The Rude’s Guide to Russia/Ukraine

To understand what’s happening today, you must understand the Soviet Union breakup and its aftermath. Were you forwarded this email? [Sign-up to Rude Awakening here.]( [The Rude Awakening] September 19, 2022 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( The Rude’s Guide to Russia/Ukraine - Channel your inner Kipling: It’s time to keep our heads about us while everyone is losing theirs. - We’ll define a few simple agreements for a framework. - When your friends send their “thoughts and prayers,” you’ll know better. Recommended Link [Biden Just TORPEDOED the U.S. Dollar]( [Click here for more...]( This is the scenario we’ve been fearing… Instead of President Trump… We’ve got “Sleepy Joe” Biden behind the wheel. And now, a [sinister move that Biden just made]( could TORPEDO the U.S. dollar once and for all. In fact, thanks to this one move… Your dollars could be made worthless, or even CONFISCATED. Do NOT get caught off guard. Discover 4 EASY STEPS you can take to protect your wealth NOW. [Click Here Now]( Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Happy Monday! Hans-Hermann Hoppe gave one of his best speeches… and I’ll share it with you. But I can’t have it right now, as he wants to ensure it’s perfect for you. So I thought I’d do this: refresh you with all the history of this Ukraine mess. Once you’ve got that, then his speech will make much more sense to you. The hullabaloo in Ukraine is serious - and deserves serious discussion - but the pearl-clutching shock of even the “professional” class is getting up my nose. It displays not just an ignorance of history but an active avoidance of it. And once you understand the recent past, what’s happening now isn’t much of a stretch. Unpopular though that may be, it’s essential to grasp the facts to have constructive conversations about it. What I won’t go into is the history of Ukraine with respect to Russia. The subject is too big, and I’m not a specialist in it by any means. I don’t think it’d make much of a difference to my view anyway. Putin may think Ukraine is a part of Russia, but I think shared history doesn’t mean a shared state, government, or nation. And that applies to all people on the planet. Though I joke about having a revolution over a 2% stamp tax while now paying upwards of 40% of your money to The Swamp, I don’t think the US should be under the UK’s yoke. And I certainly don’t think the EU is one country, though are they using this crisis to pretend it is! With all that aside, let’s look at the facts. I happily invite you to look up any and all things I write. I’ve done everything I can to ensure you get accurate facts. But as The Great Communicator once said, “Trust, but verify.” Let’s get into it. The Wolfowitz Doctrine The Pentagon rewrote this disaster of a document to soften its insane imperial intonations. Heck, all that was missing was a bald villain in a Mao-collared shirt stroking a white cat. The [original part about Russia]( is this: Our first objective is to prevent the re-emergence of a new rival, either on the territory of the former Soviet Union or elsewhere, that poses a threat to the order of that posed formerly by the Soviet Union. This is a dominant consideration underlying the new regional defense strategy and requires that we endeavor to prevent any hostile power from dominating a region whose resources would, under consolidated control, be sufficient to generate global power. Notice how’s there nothing like, “How do we befriend a nation of immense human capital and natural resources?” “How do we integrate them into their rightful place in the West?” “How do we keep them away from entanglements that might harm us later?” Nothing of the sort. Just a staggeringly arrogant victory lap with no consideration for future relations. But it gets worse… The Budapest Memorandum This piece of paper, currently as valuable as a ruble, stated the United States, Russia, and Britain committed “to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine” and “to refrain from the threat or use of force” against the country. When the Soviet Union broke up, Ukraine was left with many nuclear weapons. A key priority of the Bush and Clinton administrations and the Russian government was getting Ukraine to give up its nukes. From the [Brookings Institution]( Before agreeing to give up this nuclear arsenal, Kyiv sought three assurances. First, it wanted compensation for the value of the highly-enriched uranium in the nuclear warheads, which could be blended down for use as fuel for nuclear reactors. Russia agreed to provide that. Second, eliminating ICBMs, ICBM silos, and bombers did not come cheaply. With its economy rapidly contracting, the Ukrainian government could not afford the costs. The United States agreed to cover those costs with Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction assistance. Third, Ukraine wanted guarantees or assurances of its security once it got rid of the nuclear arms. The Budapest Memorandum provided security assurances. The Ukrainians took this as “the all-powerful unipolar hegemon United States will take care of us, and Russia is washed up and will never recover anyway.” Of course, the Americans thought, “Well, if we don’t invade them, we’ve adhered to the letter of the agreement.” The Brookings report, written by Steven Pifer, says much: Washington did not promise unlimited support. The Budapest Memorandum contains security “assurances,” not “guarantees.” Guarantees would have implied a commitment of American military force, which NATO members have. U.S. officials made clear that was not on offer. Hence, assurances. If you ever wonder why North Korea, Pakistan, India, and Iran will never give up their nukes, look no further than this memo. 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[( But from the introduction of her book, some intelligent old Americans like George Kennan and James Baker knew that NATO expansion would end in tears. You can read about it [here](. Crimea 2014 To be fair, it started with Dubya. From under George W. Bush’s nose in 2008, “Pooty Poot” took the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. That let Putin know he could run wild. Then in 2014, former community organizer Barack Obama did nothing but impose sanctions - which we now know helped Russia become the world’s largest wheat exporter - when Russia took Crimea. Funnily enough, his “agent” and “bootlicker” Donald J. Trump, didn’t let him take anything. Some left-liberals surmise this because they were buddies. Those people are brain-damaged. Allegedly, Trump threatened Putin - to his face - that [he would bomb Moscow]( if Putin moved on Ukraine. It would explain quite a bit. The Minsk Conundrum The Minsk Agreements were two sets of points to bring peace between Ukraine and Russia. But they never worked because the two countries saw the agreements in entirely different lights, now called the [Minsk Conundrum]( Ukraine sees the 2015 agreement as an instrument to re-establish control over the rebel territories. It wants a ceasefire, control of the Russia-Ukraine border, elections in the Donbas, and a limited devolution of power to the separatists – in that order. Russia views the deal as obliging Ukraine to grant rebel authorities in Donbas comprehensive autonomy and representation in the central government, effectively giving Moscow the power to veto Kyiv’s foreign policy choices. Only then would Russia return the Russia-Ukraine border to Kyiv’s control. So they were doomed to failure from the start. Wrap Up In this Rude, I’ve endeavored to give you the necessary framework to engage anyone on this subject. Once you understand the realpolitik behind the fake news, thoughts and prayers, and outright lies, it’s easy to see how this was inevitable. This piece doesn’t support Putin or condone warfare. It’s to be better informed and to view what the lamestream media says with suspicion and skepticism. Those brave Ukrainians fighting right now are in the middle of a storm over 30 years in the making. I pray for a swift end to the bloodshed, but we know what prayers are worth. Until tomorrow. All the best, Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening P.S. I feel like it is my duty to warn you about what’s happening… An “[Economic Angel of Death]( is set to be activated in America. The ones who see this coming have the chance for massive profits… The ones who don’t could be facing a lifetime of financial ruin… You don’t want to be one of the victims caught in the coming storm. 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