Eighteen months into the war in Ukraine and the picture is grim. After so many US officials — including former military — pumped up the prospects of the Ukraine counteroffensive — it looks like the conflict is headed into a bloody stalemate if not a Russian rout. Lyle Goldstein, Director of the Asia Engagement program at Defense Priorities, has been one of the more sober voices calling for a diplomatic pathway rather than a commitment to endless war, because, as a military historian and strategist he could see that the Russians had the advantage from the beginning of the year. He returns to the show to talk about what went wrong and where things can go from here.
In the first segment, Kelley & Dan discuss this week's Human Rights Watch report that charges Saudi Arabia of systematically killing hundreds — perhaps even thousands — of Ethiopian migrants at the Saudi border. If true, how can Biden continue to justify reported plans to deliver goodies for Riyadh — including a security pact and sophisticated US weaponry — in exchange for Saudi-Israel normalization?
More from Lyle Goldstein:
China Studies Nuclear Risk in the Context of the Ukraine War, with Nathan Waecher, The Diplomat, 7/21/23
Is the Ukraine War moving toward a ‘Korea solution’?, Responsible Statecraft, 1/30/23
Seeking Alternatives to Military Escalation in the Ukraine War, Inkstick, 11/16/22
Lyle Goldstein: Not feeling great about being right on Ukraine