OUTRAGE AND ANGER SHOULD BE THE
UNIVERSAL REACTION TO VLADIMIR
PUTIN'S WAR IN UKRAINE.
AND THERE IS WIDESPREAD HATRED
FOR VLADIMIR PUTIN NOW.
AS DESCRIBED IN TODAY'S NEW
YORK TIMES, WITH THE HEADLINE
HEAT FOR PUTIN'S RUSSIA
CONSUMES UKRAINE.
BUT OUTRAGE AND ANGER ON HATE
ARE NEVER GOOD GUIDES FOR
STRATEGIC THINKING.
SOME OF THE PROPERLY OUTRAGED
AND ANGRY OPPONENTS OF PUTIN'S
WARS HAVE URGED THE UNITED
STATES TO URGE A NO FLY ZONE
OVER UKRAINE.
A NO-FLY ZONE IS AN IMAGINARY
CONDITION.
IN WHICH THE UNITED STATES
WOULD BE ABLE TO PREVENT
ANYTHING RUSSIAN FROM ENTERING
THE AIRSPACE OF UKRAINE.
ANY RUSSIAN PLANE, ANY RUSSIAN
MISSILE, TO DO THAT THE UNITED
STATES WOULD HAVE TO SHOOT DOWN
RUSSIAN PLANES.
AND SOMEHOW INTERCEPT RUSSIAN
MISSILES IN FLIGHT.
THE ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF
WHAT PEOPLE MEAN BY A NO-FLY
ZONE IS ACTUALLY AN AERIAL
COMBAT ZONE.
BUT AERIAL COMBAT ZONE SOUNDS
LIKE A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE GET
KILLED, INCLUDING AMERICAN
PILOTS.
AND SO THE IMAGINARY TERM
NO-FLY ZONE IS USED INSTEAD.
NO-FLY ZONE HAS NEVER BEEN
IMPOSED ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD
IN THE MIDDLE OF A HOT WAR,
WITH A NUCLEAR ARMED MILITARY
SUPERPOWER LIKE RUSSIA.
THE GERMANS BOMBED LONDON FOR
OVER ONE YEAR BEFORE THE UNITED
STATES EVEN ENTERED WORLD WAR
II.
AND THE ONLY WAY WE ESTABLISHED
A NO FLY ZONE ANYWHERE IN
EUROPE AND WORLD WAR II WAS BY
DEFEATING THE GERMAN ARMY.
WHICH WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE AT
THE TIME WITHOUT THE HELP OF
THE RUSSIAN ARMY WHICH SUFFERED
MORE LOSSES IN WORLD WAR II
THAN ANY OTHER ARMY.
SO IN THE OVAL OFFICE, IN THE
SITUATION ROOM, WHEN PRESIDENT
BIDEN IS PRESENTED WITH THE
CHOICE OF WATCHING THE RUSSIANS
ATTACK UKRAINE FROM THE AIR.
WHERE THEY ARE MEETING SOME
RESISTANCE NOW FROM UKRAINIAN
PILOTS, AND JAVELIN MISSILES.
OR TRYING TO ESTABLISH A NO FLY
ZONE OVER UKRAINE, EVERYONE IN
THE ROOM KNOWS THAT AMERICAN
PILOTS SHOOTING DOWN RUSSIAN
PILOTS AND RUSSIAN PILOTS
SHOOTING DOWN AMERICAN PILOTS.
THEY JUST DON'T KNOW EXACTLY
HOW MANY PILOTS FROM EACH
COUNTRY WILL BE KILLED.
AND HOW QUICKLY THEY WILL BE
KILLED.
AND EVERYONE IN THE WHITE HOUSE
DISCUSSING THIS KNOWS THAT
WOULD CHANGE THE WAR BETWEEN
RUSSIA AND UKRAINE, INTO A WAR
BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE UNITED
STATES.
AND THEN NO ONE KNOWS WHAT
HAPPENS AFTER THAT.
BUT THEY ALL DO KNOW THAT
VLADIMIR PUTIN IS PROVING
HIMSELF TO BE THE SINGLE MOST
UNSTABLE RUSSIAN COMMANDER OF
NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN HISTORY.
THE ONE THING THAT NO ONE RUNS
INTO THE OVAL OFFICE SAYING IS
WE'VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING.
THAT KIND OF STRATEGIC THINKING
WORKS ON TWITTER BUT IT DOESN'T
WORK AND SHOULD NOT WORK IN A
ROOM WHERE PRESIDENTIAL
DECISIONS ARE MADE.
AND IN A WORLD OF BAD CHOICES,
SOMETIMES DOING NOTHING IS YOUR
LEAST BAD CHOICE.
EVERYONE IN THE BIDEN
ADMINISTRATION WOULD NO DOUBT
WANT TO SEND AMERICAN PIRATE
LETS INTO BATTLE OVER UKRAINE
WITH RUSSIAN PILOTS.
IF THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD WORK
IF THEY THOUGHT AMERICAN PILOTS
COULD SHOOT DOWN RUSSIAN PILOTS
AND THEY WOULD HAVE THE
IMAGINARY NO FLY ZONE OVER
UKRAINE.
AND THE RUSSIANS WOULD NO
LONGER BE KILLING PEOPLE FROM
THE AIR.
IF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES AND LEADER OF NATO
COUNTRIES BELIEVE THAT THAT
WOULD WORK.
THEY WOULD ALL BE INSTANTLY IN
FAVOR OF DOING IT.
AND I'M SURE THEY ALL WISH IT
WOULD WORK, BECAUSE THEN THEY
TOO COULD INDULGE THAT URGE TO
JUST DO SOMETHING.
TO GOVERN IS TO CHOOSE, OUT OF
THE CHOICES ARE NEVER EASY.
YESTERDAY, SECRETARY OF STATE
ANTONY BLINKEN DESCRIBED THE
CHOICE PRESIDENT BIDEN HAS
MADE.
>> THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN CLEAR
ABOUT ONE THING ALL ALONG AS
WELL.
WHICH IS WE ARE NOT GOING TO
PUT THE UNITED STATES IN DIRECT
CONFLICT WITH RUSSIA, NOT HAVE
AMERICAN PLANES FLYING AGAINST
RUSSIAN PLANES.
OR OUR SOLDIERS ON THE GROUND
IN UKRAINE.
BECAUSE FOR EVERYTHING WE ARE
DOING FOR UKRAINE, THE
PRESIDENT ALSO HAS A
RESPONSIBILITY TO NOT GET US
INTO A DIRECT CONFLICT, A
DIRECT WAR WITH RUSSIA.
A NUCLEAR POWER, AND RISK A WAR
THAT EXPANDS EVEN BEYOND
UKRAINE TO EUROPE.
THAT'S CLEARLY NOT OUR INTEREST,