— Feature, Musings —02.17.2024 01:20 PM
My latest: the four horsemen ride again
The horsemen of the apocalypse: everyone has their own.
In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, there are four. The horsemen aren’t explicitly named, but they are believed to be Death, Famine, War and Conquest – usually the Anti-Christ. It varies.
In Anno Domini 2024, this writer’s are as follows: the fall of Ukraine, the collapse of support for the Jewish state, the rise of fascism, and the re-election of Donald Trump. And, for the purposes of this opinion column, all are connected. As in the Scriptures, so too in 2024: these Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride together.
Trump first, because he is the “horseman” who represents a real and present danger. His recent call for Russia to militarily attack any nation which has fallen short on its NATO contribution – which would include Canada, including in the Harper years – is madness. As this newspaper has editorialized, what Trump said is “irrational and dangerous.” He is a bully, as the paper declared, and his statement is “reprehensible.”
The fall of Ukraine is the next horseman, because that prophecy is edging nearer, too.
Vladimir Putin’s Satanic siege of Ukraine started two years ago next week. Many expected Ukraine to be defeated in the first weekend. Because of the extraordinary valor and military acumen of the Ukrainian people, it did not – to Putin’s surprise. So, his Nazi-like blitzkrieg having failed, the Russian potentate settled upon another strategy: biding his time, and letting Donald Trump and the MAGA Republican Party do his bidding.
Time is Ukraine’s enemy. Russia has always had more armaments and soldiers, and more resources. So Putin elected to wait, and grind down Ukraine’s defences.
He has been greatly assisted in this strategy by Trump and the MAGA cult. By refusing multiple attempts to provide military aid to Ukraine, House Republicans are essentially acting as Putin’s water boys. As Republican stalwart George F. Will put it in the Washington Post:
“Substantial numbers of insubstantial congressional Republicans are contemplating an ignoble act whose imprudence exceeds even its pettiness. These Republicans could, by denying Ukraine the material means of resistance, hand Russian President Vladimir Putin a victory that might be just the beginning of Putin’s war for the restoration of ‘Greater Russia’.”
Ukraine is not some faraway outpost in the former Soviet Union. It is a central part of Europe. If Trump and his Republicans permit Ukraine to be defeated, as Will and many others attest, other Soviet bloc European nations will follow.
That’s just Trump, some might say: in Canada, Conservatives support Ukraine. But do they? The Tories have now voted twice against a trade deal sought by Ukraine. And, a February poll by the Angus Reid Institute found that – like the GOP – nearly half of their partisans say Canada is “doing too much” to support Ukraine. The isolationism of conservatives is an ominous trend.
In the case of Israel, the circumstances are different from Ukraine. Israel, the only democracy in a sea of Middle Eastern despotism, seems to be winning its just and proper war against Hamas. And, in the main, Canadian Conservatives (but not as many American conservatives) are offering the Jewish state unequivocal support – with the Liberals waffling, and the New Democrats beyond redemption.
But Hamas is not Israel’s only enemy. There are legions of others who will take the place of Hamas – Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Quds Force, Islamic Jihad, and (of course) Syria and Iran.
Israel has always had those enemies, one might say, and one would be right. But there is a new adversary, one that is arguably more lethal than all the others: the shocking and global rise of fascistic anti-Semitism. Jew hatred is everywhere, these days – seen in trade unions, academia, classrooms, pulpits, legislatures and in the streets.
This new anti-Semitism is organized and well-funded – and brazen. After the horrors of October 7, it was reasonable to expect that the world would sympathize with the victim. But the reverse has happened. The beast of fascistic Jew hatred is surging globally, in every democracy. And that, more than Hezbollah or the Houthis or the others, represents a greater long-term threat to Israel.
Trump, as with Ukraine, has again been a destructive force. Just days after the horrors of October 7 became known, Trump called Hezbollah “very smart” and kicked Israel when it was down, saying it “was not prepared.” His Republicans, meanwhile, are in disarray and last week failed to pass a support package for Israel, despite having the majority in the House of Representatives.
