
<p>There are those on both the right and the left who proffer the argument that the western democracies actually provoked Putin to the point where he had to invade Ukraine. ; He was only concerned about the security of Mother Russia.</p>



<p>One way that the west was to have provoked the Kremlin’s crazy despot was by adding all those European nations that were once part of the Soviet Union. ; In one of his demands to not invade Ukraine was that the NATO weaponry should move back to the pre-Soviet collapse line – disarming the eastern section of NATO. ; That one did not get much traction, but the fact that he made that demand tells you something about Putin’s mindset.</p>



<p>Putin is also perturbed by what he considers America’s meddling in Ukraine – tossing out the corrupt Putin puppet government in Kyiv – and establishing a successful western style democracy.</p>



<p>One of Putin’s rationales for the invasion and annexing of Ukraine is because he did not want that nation to join NATO and put guns on the Russian border. ; Of course, if Russia were to absorb Ukraine, NATO would have guns on the new Russian border – and vice versa.</p>



<p>That is the kind of demand despots make because it is neither reasoned nor reasonable.</p>



<p>It is lost on Putin that NATO is not an aggressive alliance. ; It is a totally defensive alliance. ; As long as he does not attack the interests and security of NATO nations, they will not attack Russia. ; The debate over the Putin invasion is whether he has already attacked the interests and security of NATO nations. ; NATO must believe that he has or why are they fortifying the Alliance’s eastern border.</p>



<p>Putin has certainly destabilized and disrupted NATO nations by causing the biggest refugee problem since World War II. ; There is both a human and economic cost in caring for the millions of people Putin displaced.</p>



<p>And he has economically attacked virtually every nation on earth by further disrupting not only the oil markets, but the entire international supply chain – including food, essential minerals and consumer products. ; ;</p>



<p>There is no question that Russia has been responsible for any number of cyber attacks on western democracies – undermining their security. ; ;</p>



<p>And yet there are those who say that WE provoked Putin. If we had only not built a better and stronger NATO &#8212; or had not brought the advantages of democracy to the people of Ukraine &#8212; maybe he would not have found it necessary to invade.</p>



<p>Frankly, we should not give a damn if Putin feels provoked. ; What we did was in the best interest of the free world. ; That is the side we are on. ; That is what we do.</p>



<p>Whatever may have provoked Putin, it should not, in the least, excuse what he has done. ; He has used his power to become the world’s leading mass murderer. ; Being provoked is no excuse for the kind of reaction he has had. ; He is no different than Hitler or his old hero Josef Stalin. ; ;</p>



<p>He cannot be allowed to use the excuse that “you made me do it.”  ; No, we did not. ; No, he was not provoked in this needlessly brutal invasion. ; No, he is not entitled to take over an independent nation and kill tens of thousands of people – including his own soldiers &#8212; just because he is pissed.</p>



<p>President Biden was correct when he said that Putin cannot be allowed to remain in power. ; Yes … I know that such a sentiment cannot easily be implemented, but that does not make the sentiment wrong. ; Biden was spot on – at least until his international establishment told him he was wrong. ; Biden literally went off their script.</p>



<p>The one thing we should not do is give Putin any comfort for what he did. ; It is all on him … period. ; And we should make sure he does not win the War.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Did the west provoke Putin into war?
