The "Shock" of the Ukraine Invasion

 World leaders were shocked and surprised by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or so they portrayed. Tucker Carlson reported on the attack of Ukraine March 30th, 2022 and how our world leaders responded to the invasion. Carlson insinuated that this was far from a surprising attack and that leaders knew the invasion was bound to occur. 

Ben Judah of the Atlantic Council stated "It was a shock to many of the leading experts and policy makers in the United States, Europe, and even Ukraine," and Carlson mentioned that the head of German intelligence was so caught off gaurd by the attack that he was still in Kyiv, Ukraine and had to be evacuated. It was odd that there was so much global shock following the attack considering President Joe Biden had been speaking about a potential attack for weeks. Leaders in the U.S. consistanly portrayed the idea that that the invasion was a shock to everyone.

No one in Washington actually expected Russian troops to invade Ukraine, and when it happened U.S. leaders felt that President Putin must be insane. National Review stated that, "The casual speculation about Vladimir Putin's mental state has become more serious." Carlson felt that the focus on Putin's irrationality was more of an excuse than an analysis. Although Putin may be irrational, there must be more to the story than a "single psychiatric episode." Why are our leaders not focusing on the truth and the heart of the the issue of the Russian attack? It almost feels as if our leaders are lying to the people and even themselves of what is really happening.

Carlson introduces a man named Nigel Farage who spoke about the possibility of an invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces almost eight years ago. In the video footage of Farage speaking in European Parliment in 2014, he reminded us that Putin wants to expand his territory and practically rebuild the U.S.S.R. Farage went on to explain that Putin had his sights set on the Ukrainian territory, expecially when they decided to join the NATO alliance. He also mentioned that the west is facing one of its biggest threats in 70 years. Farage said that, "the moral of the story is if you poke the Russian bear with a stick, don't be surprised when he reacts." Farage knew that we must stop playing war games and focusing on unimportant things or Putin will eventually react.

It is unclear why world leaders and particularly U.S. government officials are disregarding what has occured in Ukraine. It is possible that our leaders did not expect Putin to go through with the invasion and our leaders were actually shocked; however, we must investigate why it seemed so many leaders were talking about the possibility of an invasion weeks before it took place. Farage warned us that Putin would react at some point, and he has. Leaders need to stop focusing on Putin's mental state and irrationality, and begin to focus on why this is happening and how it can be stopped. 

Sources:

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-leaders-lying-putin-invasion-ukraine