The rise of Trump and anti-Semitism, the fall in support of Ukraine and the Jewish state: all represent profound threats to democracy and decency. And these four horsemen are no mere Biblical myth.
They are real.
Conservative support for Russia runs deep on both sides of the border. Elites in the conservative party may say one thing (in Canada), but their base has a different view. The rise of Fascism, antivaxxers, Siding with Russia and that fool Putin says all you have to know about this crowd – they’re morons
Perhaps you could provide an example of how Conservatives here in Canada support Putin?
EHWAL,
Curious is smart enough to stretch the Bandaid. He sees that 40%+ of CPC supporters favour less aid to Ukraine and therefore deduces that we automatically support Putin. A bit of a leap without any actual evidence that any Conservative is publicly or privately supporting Putin, the Russian Demon Seed.
Curious, nice try though! Better luck next time.
Sad to say, you see it online.
I saw all this coming years ago, not all the details, but the general trend towards fascism – what a fucking disgrace
Is someone who admires ‘basic dictatorships’ a fascist?
How about theocracies?
Two mistakes I can mention are that Putin underestimated Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, and the west underestimated Putin’s ability to stay in power. Bill Clinton should have never convinced Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons. That was another big mistake.
Gilbert,
Who controls at least one nuclear reactor? The Russians. Ditto if Ukraine still had the so-called loose nukes. Russian commandos likely would have made short work of those missile sites by seizing them.
It’s the natural result of nearly 2 decades of many (if not most) Western democracies’ political parties basing their platforms not on any kind of positive vision for the future, but on what people ought to hate or fear. The moderate-to-far right would have Ukrainians eradicated. The moderate-to far left is encroaching on 1920s German rhetoric on Jews.
There isn’t a happy ending to this for anyone, save soulless monsters like Putin. The whole species has gotten too complacent and stupid.
Has Justin Trudeau really supported Ukraine?
Yes, he’s made lots and lots of press releases, but what military aid has he actually sent? When you dig into the fine print of his promises, much of the aid is in the future. And many announcements are just repeats of earlier promises.
But okay, focus on a trade deal with climate change provisions. What good is that to Ukraine? They’re fighting for their lives, and we want to put climate change in a trade deal.
I get that people don’t like Trump. But he has a point. Why should America support countries that don’t meet their NATO commitments?
Trudeau has agreed to the NATO 2% benchmark, but talk is cheap. He has no plan to get there. All talk no action.
In fact there are news stories that Trudeau wants to cut 1 billion from defence spending.
If Canada and other NATO countries had met the 2% spending on defence, do you think Ukraine would be running out of ammunition? We’d actually have meaningful support to give.
If Canada and other NATO countries had met the 2% defence spending target, would Putin have invaded Ukraine? By cutting defence spending have we actually invited Putin to attack?
Why should the US defend other countries who won’t meet their defence commitments?
Ukraine already had a carbon tax – they’re bemused by the conservatives position
Said no one on the front lines over there ever-I would be more bemused by the fact that we haven’t sent those 83,303 CRV7 rockets they are asking for.
Well said, Peter.
Peter,
Sorry Peter with respect, but No. The Demon Seed has no point. NATO is a force for good whether it fully ponies up or not. Putin is just another demon seed who is ultimately intent on reconstituting the Soviet Union and controlling all of Europe. So, when Zelenskyy says Putin has The Baltics and Poland in his sights, believe him. WWIII likely will be the final inevitable battle between good and evil. If Trump gets in again, not only will we lose the concept of democracy worldwide, but the United States will be destroyed as a superpower if Trump gets his authoritarian way. Trump is the lowest of the low on his best day, and may he burn in hell the day he dies from natural causes. Period.
Ronald
I understand you don’t like Trump.
My question is simple; why should the US defend countries who don’t meet their defence commitments?
