Putin and Trump are both trapped in losing battles against reality | Rafael Behr
The Ukraine and Iran wars are very different, but a common authoritarian delusion unites the men who started them A strongman president, self-styled redeemer of
The Ukraine and Iran wars are very different, but a common authoritarian delusion unites the men who started them A strongman president, self-styled redeemer of national glory, is trapped in a conflict he canât win but doesnât know how to end without looking like a loser. A cult of infallibility prevents the leader admitting a strategic blunder even to himself.
It could be Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin; Iran or Ukraine. The conflicts and the regimes involved are also dissimilar in important ways. Russiaâs campaign to eradicate a neighbouring democracy is nastier in conception and bloodier in execution than the bungled US effort to dislodge a dictatorship in Tehran. It has also gone on much longer.
The first world war was shorter than a â special military operation â that was supposed to capture Kyiv within weeks. The Soviet Red Army repelled Nazi invasion and marched on Berlin in less time than it has taken Putinâs forces to occupy a tranche of eastern Ukraine, and they are not making any significant advances.
The war has burned trillions of roubles and sacrificed hundreds of thousands of lives for no discernible dividend in national greatness. Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
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