granted unbridled power over the lives of innocents.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The lesson of history here is plain: as Lord Acton told us, \u201cAll power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely.\u201d The quest for power is not an uncommon human trait. But so is the urge to form self-supporting communities and a system of social justice. For the past 235 years, the United States has struggled with these often-opposing traits. How have we survived? The answer: we repeatedly revive the power of our union and its guarantees of liberty and justice for all. And we do so at the polls. For example, we recently voted out of office a pretend dictator. Throughout our history, we have used our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms to correct any waywardness from their provisions and to right the course of our democracy. Nevertheless, no human society is or stays innocent of wrongdoing. The saving virtue of democracy is its ability to right its course. When America loses this ability, it loses its place in history as perhaps the best hope for humankind. All who support democracy must stand together, otherwise we will all face the same recourse that the Russian people face today, that is, subjugation to a maniacal tyrant or\u2014in America\u2019s case\u2014to a rogue political party fallen under the spell of Donald Trump, our very own Putinesque fanatic. Of course, our \u201cfanatic\u201d is less likely to speak in religious terms, but in terms of wealth and power. But history has shown us that men who seek absolute power (yes, they are always men) surround themselves with sycophants who feed off the trough of that power and extend its reign.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is both natural and necessary for Americans to support Ukrainians, for their struggle is the same as ours. They were developing a democracy just as we have been struggling to preserve ours. Our futures are intertwined. And the world depends upon our success in this struggle. May God help the Ukrainian people and guide us to form societies and governments that guarantee liberty and justice for all. The alternative is a return to feudal conditions, aristocratic rule, and sworn loyalty to an autocratic system under a soulless dictator. If you will forgive my poetic fancy, there is a line from a Robert Burns\u2019 poem that has always stayed with me:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe best-laid schemes o\u2019 mice an\u2019 men<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Gang aft a-gley,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

An\u2019 lea\u2019s us nought but grief an\u2019 pain,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 For promised joy . . .<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But och! I backward cast my e\u2019e<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 On prospects drear!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

An\u2019 forward though I canna see,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 I guess an\u2019 fear!\u201d\u02dc<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0__________________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00b9 If you really want to understand this man and his objectives, read \u201cMr. Putin,\u201d authored by Fiona Hill and Clifford G. Gadddy. And, if you want to know how he rose to such power, read Karen Dawisha\u2019s \u201cPutin\u2019s Kleptocracy,\u201d where his brutal rise is extensively documented.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b2 William L. Shirer, \u201cThe Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,\u201d pp. 75-79 (quote taken from P.78).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b3 Timothy Snyder, \u201cThe Road to Unfreedom, p.28.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u02dc<\/span> Robert Burns, \u201cTo a Mouse,\u201d Norton Anthology of English Literature,\u201d p. 1786.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Putin\u2019s Grand Plan for Europe and America\u00a0 \u00a0 Although Hitler made a fortune on the publication of Mein Kampf, few people have read his diatribe wherein he declared his hatred of democracy, Marxism and the Jews, and his belief that the Aryan race\u2014specifically, the Germanic\u2014was divinely decreed as the master race. Well, if you missed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-domesticissues","category-foreignpolicy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3UqUK-r2","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1676"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1682,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676\/revisions\/1682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}