Thanks for providing a month of reasoning and potential conclusions at one sitting. It is going to require much more consideration than just a read. OTOH, as a behavioral psychologist I find you have neglected to mention that there has been ongoing rewards for the Western participants and for their corrupt Proxy, at almost all levels. If…
Thanks for providing a month of reasoning and potential conclusions at one sitting. It is going to require much more consideration than just a read. OTOH, as a behavioral psychologist I find you have neglected to mention that there has been ongoing rewards for the Western participants and for their corrupt Proxy, at almost all levels. If for no other reason, continued funding *with the knowledge that it will probably not last lone, likely intensifies corruption, inside Ukraine and in the West.
A second quibble I have is with your Armistice hypothesis, especially in conjunction with the continued threats and sanctions on China. What incentive is there for the US to end their Proxy war against Ukraine? Does it gain anything? If it can posture to look macho in front of the Chinese *and impress the weak EU vassals), why would it stop doing that in its relations with Russia? Why not fund a Ukrainian Govt. (in exile if necessary), including freedom fighters (aka terrorists making it difficult in the lost territory... pet ISIS is available)? Certainly the UK, Poland and others would relish the opportunity to help, if Russia allowed them to get away with it without significant punishment.
I see lots of Western behavior that appears to have failed, yet the power elite doubles down. I do not see that as necessarily irrational or that they persist despite punishment, without considering that what normal people might consider a punishment, is not aversive enough to outweigh the motivation to achieve the goals the Deep State/MIC/Intel Establishment have.
We all know about the saying "Never let a crisis go to waste."
Those who consider themselves the 'Masters of the Universe' may believe they cannot lose: either they obviously win, or they have a new crisis to turn to their advantage.
The addict, deprived of the object of addiction, has increased motivation as a result of the deprivation.
Thanks for providing a month of reasoning and potential conclusions at one sitting. It is going to require much more consideration than just a read. OTOH, as a behavioral psychologist I find you have neglected to mention that there has been ongoing rewards for the Western participants and for their corrupt Proxy, at almost all levels. If for no other reason, continued funding *with the knowledge that it will probably not last lone, likely intensifies corruption, inside Ukraine and in the West.
A second quibble I have is with your Armistice hypothesis, especially in conjunction with the continued threats and sanctions on China. What incentive is there for the US to end their Proxy war against Ukraine? Does it gain anything? If it can posture to look macho in front of the Chinese *and impress the weak EU vassals), why would it stop doing that in its relations with Russia? Why not fund a Ukrainian Govt. (in exile if necessary), including freedom fighters (aka terrorists making it difficult in the lost territory... pet ISIS is available)? Certainly the UK, Poland and others would relish the opportunity to help, if Russia allowed them to get away with it without significant punishment.
I see lots of Western behavior that appears to have failed, yet the power elite doubles down. I do not see that as necessarily irrational or that they persist despite punishment, without considering that what normal people might consider a punishment, is not aversive enough to outweigh the motivation to achieve the goals the Deep State/MIC/Intel Establishment have.
We all know about the saying "Never let a crisis go to waste."
Those who consider themselves the 'Masters of the Universe' may believe they cannot lose: either they obviously win, or they have a new crisis to turn to their advantage.
The addict, deprived of the object of addiction, has increased motivation as a result of the deprivation.