Peter,
The answer is that every inch of NATO territory must be defended, and so must Ukraine. This is a direct battle between good and evil. Those who concentrate on the 2% can’t see the forest for the trees. That ISSUE is secondary in nature. It’s up to NATO to agree to charge interest on all member states who quite deliberately do not pay their dues in full. Simple as that, but that issue should have nothing whatsoever to do with NATO’s mission: collective security of all member-states. Ukraine needs to be admitted yesterday. It’s the only way to positively guarantee Ukraine’s continued independence.
Ronald
The Europeans and Canada should meet their defence commitments. They shouldn’t rely on Uncle Sam.
Why?
a) The US has a habit of showing up late to wars, or leaving before the job was done. Here I’m talking politically.
b) Sooner or later the US will run out of ammunition, then what? Coulda, shoulda, wish we had spent more won’t help much at that point.
Peter,
I agree that 2% should be mandatory and should have been ages ago. So, hit delinquent members with financial consequences for not fully paying up but keep that totally separate from fully funding Ukraine in this war.
Well said, Ronald.
Curious
Rant away about Trump.
Simple question to you also. Why should the US defend countries who aren’t willing to pay for their own defence?
Peter,
A guy like Trump who is firmly ensconced in Putin’s pocket tells you all you need to know about this asshole. Right now, he’s just south of the line for being labelled a textbook traitor to his own country. Give Trump more time, and let’s bet on whether he crosses that line.
That’s phrasing the question in a very reductive way.
I can play the same game: why should NATO countries, including the US, refuse to honour Article 5?
See how that works?
Doctor
Respectfully, you didn’t answer the question either. Why should the US defend countries who aren’t willing to pay for their own defence?
But, I’ll play your game. Would you be happy with Canada and European countries completely gutting their defence budgets; taking them down to zero? If attacked, they could then invoke Article 5, and hope the US would come running to their aid.
Let’s look at Article 5. From the NATO website
“Article 5 provides that if a NATO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked.”
Note the last sentence above.
“At the drafting of Article 5 in the late 1940s, there was consensus on the principle of mutual assistance, but fundamental disagreement on the modalities of implementing this commitment. The European participants wanted to ensure that the United States would automatically come to their assistance should one of the signatories come under attack; the United States did not want to make such a pledge and obtained that this be reflected in the wording of Article 5.”
Article 5 does not require the US to provide military aid.
My original question stands.
Joe,
Let’s get down to brass tacks: you’re president of the United States and demon seed Putin chooses to roll right through the Baltics. What do you do? Obviously, not sit in the White House smiling looking for something else to talk about. If Putin rolls through a NATO member, it’s off to the races militarily for the entire alliance. There simply is no other practical alternative if our territory is attacked. Paid up, or not fully paid up.
Joe, I believe that NATO countries should adequately fund their own defence. There was a good discussion of this today in the NYT The Daily podcast.
Unfortunately in partisan politics a lot of nuance and reasonableness flies out the window during discussion of an issue like this.
But this Trumpist mafia extortion racket talk is just idiotic, and undermines NATO. That’s the bottom line for me. Sometimes there’s a valid point, many layers behind Trump’s idiotic rhetoric. As the NYT Daily podcast noted today, as far back as Harry Truman US Presidents have complained about NATO members not funding enough to the US’s liking. But there are civilized and sane ways to deal with that issue. NATO has been a roaring success.
Trump, as usual, is being a totally idiotic nihilist and threatening to burn the entire house down, while his drooling epsilon supporters cheer him on, to the delight of Putin.
Doctor said “there are civilized and sane ways to deal with that issue.” referring to countries not spending 2% on defense.
I’m interested in knowing what you think those ways are.
Possibilities: good old fashioned diplomacy? Arm-twisting behind the scenes? Horse-trading? Negotiation?
Anything but publicly discrediting and damaging the alliance to Putin’s delight.
Doctor
“Possibilities: good old fashioned diplomacy? Arm-twisting behind the scenes? Horse-trading? Negotiation?”
Those options seemed to have worked really well for the last, what, 50 years?
