The writer wishes to keep their name private due to fear of reprisal from their institution in East-Central Europe. The Ukraine disaster represents yet another manifestation of leftist ideology that, in ways, some conservatives fail to understand. Standard conservatism criticizes America’s self-inflicted weakness concerning energy production and bungled adventures such as Afghanistan. But weakness is only part of the story. The larger issue is foolishness, coupled with a cultural hubris that seeks to bring the world under liberal-left hegemony. Russia’s attack was not only predictable and predicted; it was also avoidable and permitted contrary to warnings of responsible scholars and statesmen. For years, it has been clear that Russia holds the cards in that region: Not only did the seizure of Crimea and disruption of Donbass in 2014 demonstrate this, but also the wars in Georgia in 2008 and Transnistria and Nagorno-Karabakh in the 1990s. Weakened globally, Russia skillfully surrounded …