I wonder if they were traumatized by being wrong about whether Putin was going to invade, the mainstream view, and so immediately adopted that mainstream view on whether Putin would win or lose to try and avoid being wrong again - to the point where, Parenti-style, anything Putin does is evidence of his lack of ability, stupidity, and poor strategy. It's such a strange, unnuanced view of the world compared to what I expect from communists and socialists.

We live in the material, with great forces around us, not in a Great Man world. Maybe, to counter that view of the bumbling oaf Putler walking into bottomless fiery pits, you could argue that Putin is "history on horseback" ...bearback?... but the full ramifications of the new world that is finally being born can only be linked to him indirectly, if at all, and so we can only analyze whether this is the "right decision" - whatever that may mean - based on what is materially going to happen now - the food shortages, the de-dollarization, etc - and not the endless "brave" speeches of the leaders of NATO countries expressing that Putler has made a grave mistake, and he will pay in time, and once Ukraine magically wins this conflict, Zelensky will come in riding on a unicorn down a rainbow and show us how epically owned Putler is and how free and democratic Ukraine will be now. Who gives a shit about that idealist nonsense? Hopefully nobody here.