Will Ukraine turn into World War II, or is it the final throes of the Age of Empire? Joe Biden’s reversal on Abrams tanks last week sparked an amiable debate between my friend Adam Baldwin and myself over whether we’re preventing World War III or accelerating it. “I think the technocrats and the quote unquote military industrial complex that makes the billions of dollars making and deploying these weapons,” Adam declares, “don’t really care about the collateral damage” and the risks of catastrophic escalation. And is this leaving us dangerously exposed on another front?
Editor’s Note: Join HotAir VIP today and use promo code SKEPTICS to receive 25% off your membership!
Welcome back to my VIP video series “The Amiable Skeptics,” featuring my friend Adam Baldwin! Adam is well-known for his long and storied Hollywood career, starting with My Bodyguard, and especially for his roles in Full Metal Jacket, Firefly, its film sequel Serenity, Chuck, and The Last Ship.
Adam points out that Mark Levin and Tucker Carlson have been “at loggerheads” on this question. I argue that both make good points, but that Vladimir Putin’s 15-year history of military conquest makes the other concerns moot. “We can lament all the stupid things we did to get to this point,” I argue, “but I don’t think we have a choice but to make Russia and Putin pay for invading another country and trying to expand its borders through through, you know, military acquisition. Because if you don’t, then suddenly everybody’s going to want to start expanding their borders through military acquisition and your security, your security situation becomes a lot more untenable.”
But on that point, Adam raises a very good warning. “What is this distracting us from? China,” Adam points out. “It’s distracting us from China and getting ready, making preparations to go into Taiwan.” There are no easy answers to this debate, but we can still remain amiable while we get to the best approach — as Adam and I do!
Be sure to join the debate in the comments!
