One of the characteristics of the political class today is that its members see themselves as our betters. They’ve attended the top schools, been accepted to prestigious fellowships, and have worked at well known think tanks. And that’s why they look down on the hoi polloi who they believe to be their intellectual inferiors. But what if the so-called experts are really just a bunch of dumbasses?
The most pressing recent current crisis is that over Ukraine, with the US insistent that Russia is poised to attack and invade Ukraine. But what constitutes an invasion? Right now the US and UK claim that recent Russian military exercises are covering up for a planned invasion, and they’re demanding that Russian forces leave the area. But Russia is countering that its forces have every right to operate within Russian territory.
Unfortunately, not everyone in the West understands what constitutes Russian territory. UK Secretary of State Liz Truss, during a recent negotiation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, recently stated that the UK would never recognize Russian sovereignty over the Voronezh and Rostov oblasts, oblivious to the fact that those territories are well within Russian territory and have always been considered part of Russia. In fact, the UK Ambassador to Russia had to pipe up and clarify that Truss’ statement was not in fact official UK policy and that the UK recognizes those areas as Russian.
Here we are in a situation in which the top Western negotiator doesn’t understand the basic geography of the region, yet we’re supposed to believe them when they say Russia is going to invade Ukraine? It boggles the mind. But unfortunately it’s par for the course, as our political class betters can’t be bothered to deal with inconvenient things like facts.
If we end up stumbling into war, it will be because of the idiocy and miscalculation of people like Truss, who are so hell bent on antagonizing Russia that they’ll say anything to look like they’re being tough. In reality, however, they don’t know what they’re doing, and we’re all going to suffer for it.