The US is heavily politically and to some extent militarily invested in two wars with far-reaching effects, both actually and potentially. The more immediate risk of a expanding war at the moment is in the Middle East, where Iran sees its own interest as supporting the Palestinian resistance in the occupied territories.
As always with Mearsheimer, if you aren't irritated by something he says, you aren't paying attention. Like: “The situation with Ukraine and Russia is going to get worse with time, for us [the US], and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the problems in the Middle East are going to get worse, as well. Darkness ahead in both regions.“
Personally I find Mearsheimer's realist analysis always worth considering - especially from a "big picture" standpoint - though in my mind it has a certain pre-determination to it. I've heard him admit to the paradigm's limitations but then he inevitably relies on it, at the exclusion of other forms of enquiry specific to the geopolitical situation being analyzed. I suppose this can be irritating. Is that what you mean, or something else?
Wayne, I basically mean the same thing you described. Mearsheimer is very well informed and focuses on key concerns. He also likes to be a bit provocative. So he constantly forces his listeners to grapple with the topic in a way they might not have thought about before. As in, "No, that doesn't sound quite right ... but maybe he has a point there."
Good question! I think some of it is probably a terror tactic. Part of it is probably worries about not having a big enough birth rate in Russia, so you bring in Ukrainian children, raise them as Russians, and hope they grow and marry Russians and have more Russian babies. And some of it could be parents in western Ukraine sending their kids into Russia as refugees, which wouldn't exactly be kidnapping unless the Russia government refused to let the parents know where the kids are.
I'm curious, Bruce, what you mean by:
As always with Mearsheimer, if you aren't irritated by something he says, you aren't paying attention. Like: “The situation with Ukraine and Russia is going to get worse with time, for us [the US], and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the problems in the Middle East are going to get worse, as well. Darkness ahead in both regions.“
Personally I find Mearsheimer's realist analysis always worth considering - especially from a "big picture" standpoint - though in my mind it has a certain pre-determination to it. I've heard him admit to the paradigm's limitations but then he inevitably relies on it, at the exclusion of other forms of enquiry specific to the geopolitical situation being analyzed. I suppose this can be irritating. Is that what you mean, or something else?
Wayne, I basically mean the same thing you described. Mearsheimer is very well informed and focuses on key concerns. He also likes to be a bit provocative. So he constantly forces his listeners to grapple with the topic in a way they might not have thought about before. As in, "No, that doesn't sound quite right ... but maybe he has a point there."
I suppose every reader knows it’s eastern. (Industrial)
I’m puzzled, why did Russia kidnap kids? Not for ransom, as did Hamas?
Good question! I think some of it is probably a terror tactic. Part of it is probably worries about not having a big enough birth rate in Russia, so you bring in Ukrainian children, raise them as Russians, and hope they grow and marry Russians and have more Russian babies. And some of it could be parents in western Ukraine sending their kids into Russia as refugees, which wouldn't exactly be kidnapping unless the Russia government refused to let the parents know where the kids are.