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UKRAINE: THE WAR TO SAVE THE U.N. CHARTER AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
To see a list of previous articles, enter “Ukraine” in the Search Box on the upper right, on The Trenchant Observer web site, and you will see a list in chronological order.
Dispatches
1) Liz Sly, “Russia will soon exhaust its combat capabilities, Western assessments predict; Small shifts in territorial control matter less than the overall balance of forces, which analysts say could shift back in favor of Ukraine in the coming months,” Washington Post, June 25, 2022 (12:32 p.m. EDT, published at 3:00 a.m. EDT);
2) Lawrence Freedman, “Paralysis in Moscow: why Putin persists with his strategy; The Russian president realises he must pick his fights carefully. Just as well, because the challenges keep coming, The New Statesman, June 23, 2022…;
3) “Erdogan pocht weiter auf „konkrete“ Schritte von Schweden und Finnland,” Die Welt, den 25. Juni 2022 (22:16 Uhr);
Analysis
Turkey’s President Erdogan does not act like a loyal member of NATO, the most powerful military alliance in the world.
He is currently blocking Finnish and Swedish accession to NATO.
Geographical and strategic realities may foreclose trying to find a way to expel Turkey from the alliance.
That does not mean, however, that NATO members are powerless.
Turkey’s economy is in dire straits, and may need Western assistance.
NATO needs to stand up to Erdogan, particularly on tbe issue of Finland and Sweden becoming members of NATO.
The U.S. Incirlik Air Base is a huge airbase in Turkey.
If Turkey wants to arm wrestle with rhe U.S. and NATO over Finnish and Swedish membership in the alliance, it is time for the latter to demonstrate its strength.
To get Erdogan’s attention, the U.S. and NATO should consider moving their huge airbase or some of its functions out of Turkey, putting the issue on the NATO agenda and beginning studies on how such a move might be carried out.
The Trenchant Observer
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See also,
Only force can stop Putin
“Ukraine War, April 5, 2022 (II): Force must be used to stop Putin,” The Trenchant Observer, April 5, 2922 .
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