Putin begins carving up Ukraine, like Hitler carved up Czechoslovakia

At a Jan. 20 news conference, President Joe Biden said:

“I think what you’re going to see is that Russia will be held accountable if it invades. And it depends on what it does. It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do.” [Emphasis added.]

Did that sound like an invitation for what happened last night? Last night, Russia moved its troops into two separatist territories in eastern Ukraine. From there, it is staged to dive farther into what is a sovereign nation. But possibly not right away.

Biden and the White House quickly walked back the “minor incursion” reference, and the president joined NATO this afternoon with the imposition of sanctions on Russian banks, oligarchs and other pressure points.

And Biden’s prediction about having a fight about what to do about an incursion or invasion (take your pick) has come true. Critics immediately said those sanctions were not enough to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin from further “incursions.” While Biden and NATO said they have more arrows in their quivers if Putin goes farther.

So, the world waits to find out if Putin will launch a full-scale invasion , executing what might be called an incremental invasion.

Just like Hitler took over  Czechoslovakia. In increments. You’d think we might have learned from so obvious a lesson. The historical film of Nazis marching into Czechoslovakia is deceptive in one regard: It didn’t happen all at once. Hitler carved up the country piece by piece until the take-over was fulfilled. How revealing that Hitler used the same rhetoric as Putin: Both take-overs were meant to “protect” Germans and Russians respectively in the targeted countries. And both Hitler and Putin claimed they had a right to gobble up each country because they were really a part of Germany and Russia.

One thing that’s now obvious is that the western, free and democratic nations waited too long to counter Russia’s act of war that came several years ago, not just last night.

The Oxford Reference defines an act of war as “An act by one nation intended to initiate or provoke a war with another nation; an act considered sufficient cause for war.” By that definition, Putin already had committed an act of war years ago by surrounding Ukraine on three sides. By that definition, the war already had started long ago.

What should we have done? I admit, I don’t know. Putin proved he is a madman by his rambling, goofy speech last night, so how can anyone be certain about what would have or will deter him?

Here’s what I fear. He’s crazy enough to ignore the damage done to his country by any sanctions, and press ahead with his campaign to restore the boundaries of the old Soviet Union. Or more, by trying to reclaim the “Eastern Bloc” nations (formerly called the “Captive Nations” during the height of the Cold War). Militarily.

Is it possible that actual military action against Russian forces will be the only way to deter him? Actual ground combat and cyber warfare? At the risk nuclear war? Just like during the Cold War? Introduce a new generation of younger Americans to the deep fear of nuclear annihilation experienced by the children of the ’50s and ’60s? Hiding under school desks? Go back to building (useless) bomb shelters in the back yard? The return of Dr. Stangelove?

What now?

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