ANDREW MORAN

War seems to be an addiction for some and a simple political tool for others. Both philosophies were put on full display last week as neocons and liberals alike converged for their own purposes. It has been an interesting time in U.S. politics in the months following the 2016 presidential election. Over the last half-year, Trump Derangement Syndrome has been ubiquitous in the media landscape and in political discourse. The hysteria over both President Trump and Russia has been comical, but also troubling, as American lives may be at jeopardy over these ridiculous accusations.

In today’s hostile political environment, if you aren’t bashing President Trump and demanding impeachment all day on Twitter, then you’re not only a Trump apologist but a puppet of the Kremlin as well. Whether you’re watching the Counterfeit News Network or reading The Washington Com-Post, you’re inundated with the opinions of ideologues and pundits who continually purport that Russian President Vladimir Putin is LITERALLY HITLER. If you disagree with them, then you’re just like the Nazi apologists of the 1930s, dontcha know.

Last week, the American people witnessed the convergence of neocons and liberals, both of which have an interest in launching a war against Russia.

The week started off when Lt. Col. and Fox News analyst Ralph Peters sat down in an interview with Tucker Carlson. He presented the case that the U.S. should not partner with Russia in the Middle East because Putin is a baby killer and is just like Hitler. Peters even accused Carlson of being a Nazi sympathizer a la Charles Lindbergh because he had the temerity to want a peaceful relationship with Moscow.

Here are just a few of the comments from Peters:

He invaded his neighbors, broken the long peace in Europe, assassinates dissidents and journalists, he bombs women and children on purpose in Syria, he is as bad as Hitler. If you don’t like the Charles Lindbergh [comparison] — I will retract that, but you sound like someone in the 1938 saying what has Hitler done to us? Vladimir Putin hates America, he wants to hurt us. Suddenly Vladimir Putin is a good guy, Russia is okay, no it’s not. Russia is evil, Russia is our enemy.

Thomas Jefferson famously warned that the U.S. should not go abroad looking for dragons to slay. Peters sounds like someone who should seriously heed the advice of a Founding Father.

Carlson later interviewed Max Boot, an author, military historian and “big league” interventionist. Like Peters, Boot highlighted his concerns about Russia and Putin. Although he dismissed the Putin-Hitler comparison, Boot expressed how disturbed he is about the threat Russia poses. Echoing the sentiments on the left, Boot accused Russia of interfering in the U.S. democratic process – because, you know, only the U.S. is permitted to do that abroad – and returned to Cold War mantra by noting Russia is the only nation that can attack the U.S. with a nuclear weapon.

Boot didn’t stop there. He called for intervention in Iran and further involvement in Syria. This is the same man that supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and believed regime change would make the region great again.

It’s sad that these neocons still can’t fathom the idea of a non-interventionist foreign policy. Alas, if you think the Dr. Strangelove madness was only on Fox, then you should check out CNN.

Paul Begala, a longtime Democratic strategist for CNN and adviser to President Bill Clinton, thinks military force may be the solution to Russia. Because Donald Trump Jr. had a twenty-minute meeting with a Russian lawyer, Begala suggests the U.S. should “blow up” parts of the Russian government:

We were and are under attack by a hostile foreign power, and… we should be debating how many sanctions we should place on Russia or whether we should blow up the KGB, GSU, or GRU. If I was Trump, I would be mad because it has tainted his victory.

Begala wasn’t alone. CNN analyst and prominent CIA figure Robert Baer is completely against the idea of cooperating with Russia:

Clearly the country that attacked us in the 2016 elections, you can’t go into business with them, it is truly like, you know, working with the Japanese after Pearl Harbor to, you know, defend Hawaii. Their defense. It’s just nutty.

Phrases like “act of war” and “our country was attacked” have been used many times over the last eight months.

Donna Brazile, the former interim Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairwoman, agreed with former Vice President Dick Cheney that Russia committed “an act of war.” Ditto for Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Representative Bonnie Watson (D-NJ) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) who all claimed the U.S. was “attacked by Russia.”

This is pure insanity. The Democrats hate Trump so much that they are willing to put American and Russian lives at risk just because they can’t accept that Hillary Clinton lost the election. If anything, the U.S. and the West have already been the aggressors against Moscow.

Let’s take a look at major events that have occurred in recent years: the further NATO encroachment on Russia’s borders; overthrowing a democratically elected government in Ukraine, causing a further strain between Kiev and Moscow; the placement of U.S. missiles in the region; and the beefed-up presence of U.S. and NATO forces near the Russian border. We also can’t omit sanctions against Russia of the last few years, which are acts of wars.

Neocons want war with Russia because of their ferocious appetite for conflict; the left wants war with Russia because they’re upset about the election. This belligerent magniloquence unites the left and the neocons once again. In the 1990s, the neocons and the left celebrated when President Clinton intervened in the Balkans. Before its initiation, the neocons and the establishment left (Clinton and The New York Times) championed the Iraq War. The Libyan bombing, one of the chief causes of the migrant crisis today, was celebrated by both sides.

If recent history is anything to go by, this unholy alliance will only lead to greater tensions, bloodshed and the possibility of nuclear annihilation. Max Boot and Paul Begala may get their kicks on the sidelines from watching U.S. forces bomb Russia, but the men and women who will be ordered to do the fighting certainly won’t be laughing.