No, I am not referring to the 1966 American comedy film directed and produced by Norman Jewison. Rather, I am ruminating on the aftermath of the current, tragic and unwarranted war raging in Ukraine.
Understanding the stuff Putin is made of should serve as an eye-opener to all and sundry. Spending long years working in Russian intelligence he has quickly become one of the most powerful and feared politicians in the world. One must not forget how former President Donald Trump had often been criticised for cosying up to the leader of a country that is thought to work to undermine Western democracies. At the time the Berlin Wall was being pulled down he is reported to have expressed that “it was clear that the (Soviet) Union was ailing. And that it had a terminal disease without a cure – a paralysis of power”. He has shown that he has a strong authoritarian tendency and expansionist ambition. In November 2016, Putin spoke at a televised awards ceremony for geography students and asked a nine-year-old boy where Russia’s borders end. When the student answered “at the Bering Strait, near the US” the Russian president laughed and corrected him: “Russia’s borders do not end anywhere.”
Since he had long foreseen the effects of any sanctions the West would impose on Russia once he decides to continue with his expansionist drive into Ukraine following the Russo-Georgian War, the triggering of two Chechen Wars, the military incursions into South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and the annexation of Crimea, Putin started exploring and nurtured an effective relationship with China that is reaping dividends in spite of the recently imposed sanctions. All along Putin has carefully crafted his strongman image.
If Nato and the EU were to disintegrate, it would be a victory for Putin. He has been expanding Russia's power around the world, including in the Middle East, and Nato is one military obstacle that prevents him from further extending his influence throughout eastern Europe. Of course, we need to pray for peace in Ukraine, hold peaceful protests, push for more diplomatic efforts to bring it around and the economic and financial sanctions were imposed in a timely manner hoping to unleash an atomic bomb effect. But is that enough and will they stop this Hitler-like visionary autocrat? I wonder.
I liken him to one who is ready to accept and hold in one hand the olive branch while with the other he is stealthily slinging his loaded gun ready for the fire.
Dr Mark Said is an advocate