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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Poles again promise to save Europe from Russian tanks |
| 2023-01-25 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Petr Akopov [RIA] "The position of Germany is unacceptable... I'm trying to weigh the words, but I'll say it straight. Ukraine and Europe will win this war - with or without Germany. However, it depends on Germany whether they want to join the mission to end the barbarism of Russia or are going to sit back hands, dooming yourself to be on the wrong side of history." No, this is not said by Zelensky and not by the former Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin , Melnyk. This is a quote from an interview with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to Wnp.pl. There are many more attacks against Germany: "The Germans fell into a trap that they set for themselves. For many years they were engaged in a policy of rapprochement with Russia. They hoped that they would be able to appease the Russian bear with generous contracts. This policy failed, and it is still difficult for the Germans to admit their mistake. The slogan of Wandel durch Handel ("Change through trade." - Approx. ed.) Has become synonymous with an epoch-making mistake. I constantly urge Olaf Scholz to take decisive action. Germany is a powerful state both economically and militarily. <...> The war is here and now. The Ukrainian defenders of Europe need tanks right now. Do the Germans want to keep them in warehouses until Russia defeats Ukraine and knocks on the gates of Berlin? Morawiecki not only scares Germany, but also promises to save Europe from the Russians: "We will build a "smaller coalition" of states that are ready to transfer part of their modern equipment, modern tanks to the warring Ukraine. We will not passively watch Ukraine bleed. The Ukrainian people are fighting for our freedom. Sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine is a question Polish and European state interests. We will not allow Russia to capture Kiev and then set fire to all of Europe." What happens? On behalf of Europe, the leader of Poland speaks, reproaching the Germans for indecision, which may lead to the fact that Russian tanks will be near Berlin. But in addition to reproaches, Morawiecki says that he will win this war anyway - not Poland, but Europe will win. And Germany will be on the wrong side of history, or even internationally isolated, according to Poland's deputy foreign minister. The point here is not at all in tanks: the Poles have long been putting pressure on the Germans in every possible way, and for a variety of reasons without them. The apotheosis of the claims was the official demand for 1.3 trillion euros in reparations for damage caused during the Second World War - absolutely provocative, given the fact that a third of the current territory of Poland is former German lands transferred to it by Stalin. What is Warsaw trying to achieve and why is it behaving this way? Usually, the Polish arrogance is explained by the support of the Anglo-Saxons: the Poles, they say, feel the support of Washington and London , therefore they behave so defiantly. It is beneficial for the Anglo-Saxons to use Warsaw to put pressure on Berlin in order to prevent unequivocal German (and even German-French) leadership in Europe, and the Poles sincerely believe that they can become one of the main pillars of the European Union - at least one of the four key powers. The Ukrainian conflict gives them an excellent reason for this: not only the EU , but the West as a whole needs Poland as a territory for the supply of weapons to Ukraine, and Europe's strategic gap with Russia makes Poland the main shield in the way of Russian expansion. This is what the Poles are trying to sell to the West, but something else is more important to understand the role of Poland. The trouble with the Poles is that they want to take someone else's place in the eyes of the Germans - the place of Russia. Although in fact Poland is the former Ukraine, that is, a part of the world alien to Europeans (and Ukraine is the future Poland, in other words, what the Europeans want to make of the Independent). Poles' claims to European leadership are ridiculous: since the time of Charlemagne (since the 9th century), Europe has been a German home. Yes, there are also other peoples in it - primarily Romanesque - but they all revolve around the Germanic tribes (which include the Franks, that is, the French). The Slavs inhabiting Eastern Europe have never been and will never be perceived by the Germans as full-fledged Europeans, that is, as their own: at best, they can be baptized into their faith, at worst, simply assimilated. But in any case, they must be subordinated to the real - Western - Europe : no independent and even less Russian-oriented existence is unacceptable. Poles are the closest relatives of Russians: by blood, but not by historical path. By choosing the Catholic faith, the Poles linked themselves with German Europe, remaining ethnically alien to it, but more or less understandable and generally within their orbit. It was Poland that was for Europe and the Germans the main eastern neighbor, the embodiment of Slavism (but not Orthodoxy), behind which loomed incomprehensible Muscovites-schismatics with their Tartaria. So it was until the 17th century, while Poland, in union with the semi-Russian principality of Lithuania, owned a considerable part of the Western Russian lands. If in 1612 the Poles had held on to the Moscow throne and Russia had disappeared, Poland would have remained the main Slavic power for Europe, with which they would have fought and which, sooner or later, would have been subjugated to their influence. But then the Russians appeared on