The Zeroth Law of Conflict Resolution

European behavior following Zelensky’s well-deserved defenestration from the White House reminds me of the Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics – when scientists belatedly realized that the First, Second, and Third Laws of Thermodynamics all depended on a previously unarticulated observation.

Russia-Ukraine war: UK, France and Ukraine agree to work on ceasefire plan | AP News

Per the always reliable unbiased AP, the Euro leaders are working on a “plan” for a peace deal. Per Starmer, the plan for “peace” consists of 3 elements:

  1. Arming the (surviving) Ukrainian soldiers to put them in a position of strength.
  2. Providing a European element (newly discovered “Spine-ium”?) to guarantee security.
  3. Providing a US backstop. (Is the US a European subsidiary?)

It seems all those sophisticated big-brained Europeans forgot all about the Zeroth Law of Conflict Resolution:
0. First persuade the Russian side to agree to a ceasefire, and put in place stringent measures to ensure that Zelensky does not use his new “position of strength” to take advantage of a Russian cease fire by launching new attacks on the Russians.

I used to think that European leaders were evil but smart. Well, it turns out I was half-right.

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