There’s something seriously wrong in Moscow right now. Sure, Vladimir Putin has long been a belligerent Bond-villain of a world leader, but now he’s taken a turn toward abject fatalism, and it’s frankly a little frightening.
Putin and cronies continue to threaten the world with nuclear weapons should anyone try to prevent him from taking Ukraine for himself, and his soldiers are now committing unholy war crimes against innocent men, women, and children. There is no outcome for Putin that doesn’t involved death or dismissal, and he surely knows that.
This could be why some of US military’s high command fears that World War III is right around the corner.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin appeared before the House Armed Services Committee in their first testimony before Congress since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two Pentagon leaders said the threats from both Russia and China remain significant, while they defended the US approach to the war and the flow of arms the US is sending to Ukraine.
Milley said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is “the greatest threat to peace and security of Europe and perhaps the world” in his 42 years serving in the US military, but added it was “heartening” to see the world rally around Ukraine.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine is threatening to undermine not only European peace and stability but global peace and stability that my parents and a generation of Americans fought so hard to defend,” Milley said.
Then came a startling statement.
“We are now facing two global powers: China and Russia, each with significant military capabilities both who intend to fundamentally change the rules based current global order,” Milley added. “We are entering a world that is becoming more unstable and the potential for significant international conflict is increasing, not decreasing.”
There is no telling what may be next for Vladimir Putin, particularly as the US ratchets up sanctions to include more Russian banks and his own daughters, but the potential for utter disaster is out there.