the European arena, who first took Kyiv from the Poles, and then went to the Baltic. Petrovsky's "window to Europe" became a death sentence for an already decrepit Poland - it was in the Baltic states that the Russians united with the Germans. Russia has its own Germans, the Baltics. And now for Europe the main Slavs have already become not the Poles, but the Russians. In 1760, the Russians took Berlin - yes, along with the southern Germans, the Austrians, but there was no place left for any Poland in Europe. It was divided between the Russians and the Germans for a century and a half. And only the death of two empires, German and Russian, gave the Poles a chance to revive their state. Could it be successful? It is not known, because the Poles immediately tried to restore the situation of the 16th-17th centuries, that is, to become the main eastern state for Europe. And for this they relied on the isolation of the USSR , on the constant confrontation between Europe and Russia, without thinking that they themselves would become its first victim. However, they fell even earlier - in 1939, when the Germans decided to liquidate the Polish state, and the Russians agreed to partition it in order to return their historical lands. But even this experience taught Poland nothing. The state, restored in 1944, did not regain the eastern lands (populated mainly by Ukrainians and Belarusians), but in return received more than generous compensation in the form of a huge piece of German lands - parts of Prussia , Pomerania and Silesia. At the same time, the new Poland ended up in Moscow's orbit - in the socialist camp, in which it behaved like one of the most disobedient. The collapse of the Eastern bloc and the collapse of the USSR brought Poland back to Europe, but even there the Poles soon became rebels defending intolerant values ​​and their own independence. At the same time, they remained true to the interwar times, again relying on playing off Europe and Russia. And in 2013, with the beginning of the active phase of the struggle for Ukraine, Poland decided that its finest hour had come. And if she succeeds in wresting the Square from the hands of Moscow , then she can become the most important country in Europe. Though not equal to Germany, but at least it will again be the main eastern pillar of Europe, the center of the alliance of the countries of the Baltic-Black Sea belt and a shield from the Muscovites. That is, in Warsaw they want to return the 16th century - both for themselves and for Russia. The task is ambitious, but why spread rot on the Germans ahead of time, without waiting for the defeat of Russia? Why these trillion claims? To humiliate Berlin? And what will happen if Europe, on behalf of which Poland speaks, loses Ukraine to Russia? What will this mean for Warsaw? Even if, during the collapse of Ukraine, she gets a piece of Nezalezhnaya, will this strengthen her position in the confrontation with Germany? Does Warsaw really believe that they can, if not outplay the Franco-German alliance in determining the future of Europe and its politics, then become a full-fledged part of it? Hopes for Anglo-Saxon help in this struggle are ridiculous: Washington and London can use Warsaw in intra-European games, but they will never place their main bet on it. Therefore, the only situation in which the Polish strategy would seem justified is a war, a long and exhausting conflict between Europe and Russia. The longer it lasts in the form of a real war for Ukraine, the more attention will be paid to Poland by the powers, both European and Anglo-Saxon. But what will happen "at six o'clock in the evening after the war" when attempts to grow a "new Poland" out of Ukraine fail? It is better for Warsaw not to think about this. Since there is simply no chance that the window to Europe cut by Peter I will be boarded up forever: sooner or later it will open again. This means that the Poles will not again become the main Slavic people for the Germans - this place will again be occupied by the Russians. And the situation will return not to the beginning of the 17th century, but to the 18th century. This is not about a new division of Poland, but about the fact that at the next round of the restoration of German-Russian relations, it will simply be pushed aside - into a dark corner of history. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #7 So everything about this war has demonstrated that tanks should not be used in this war. Our new plan is to send in a bunch of tanks to be operated by Ukrainians still on their learners permits. The mastermind of this grand strategy is Miley, the genius behind our Afghan withdrawal. Lindsey Graham is big proponent of this excellent plan. I feel sort of pessimistic. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2023-01-25 21:55 |
| #6 Sending tanks is one thing. Sending tank recovery vehicles and the full maintenance / logistical package is another. |
| Posted by: Griter Slash1619 2023-01-25 20:23 |
| #5 If they send those tanks in the direction of Crimea, don't be surprised when Putin nukes them. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2023-01-25 13:19 |
| #4 #3 I'm not a military guy; and I know a lot of you are. So please humor me. Are a limited number of very modern tanks going to make a big difference in Ukraine? If they are used the way the Russian would use them, then no, they won't make a lot of difference. If they are used the way NATO/US doctrine says they should be used, it will be a Sunday drive to Moskva. |
| Posted by: badanov 2023-01-25 11:28 |
| #3 I'm not a military guy; and I know a lot of you are. So please humor me. Are a limited number of very modern tanks going to make a big difference in Ukraine? |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2023-01-25 11:14 |