Commentary
The chattering classes seem to have limited to two the scope of socially acceptable options for discussion on the Ukraine/Russia war: 1) to continue the war of attrition, or 2) to escalate the conflict by attacking Russia in a strategic manner, preferably with NATO engaging directly with Russian forces. So, war or more war.
Those of us who see a third way, however, are routinely shouted down as “Putin’s puppets” or modern-day Neville Chamberlains, appeasers of an expansionist aggressor who is the equal of—if not worse than—Hitler himself!
There seems to be little consideration of the cost—in blood and treasure—of the two “socially acceptable” alternatives that are permitted to be freely discussed. Worse, there has been near zero consideration of the second-order consequences of either of the two options….