Christopher Cape: Putin's demise

If there is one word being used recently to the point of meaninglessness, it is the term "unprecedented".

In the last month we have been stunned by events nationally and globally.

The Covid pandemic has sent fractures through the vessel of our collective, somewhat complacent, consciousness.

The accepted norms of lawfulness and decency, respect and honour are being laid waste.

A tide of lawlessness is sweeping across the planet and good men are discussing options.

It was Edmund Burke who said, "All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing".

In February anti-governance protests saw New Zealand's Parliament desecrated, influenced by the actions of insurrectionist rioters at Capitol Hill in Washington on January 6, 2021.

Members of the Tribesmen motorcycle gang allegedly mob-attacked and critically injured a member of the public on a Waikato motorway.

Flouters of law appear to rampage unchecked while the proponents of democracy and lawfulness debate responses and lament the tragedy of lawbreaking.

The latest manifestation of this drowsiness has involved the recent Belarussian and Russian military exercises.

These transformed, under the directive of President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, into an all-out, unprovoked, unjustified invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

We have all watched as Putin's warhorses forced their way into Ukrainian territory wreaking carnage on cultural heritage and human lives, committing war crimes, while stubbornly denying responsibility for obvious documented incidents, targeting hospitals, refugees and residential areas, blaming Ukrainian forces for the damage.

With such precipitous action it would appear that Vladimir Putin's sanity has cracked or perhaps he's sick.

He speaks of denazifying, demilitarising Ukraine, of being loyal to mother Russia and being corrupted by the West, as if he is reliving the Cold War Soviet era of the 1950s.

He has shut down the independent press and clamped down on anti-government protests.

His "special military operation" to liberate the pro-Russian Donetsk region has reached well beyond that arena into greater Ukraine and the Ukrainian people are lab rats in some sort of sick laboratory experiment where he can test his war toys on a live fire, real-time stage.

Commentators say Putin laments the breakup of the Soviet Union.

He obviously objects to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's desire to allow Ukraine's self-determination.

It is possible that Putin knows his time is limited and is preparing to go out with a last hurrah.

I suspect he wants to be remembered as a powerful warlord like Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Dracula), who ruled Wallachia (present day Romania), from 1448 to 1477, with a fearful tyranny and bloody legacy.

When Vlad the Impaler was assassinated his head was displayed on a high spike in Constantinople. He lived up to his name.

Putin's forces, while sluggish at present, seem relentless and brutal.

Russian authorities insist that civilian locations are not targeted.

Russian gunners are evidently either illiterate, lousy marksmen or politically arrogant liars.

One of these days a misdirected Russian shell will explode on Nato territory and the cat will be among the pigeons.

Putin's forces have already deployed cluster bombs, thermobaric and hypersonic weapons. He doesn't respect international law.

He ignores The Hague's court ruling to cease fire.

Far from being the Russian Bear, Putin resembles a rabid dog, dangerous and unpredictable.

I can see only one way to halt the war. Putin must be removed permanently.

There is a slim possibility that he will have a Damascus Road experience like the Apostle Paul where he'll see the light and repent, but that is unlikely – he's ex KGB.

His military may stage a coup d'etat, particularly if the generals recognise his intention to reach for the nuclear option.

Whichever way the rouble crumbles Putin and his inner circle need to be tried for their war crimes and brought to justice.

These last months have brought a focusing of stark reality for the European Union, the United Nations and Nato.

In past years those organisations have appeared to be nothing more than talkfests and junket tours (Blah Blah Blah, as Greta Thunberg would say) with empty words and less action.

White elephants on the world stage.

Now they need to wake up and become match fit. UN peacekeeping operations seem to be nothing more than non-interventionist spectator exercises.

The one time when I recall the UN having any real calibre was 30 years ago when armed UN blue bonnets went into action in the Democratic Republic of Congo against bands of militant bandits who were killing, pillaging villages, and destroying livelihoods.

That operation was a success.

The UN could send in a similar force to Ukraine, which admittedly would set a precedent for a world police force operating under internationally agreed protocols.

Reaching agreement for such a force democratically would depend on how urgent the need was.

I suspect that the procrastination endemic in EU and Nato circles would probably bog any decision making down. The current situation, however, is serious and urgent action is needed.

I'm convinced that a tipping point will be reached soon when destruction of lives and history can go no further.

Closing the skies over Ukraine will become necessary.

Putin's war must be stopped and that dark precipice of destruction threatens, but it is only on the brink that people find the will to change.

My hope is that sanity prevails and humanity recognises its responsibilities to the planet and the Universe, which means "One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind" (Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11, Lunar landing, Sea of Tranquillity July 20, 1969).

I've done my bit.

I have a Ukrainian flag and "Viva Ukrayina" in orange script on my front fence.