“Anything but publicly discrediting and damaging the alliance to Putin’s delight.”
Consider that the lack of defence spending has damaged the Alliance such that Putin felt free to attack Ukraine
Peter wrote in another set of posts: “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has told NATO officials privately that Canada will at no time meet the military alliance’s defence spending target.”
Negotiation and arm twisting hasn’t worked for Justin. He’ll just ignore it.
Does anyone think Putin doesn’t know Justin’s position? And I’ll bet Putin is delighted with Justin’s position.
Russia has won.
All that remains is whether the West will be foolish enough to send troops into the Ukraine.
It better not.
There’s 300,000 Russian reserves, on standby.
This was supposed to be the war that brought catastrophic consequences for Russia, and maybe even topple Putin.
Instead, Putin’s grip is stronger.
The Russian economy is mightier than it was two years ago.
Its export markets have been replaced, and revenue has increased.
And its ability to swiftly manufacture rockets, drones and missiles has been the turning point in this now lopsided conflict.
The neo-cons thought Russia was vulnerable.
And so the West poured hundreds of billions of dollars into a proxy war that has harmed Western economies.
Who got rich?
The war merchants: who else?
Great idea, have the Ukraine, join NATO.
Yup: Russia wouldn’t mind because its weak.
It’s a push over.
The assumption: Russia would standby and allow missiles to be installed on Ukraine soil.
Well, guess what: fast forward to 2024 and Russia could now march all the way to the Polish border if it wanted to.
Might be a good time to explore peace plan options except … right now … Russia holds all the cards.
And it’s smiling.
Douglas, I agree with your sentiments. Both of these current world conflicts could stop today. In Gaza, all Hamas has to do is return the hostages and surrender. In Ukraine, all that needs to happen is for someone to make a peace offering. There was already a deal made two years ago, but thanks to Boris Johnson, one suspects at the behest of the USA, the deal was scuttled. Tens of thousands of lives later, and the needle hasn’t moved. The west continuing to pour money and weapons into Ukraine, is only going to increase the number of dead humans on both sides of the conflict, and eventually we will end up with an agreement anyway. Isn’t it better to make a peace deal now and spend any western money rebuilding Ukraine? If the west turns off the money tap, the war is over.
Bill, bingo: the Minsk agreements, the latter torpedoed by Boris even though Germany, France and Russia had already signed on.
As for money to the Ukraine, absolutely, as long as the financial aid is going to the Ukrainian people.
Never hear about aid going to the Ukrainian people.
Is any of the aid going to the people?
If so, what percentage?
Only hear about financial aid, going to buy missiles, rockets, and drones.
This war will end when … the West runs out of money and its economy is permanently in the dumpster.
Might happen sooner than we think.
That is highly misleading. Funny you guys don’t mention the Budapest Memorandum. Why is that?
Doc,
[Smiling broadly.]
Bill,
Yeah, the war is over and then Putin can and will invade someone else.
Ronald,
Putin understands that war can drain a country’s treasury.
Look what it’s doing to the U.S.
Douglas,
Putin is a sociopath. His word and deeds can never, ever, be trusted.
He has said publicly that he will reconstitute the Soviet Union…good enough for me.
No wonder that NATO foreign ministers see war coming.
The war is not draining the US treasury. That is utter, easily refutable nonsense. All figures show that it’s costing a tiny fraction of the US budget and defence budget.
Doc,
As of December 2023 – Council on Foreign Relations:
https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-aid-has-us-sent-ukraine-here-are-six-charts
Why would you believe that Putin would honor a peace agreement?
Exactly. Like trusting Hitler after Munich.
Douglas
For the record. Putin is already on Poland’s border.
Missiles on Russia’s border? Look at a map. They’re already there.
Nice try.
Douglas
Fact check: there are already missiles on Russia’s borders.
I find that Putin apologists don’t really care for facts.
Umm, NATO has expanded since Putin invaded Ukraine. Hadn’t you noticed?
