by Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
PaulCraigRoberts.org
It is both a good thing and a bad thing that Putin got the point across to Washington that Russia will not permit NATO moving into Ukraine. It is good because a Russian foot finally came down. It is a bad thing if it convinces the Kremlin that, finally, Washington is listening.
Washington is not listening, and the Kremlin might again be lost in self-deception.
For Washington, it is more useful for Ukraine to be continually threatened by Russia than to be protected by NATO. If Ukraine is protected, the orchestrated “Russian threat” fades away. What other country can Russia be alleged to be preparing to attack?
Washington is happy to keep Ukraine out of NATO as this keeps the real problem festering. The West claims that the Russians who inhabit Eastern Ukraine in the breakaway republics are rebels whom the Ukrainian army is justified in putting down. The Kremlin apparently agrees as the Kremlin has refused to recognize the endangered republics. Thus, the war there will continue.