The Ukraine war

If anyone has read “The meeting at Potsdam” by Charles L. Mee, they will recognize immediately the tactics being employed by Mr Putin.

Uncle Joe Stalin had it down to a fine art and it was brinkmanship at its best.

1. Carry on  the carrot and stick method of offering peace talks and buy time while you consolidate your military position. Get your troops into the areas you want to take over and get some in the areas that you are prepared to concede. Then go to the negotiating table. Don’t go too soon or you’ll weaken your position.

2. Send in your toughest negotiators with instructions to hold on to every blade of grass that your men have taken. (Stalin sent in the mulish Molotov to do his dirty work)

3. Make  some strategically unimportant concessions .

4. Send in the Boss to do a ceremonial sign off to end the war.

The Russians were extremely difficult to deal with at Potsdam and, even though we have a different ideology running things this time around, they will be extremely difficult again.

But, at the end of the day a peace deal will be forged by  the USA and  Russia.  Ukraine won’t be happy about it and neither will most of Europe but, as in Potsdam, they will be bystanders to the final deal.