As Putin Passes...

“We cannot negotiate with those who say, ‘What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is negotiable.’”                                                                                                                            John F. Kennedy 

Block him now, trip him now, stop him NOW!  Otherwise, what is next—Finland and Sweden? 

I. Diplomacy 

     The Allies, in consultation with Ukraine, must demand a ceasefire and an immediate withdrawal from Crimea, from the Donbas region, and the withdrawal of all foreign forces.  They must change the frame of reference by telling and retelling the truth endlessly:  Khrushchev gave Crimea as a gift to Ukraine and, after the Cold War, the four-power nuclear agreement, which Russia signed, recognized the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.  It must be upheld.  Furthermore, the use of hijacked or kidnapped titles must end, for words matter.  Refer to Putin as Tsar because he is not the head of a republic. 

II. Defense 

     Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty must extend to the proposed Treaty of Grand Alliance.  In response to the invasion, associates of NATO—Finland and Sweden—must be under a declaration of protection, prior to membership; and Putin’s nuclear threats need to be countered with deployment of THAAD in Ukraine, as requested, and associate states, if desired. 

     In the United States, Universal National Service can advance “domestic tranquility” as well as “the  common defense,” as set forth in the Knox Report that President Washington had the Secretary of War send to Congress, which deals with the fact that the Second Amendment concerns national security.  (Preamble)  The time has come for those who have lied to put up or shut up. 

     ACES—the Allied Cleaned Energy States—is a key part of the Treaty of Grand Alliance, and together they can offer assistance to other cooperative nations.  Sanctions then become more effective as the world weans itself off a Nineteenth Century fuel source and protects the climate. 

III. Deterrence 

     National security is about survival, and the ability to adapt involves playing to one’s strengths.  The nation that masters the interplay between domestic and foreign affairs—with the economy on the cusp—commands the future.  And, in the nature of things, a republic has a better chance of getting the right balance and blend. 

     Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution—“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government”—is, according to the Supreme Court in Luther v. Borden, a political question.  Thus, it must be invoked by the Executive against those States that deny or abridge the right to vote, which undermines the defining quality of a republic.  (Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth Amendments) 

     This is where the ideal and the reality become one.  Character is the union of thought, word, and deed directed toward a noble end.  The oath to support and defend the Constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic” is meaningless without it. 

IV. Determination 

     When President Kennedy addressed the nation on the Berlin crisis on July 25, 1961, West Berlin was an island in a communist sea.  “The freedom of the city is not negotiable.  We cannot negotiate with those who say, ‘What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is negotiable.’”  Today Berlin is the capital of a reunited Germany.  A strong defense upholds deterrence and supports diplomacy. 

(c)2022 Marvin D. Jones.  All rights reserved.

 

https://www.marvindjones.blogspot.com/2013/08/much-is-required.html [THE KNOX REPORT] 

https://www.marvindjones.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-grand-alliance.html [THE GRAND ALLIANCE] 

https://www.marvindjones.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-obstacle-illusion.html [THE OBSTACLE ILLUSION] 

https://www.marvindjones.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-long-goodbye.html [THE LONG GOODBYE]