Having now watched that bit of the exchange, it doesn't look like Sen. Paul really explains what he means by his comment. So it doesn't strike me as McCarthyism lite to be dismayed that the senator interjects multiple times "They were part of Russia/Soviet Union" statements. Especially given that Putin gave a speech declaring that Ukrain…
Having now watched that bit of the exchange, it doesn't look like Sen. Paul really explains what he means by his comment. So it doesn't strike me as McCarthyism lite to be dismayed that the senator interjects multiple times "They were part of Russia/Soviet Union" statements. Especially given that Putin gave a speech declaring that Ukraine is not really a nation right before his regime initiated one of the most destructive wars in decades, Sen. Paul's undeveloped statements seem like a real misstep/distortion. And since the US hearing has a global audience and Paul's statements can be used by the Putin regime to bolster its justification of the invasion (to itself and others), it seems pretty irresponsible of Sen. Paul.
Finland, by the way, is an interesting historical example to bring up, since a key reason they were not in the Soviet Union in the end was that they fought a high-casualty war against the Soviet Union when it invaded Finland in 1939. So calling up who was or wasn't part of the Soviet Union in the current context can also be a reminder of what the imperialist-expansionist predecessor to today's Russia tried to do to its neighbors.
Having now watched that bit of the exchange, it doesn't look like Sen. Paul really explains what he means by his comment. So it doesn't strike me as McCarthyism lite to be dismayed that the senator interjects multiple times "They were part of Russia/Soviet Union" statements. Especially given that Putin gave a speech declaring that Ukraine is not really a nation right before his regime initiated one of the most destructive wars in decades, Sen. Paul's undeveloped statements seem like a real misstep/distortion. And since the US hearing has a global audience and Paul's statements can be used by the Putin regime to bolster its justification of the invasion (to itself and others), it seems pretty irresponsible of Sen. Paul.
Finland, by the way, is an interesting historical example to bring up, since a key reason they were not in the Soviet Union in the end was that they fought a high-casualty war against the Soviet Union when it invaded Finland in 1939. So calling up who was or wasn't part of the Soviet Union in the current context can also be a reminder of what the imperialist-expansionist predecessor to today's Russia tried to do to its neighbors.