Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made an interesting comment during a press conference he hosted recently in New York City. A journalist asked him when Western involvement in the Ukraine conflict would escalate to the point that the US and its allies were at war with Russia.
Lavrov responded that the United States and its allies are “directly at war” with Russia right now.
What? The U.S. is at war with Russia—a nuclear power? Why wasn’t
I informed? Is it time to start building a bomb shelter in my backyard? Should
I cancel my plans to visit Spain next year?
No, of course not. Obviously, Mr. Lavrov is misinformed. The United
States is not directly at war with Russia. Nevertheless, I understand how
Lavrov and the Russians might get the mistaken idea that America has gone to
war with Russia without a formal declaration.
After all, The US has given Ukraine Abrams tanks, Bradley
fighting vehicles, F16 jets, and missiles capable of sinking Russian ships in
the Black Sea. General Mark Milley has been helping the Ukrainians manage their counteroffensive against Russia and providing intelligence to assist them in planning their drone attacks on Moscow. America has given Ukraine cluster munitions to kill Russian soldiers more efficiently. And we're going to provide them with depleted uranium artillery shells.
On second thought, maybe the United States is at war with
Russia; we've just been so distracted by more important matters that we haven’t
given the war much thought. For example, Secretary
of State Antony Blinken is probably looking for another transgender person to
be the International Woman of Courage award for 2024. The U.S.
Senate is pondering whether its members should be allowed to wear gym
shorts on the floor of the Senate.
As for President Biden, he’s probably been tied up planning General
Milley’s retirement party.
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| Give me a minute to slip into something more comfortable. |
