Opinion: Are we sleepwalking to WWIII?

In February 2023, at the first anniversary of the Ukraine war, Gen. Mark Milley told a news conference, “Russia is now a global pariah and the world remains inspired by Ukrainian bravery and resilience. In short, Russia has lost — they’ve lost strategically, operationally, and tactically.”

That sentiment has been repeated ad infinitum by Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin.

At the second anniversary, during a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Austin said, “If Ukraine loses, Putin will not stop, he will continue to attack and seize the sovereign territory of his neighbors.

“And if you’re a Baltic country, you’re very worried about being next. And that’s why they know Putin, they know what he’s capable of. And frankly, if Ukraine loses, I really believe that NATO will go to war with Russia.”

What a difference a year makes, although one can’t be sure if Austin really believes that or if it’s a tactic to scare House Republicans into voting for $60 billion in aid to Ukraine.

What one can be sure of is that Europe is in a panic and it appears Russia may be winning the war.

Avdeevka has fallen to the Russians who continue to advance along the entire 600-mile front. French President Emmanuel Macron has floated the idea that Europe should authorize troops on the ground in Ukraine.

When Macron speaks of sending reinforcements to Ukraine, media point out that Ukraine’s western allies already have a presence in Ukraine. The New York Times’ lengthy story about the CIA bases that have been in Ukraine for years and the German chancellor’s recent disclosure that British soldiers are helping fire Ukrainian missiles confirm this.

French newspaper Le Monde speculates that the Macron ploy may be to send a contingent of special forces to Ukraine far from the front lines in a support mission that could create a “strategic dilemma” for the Russians. The dilemma being that if Russia inadvertently killed French soldiers, it could drag NATO into the conflict.

They need to be reminded that Russia took out an encampment of volunteers near the Polish border early in the war.

The Ukraine war is at its most dangerous time now. Once panic sets in, rationality flees.

When Austin says he believes NATO will go to war with Russia, he means a coalition of the willing. When Europeans say NATO should go to war with Russia, they mean the USA.

Rube Render is a former Clovis city commissioner and former chair of the Curry County Republican Party. Contact him:

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