Doc,
That wonder of a democrat, Orbán supposedly will finally approve Sweden’s bid next Monday. (Don’t hold your breath.)
Warren,
As for my party, we need to repudiate all those in our ranks who don’t solidly stand with Ukraine, democracy, freedom and human rights.
This total bullshit about a carbon tax in Ukraine is pure idiocy. We had no business pushing that crap. Pierre better wake up fast before this becomes the tip of the iceberg and leads to a consistent dip in our polling. You’re either 100% with Ukraine and the forces of good, or you’re not. Pierre needs to get that fucking straight right here and now!
Warren,
As for Israel, they’re far from perfect these days, but they are the only defender of democracy in the Middle East and as such, deserve our unreserved support. But for the Hamas terrorist attacks, the IDF would be nowhere near Gaza. Hamas knew a retaliatory strike would come with all the force Israel could muster, and they didn’t give a shit about that. They went ahead anyway, and now innocent Gazans are paying the price for Hamas’ actions.
Well, at least Trump has a line of shoes now.
For some reason. 🙁
Warren,
Thank God, the Danes and the Dutch will deliver the F16s this spring. It’s about time. Hopefully, Ukraine can hold out until then.
As for Biden, do whatever you have to do to get aid to Ukraine, even if you end up impeached. Get the aid there, either by hook or crook, if necessary. Nothing in your presidency is more important than that. The fate of the free world rests quite literally with your decisions.
Douglas,
Devils incarnate are never easily defeated whether their name happens to be Hitler, Stalin or Putin. Bear that in mind.
You have it backwards: if you wanted an end to this war, you needed to fully embrace the concept of democratic collective security. Ukraine is losing because of all of us. Had we fast-tracked NATO membership for Ukraine, Putin would have had no choice but to retreat and negotiate for peace. Our refusal to do so only emboldened him first to invade and then to keep fighting. We already knew who Putin was right after Georgia but we remained collective cowards, just like Trump.
Russia is already incapable of decisively winning in Ukraine unless we abandon them. If Putin wants war with NATO then we bloody well better give it to him. Russia is no match for NATO as Putin will find out. Hitler failed and so will Putin. Force must be met by force. Evil can never be allowed to win this war.
Ronald,
General Dynamics, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin all agree with you.
Douglas,
Of course, they do. And they’re right. But for the know-how of the American defence industry, we would already be in WWIII, thanks to the devil’s Russian agent. Simple as that.
Even Chamberlain got that:
“His [Hitler’s] action shows convincingly that there is
no chance of expecting that this man will ever give up his practice of using force to gain his will. He can only be stopped by force.
Now may God bless you all. May He defend the right. It is the evil things that we shall be fighting against – brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression and
persecution – and against them, I am certain that the right will prevail.”
Oh God, that’s such a standard Kremlin apologist trope. Utterly ignores the fact that there is a Russian Military-Industrial Complex too.
And it slides into some ridiculous conspiratorial territory in which evil US defence contractors somehow sent Jedi Mind Waves to convince Putin to invade Ukraine. It’s daft.
Doctor
Totally agree. There is a Russia Military Industrial Complex. Funny no one ever mentions it.
Warren,
I want to apologize. My very first comment should have been to say thanks to you for this post. May God bless and keep you.
One year later, after several Team Trudeau announcements done with great fanfare, including one where Minister Anita Anand said they were “en route”, Canada (Trudeau) hasn’t delivered.
In fact they still haven’t signed the contract. “Nearly a year later, one of the two companies involved in building the NASAM system says it does not have a contract for the Canadian donation.”
https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7078835
What’s the hold up?
Peter,
This government’s only visible talent: outstanding incompetence.
I think they’re very good at spinning off money to friends and relatives.
Peter,
I don’t like that but I don’t bring it up much since all governments pig out at the trough. Have to admit though that Trudeau has Harper beaten by a landslide of unethical pork. (Memo to self: remind Acting Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to get a brain transplant.)