Chickenhawk Victor Davis Hanson knows an aggressor when he sees one

I was reading a blog post that linked to a Victor Davis Hanson attack on Putin.  Vic was essentially nominating Vlad to the Bad Guy Hall of Fame.

He damns Putin for many sins, but claims he is just another dictator playing the democratic dupes like violins.

In his two big examples of feint and distract are Philip of Macedon and Hitler.  Of course, every shill gets around to comparing the object of their attack as Hitler.  Phil, that's kind of new and a great compliment to Vlad.

The Neutralist also read Liddel Hart's account of the two rulers and their tactics.  Vic should have cited L H as his source.  Then again, someone might look L H up and realize that Putin is not really following the evil incarnate playbook exactly as Vic would have it.

Let's look at a VDH quote that is just a bit misleading, "Once the Obama administration had reset the mild punishments of the Bush administration for carving out parts of Ossetia, Putin went back on the move."

Mr. Hanson knows the Georgians were the aggressors in South Ossetia.  Vic also knows that the leadership in Stalin's homeland had, if not an overt greenlight, at least a not or wink from us for the adventure.  If he doesn't, that would be embarrassing both for him and National Review Online.  He must hope his and NRO's readers are not too aware.  The Neutralist will not comment on the discernment of NRO patrons.

And, how did Putin go back on the move?  Vic lays it out,

"Obama’s reset was a green light for Putin. Who in the real world of serious diplomacy shows up in Geneva with a red plastic toy reset button, complete with a mistranslated Russian label? When Putin soon sized up the Obama administration’s appeasement around the globe — from fake red lines for Syria, to a scramble out of Iraq, to chaos in Libya — he moved into Crimea. And then he waited."

Conveniently, Mr. History leaves some out.  Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt abetting a coup against an elected government.  This questionable move was what led to the secession of Crimea.  We Americans are touchy on the matter of secesh, but whatever we may think, bogeyman Putin did not send tanks rumbling across the border in  a brutal war of conquest.  The Crimeans were happy to be appropriated.

He goes on to compare Putin to every other evil that has existed and finds they pale in comparison to Vlad.  The only thing Hanson proves is he is no Thucydides.

Nobody at the Neutralist would petition the Vatican to open a case for Putin's canonization.  We caution readers who have read Hanson's diatribe to remember the agitation near Russia has a Western element.  This is a fact ignored by most news outlets from MSNBC over to Fox as well as most of the commentariat.

the question we ask again is why, in a supposedly free country, does the press speak as one with mere token dissent?  One can understand how in a totalitarian regime the media must toe the line, but why here?

Oh well, I've heard there is a book, They thought they were free.

If you run into Vick, Please tell Vick, it was Hilary who brought the reset button.