In establishing the neocon playbook as Putin’s blueprint, the goal is not to absolve his criminal regime of guilt by childishly pointing to other crimes against humanity carried out by the US. It is instead intended to establish Putin’s move into Ukraine as being rooted in a precedent established by the US and its imperial junior partners.
And so, you see an alternate reality where Ukraine is a Nazi state, where Russian speakers face a genocide, where aggressive war is a preemptive, defensive, “special operation.” But moreover, you see a reality where power reigns supreme over international law. And here, Putin is existing within the neocon-constructed reality, and is now reshaping it in his image.
olddogthoughts 