When the Russians invaded Ukraine in February 2022, President Joe Biden offered to fly President Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of the country to a safe haven. When Zelenskyy replied, “I need ammunition, not a ride,” he instantly became the hero of the West, fighting for freedom and democracy against the despotism of Russia’s Vladimir Putin. It was a classic confrontation of David against Goliath, good against evil. The West is rooting for him and giving him all the ammunition and assistance they can muster, but they are not willing to fight the Russians directly—that would invite a nuclear catastrophe. What should Zelenskyy do? He decides to discuss the matter with the realist voice in his head that he has been ignoring.
VOICE: Zelenskyy, you are a fool. These Western nations that cheer you on are not your friends. They are the cause of your troubles. You have been duped by the alluring fantasy of the West—a fantasy that has gained more traction since the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union. The ideology of the West is unrealistic, destructive, and self-serving. They have a fairy-tale view of history as the struggle of good against evil, where the good ultimately triumphs. They believe that their exceptional nation plays a decisive role in the historical drama as the instrument of the divine. Do not be fooled by this propaganda. It is a disguised form of imperialism. To their credit, the Neo-Reaganite political operatives, such as Irving Kristol and Robert Kagan, are candid: the purpose of American foreign policy is to create a global empire that allows the United States to do business in every corner of the globe—with impunity. Supposedly, this will not require subduing all nations by force; it suffices that all nations are wedded to a capitalist, liberal, democratic model of government. Their liberal counterparts agree; democracy is a magic elixir that transforms countries and makes them renounce war in favor of commerce, peace, and prosperity. The idea is inspired by a flawed reading of Immanuel Kant’s essay “Perpetual Peace.” The Americans call it the “democratic peace theory.” So, they go around toppling dictators and installing democratic regimes. Unfortunately, democracy does not readily yield either liberty or capitalism. In targeted countries, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, the result has been civil wars, chaos, carnage, and destruction.
Political turmoil is no obstacle to capitalist enterprise, but socialism is another matter. This explains why Americans have gone to great lengths to oust Nicolás Maduro, the democratically elected socialist leader of Venezuela. John Bolton and Mike Pompeo gave Maduro an ultimatum: either you retire on a beach in Latin America or you retire on Guantanamo beach. They imposed crippling sanctions, supported the opposition, and tried to stage a coup.
Something similar has happened in Ukraine. Americans funded those fighting for democracy and encouraged the “orange revolution” that led to democratic elections. However, when Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russia candidate, was elected in 2010, Americans backed the opposition, and Yanukovych was ousted in an American-supported coup in 2014. If it can happen in Ukraine, it can happen in Russia. This is why Ukraine is a threat to Russia. Zelenskyy, end your alliance with the West, and salvage what is left of your country!
ZELENSKYY: You want me to surrender to Putin?
VOICE: No. I want you to declare loudly that you are no longer interested in being part of the European Union or part of NATO. You should have done that before Putin turned your cities into rubble. Of course, the “leader of the free world” did not help matters by insisting that Ukraine is a sovereign country and should be free to join NATO. Do you think Biden would let any country in the Western Hemisphere ally itself with a great power of its choosing and allow it to build military bases, as you have done? Don’t you remember what happened to Castro?
ZELENSKYY: If NATO had not dithered about admitting Ukraine, there would be no war. We would be under NATO’s nuclear umbrella.
VOICE: NATO was dithering for good reason. Some members knew that Ukraine in NATO would be the supreme provocation for Russia. You could have saved yourself a lot of heartache if you had listened to John J. Mearsheimer, an American realist who sounded the alarm about the war in Foreign Affairs (September/October 2014). He warned that European Union and NATO expansion eastward are serious threats to Russia. The matter reached a boiling point in April 2008 after NATO’s Bucharest Summit, when it announced it would incorporate Ukraine and Georgia into the military alliance. Russia invaded Georgia a few months later and took Crimea in 2014. Did you think it was going to spare the rest of Ukraine? History tells us that the great powers, and that includes the United States, will always do what is in their interest. Zelenskyy, come to your senses and learn to live with Russia. Instead, you are doubling down. You revoked minority language rights, and you outlawed pro-Russia political parties.
ZELENSKYY: I cannot bear to live under Putin’s dictatorship. I want to have a modern, free, democratic country like the rest of Europe.
VOICE: You can have a modern, free, democratic country that is neutral and not allied with the West, like Finland.
ZELENSKYY: Putin is a tyrant; he wants to recreate the Soviet Union.
THE VOICE: He’s vile, but he is not crazy. He cannot conquer Ukraine; he can only wreck it. He is terrified of a colored revolution in Russia, akin to those in Eastern Europe. Putin thought that Hilary Clinton would incite such a revolution if she became president that he decided to hoist the Americans with their own petard: he interfered in the election of 2016 and supported a divisive pro-Russia candidate. Now, one of the two major political parties in the United States is a pro-Russia party, aspiring to an alliance with Russia against Western decadence. Putin’s Russia is their model for the United States: an authoritarian Christian nation with no gay parades, gay marriages, or transgender people. Ask yourself, Zelenskyy: What would become of Ukraine when that party comes to power?