Voices of Madness Urging Direct Confrontation Between Nuclear Adversaries ASAP

Adam Kinzinger, GOP Representative from Illinois, member of the January 6 Committee, supposedly the sane Republican alternative to Donald Trump:

"The fate of Ukraine being decided tonight, but also the fate of the west. Declare a #NoFlyZone over Ukraine at the invitation of their sovereign government. Disrupt Russian air operations to give the Ukrainians a fair fight. It's now, or later.

"History teaches that taking a stand is inevitable and gets more costly with time. We own the skies, Russia cannot hold a candle to our air power.  Do this. Putin is too dangerous to hope he is satisfied with 'just Ukraine.'"

Meaning:  Nuclear war is a risk worth taking.

NBC News foreign policy correspondent Richard Engel, highly regarded:

"Perhaps the biggest risk-calculation/moral dilemma of the war so far. A massive Russian convoy is about 30 miles from Kyiv. The US/NATO could likely destroy it. But that would be direct involvement against Russia and risk, everything. Does the West watch in silence as it rolls?"

Meaning: Restraint is cowardice. Let's call what we hope is Putin's nuclear bluff. 

Clint Watts NBC, a colleague of Engel's:

"Strangest thing - entire world watching a massive Russian formation plow towards Kyiv, we cheer on Ukraine, but we're holding ourselves back. NATO Air Force could end this in 48 hours.

"Understand handwringing about what Putin would do, but we can see what's coming."

 Meaning: Concerns about nuclear war are for wimps. Let's go all-out and hope for the best. 

Dan Hodges, columnist, British Daily Mail:

"If people want to oppose a no-fly zone, fine. But understand that is an act of appeasement no different to our appeasement of Hitler in 1938. We are refusing to do what we know is morally right out of fear. We are prepared to let a free nation die to safeguard ourselves." 

Meaning: Risking nuclear war is the moral thing to do. And Hitler did not have nuclear weapons, a rather important point.

 

Benjamin Wittes, Senior Fellow Brookings Institute

Regime change: Russia (tweet)

Meaning: overthrow Putin, virtually guaranteeing nuclear war

 

Richard N. Haas President Council on Foreign Relations

"Just days ago much of the world was focused on the unwanted prospect of regime change in Ukraine. Now the conversation has shifted to include the possibility of a desired regime change in Russia. A week can be a long time in politics."

Meaning: Nuclear war is more likely now. No big deal.

Source: 

"Greenwald on Ukraine: calls for no-fly zone, though still a minority, are growing and dangerous," acTVivism Munich, March 3, 2022 (You Tube)