The United States Is Provocatively Sending A-10 Thunderbolts to Germany — and 600 Paratroops to train Ukrainian Troops — Chancellor Angela Merkel is the Only Grownup Left

© 2015 Peter Free

 

12 February 2015

 

 

Simple lessons about how World War I incrementally started — seem to be too demanding for U.S. leaders to grasp

 

It does not take much brain to provoke an adversary. But it may take some admirably developed ones to figure out what to do after our cornered opponent starts thinking nukes.

 

Two days ago, the Obama Administration announced that it was sending a dozen A-10 Thunderbolts to Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany to train with eastern European NATO combat forces.

 

See Brendan McGarry, US Deploys A-10s to Europe Amid Debate to Arm Ukraine, Military.com (10 February 2015)

 

And today, the Administration said that it is sending 600 American paratroopers to an unannounced location in eastern Europe to train anti-Russian Ukrainian troops.

 

See Marcin Goclowski and Wiktor Szary, U.S. army to train Ukrainians in March: commander U.S. army Europe, Reuters (12 February 2015)

 

 

For people unfamiliar with diplomatic nuances

 

A-10s were originally designed as Soviet tank killers.

 

And having American paratroopers train Ukrainian forces (either in or near Ukraine) means that the United States is signaling its willingness to go head to head with Russia inside the Federation’s own sphere of geopolitical influence.

 

 

With these provocative actions . . .

 

The United States is arguably beginning to mimic Nikita Kruschev’s stupendous level of asininity in putting missiles into Cuba in 1962.

 

 

No wonder German Chancellor Angela Merkel looks tired

 

She appears to be the only influential grownup left. Perhaps it takes a woman to recognize that constantly flashing erections is not the answer to the world’s problems.

 

 

As a former historian, I am surprised by how little foresight American leaders display, these days

 

Even if I take my hypothesis that the Military Industrial Complex runs American foreign policy for profit’s sake into account, I have difficulty seeing how provoking a potentially explosive land war in (or near) Ukraine benefits the bottom line. Trapped badgers and weasels, and especially those armed with nukes, have the potential to tear their attackers up too much to make the cornering process worthwhile.

 

 

While all this is going on — our perennially dopey American media are concentrating on NBC anchor Brian Williams’ comparatively trivial transgressions

 

Celebrity, it seems, is more important that talking about something that has the potential to blow lots of us up.

 

There was a time when sending American troops and planes anywhere raised serious questions among reasonably intelligent people. Today, no one pays attention. What’s another drip in America’s perpetual War against This, That and Whatever?

 

 

Indicative of the Obama Administration’s “Bush II” mindset

 

The President spent a while yesterday trying to persuade the American people that he needs a vaguely blanket authorization to blast ISIS. Apparently the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner, like former President George W. Bush, thinks that it would be nice to have an emperor’s authority to slash and burn at will.

 

Though I agree that discussing America’s love of waging perpetual war would be a good thing, the President’s lackadaisically thought out proposal only worsens our already too easy resort to killing people abroad.

 

 

The moral? — Too much testosterone, too little thinking brain

 

Bad outcomes — whether due to nastiness, greed, or sheer stupidity — all look and hurt the same. We have had 50 years worth. And we are still piling them up.

 

If this unrepentant trait does not qualify as national stupidity, recklessness, or simple malevolence — I have no idea what would.