Wrapping up his state visit to Vietnam late last week, Russian strongman Vladimir Putin warned that a defeat in Ukraine would destroy "the Russian state." He said at a press conference, "For Russia, this means the end of its statehood… This means the end of the thousand-year history of the Russian state. I think this is clear to everyone."
Putin may be more right than he knows, as Sunday's underreported terror attack showed.
While Americans were focused on the antisemitic mob that launched a pogrom — there's no other word for it — in a Jewish neighborhood of Los Angeles, Islamic State terrorists once again struck deep inside the Russian Federation.
"At least 20 people were killed, including civilians and police officers," Radio Free Europe reported on Sunday, "when gunmen opened fire at two Orthodox churches, two synagogues, and a police station in separate attacks in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala in Russia's North Caucasus region of Daghestan." Russian officials say at least 46 more were injured in the coordinated attacks.
"Gunmen" is Newspeak for "Islamic terrorists," as everyone knows, but the Kremlin blamed Ukraine: "When the pro-Kremlin news site Komsomolskaya Pravda reported on events in Dagestan, it accused the 'collective West' of trying 'to open a second front' against Russia."
Estonian milblogger WarTranslated posted to X that this was the "Third Islamist attack in Russia in 3 months. This is not an isolated accident, and it will most likely continue."
When Russian intelligence isn't focused on the war against Ukraine, they're pulling dangerous pranks on the West. Russian saboteurs last week firebombed another arms factory in Germany:
European countries, seeking to avoid escalation, have been cautious about publicly blaming Moscow, but privately security officials say Russia appears to be stepping up attacks on civilian and military sites and people in Europe connected with efforts to help Ukraine fend off invading Russian troops.
As always, there's a bigger issue here.
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The world has two rising anti-Western powers, Islam and Communist China, and both have been made relatively stronger — and certainly more daring — by Putin's stupid war in Ukraine.
(I've been referring to the Russo-Ukraine War here at PJ Media as "Putin's stupid war" since almost the very start. Just how stupid it truly is becomes clearer every day. )
China is doing the difficult and serious work of building a world-class, blue-water navy — and, just as importantly, establishing the doctrine that turns a collection of ships into a deadly fighting force. Meanwhile, we have spent the last 30 years squandering our ability to build or even maintain a decent Navy — and, just as bad, disabling its ability or will to fight with Woke nonsense.
While Putin sees imaginary threats from the West, he's made his country into a virtual vassal of Beijing. Russian finance, trade, and technology are increasingly dependent on Chinese largess. And by demonstrating military weakness in Ukraine (not to mention pissing away Russia's precious manpower), Putin encourages more terrorism from the Islamic State. If Russia falls apart, as Putin fears, it will be because he pissed away the strength to hold it together.
Russia's attention should be focused south and east, not on Ukraine. The U.S. needs to get serious again, period. Europe must find the courage to deal with the Islamist threat already inside its borders.
The West has never needed strength and unity more. What we have instead looks more and more like a suicide pact.
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