Ukraine Russia Plan DOA /Lt Col Daniel Davis & Alastair Crooke

Alastair Crooke argues that Europe’s political and economic problems could be eased through normalized relations with Russia, but such views are suppressed across the continent. He cites Germany’s AfD—now highly popular, especially with younger voters—as an example of a party punished for advocating a pragmatic relationship with Russia and opposing current NATO policies. He claims dissident parties and leaders across Europe are targeted, banned, or smeared to maintain a rigid centrist “cordon sanitaire.” Germany’s economic decline is tied, in his view, to the loss of cheap Russian energy that once supported its industrial base. Across Europe, unemployment and economic instability are rising. In the UK, public anger has shifted rapidly—from Conservatives to Labour—and now general hostility is directed at the entire political class. Large protests have erupted over immigration and crime, fueled by scandals and distrust in the establishment. The public sees both major parties as a “uniparty” offering no solutions.

Economic deterioration, financialization, and a credit system that favors large financial institutions have left ordinary people alienated and without upward mobility. Figures like Nigel Farage position themselves as outsiders promising reform, but past events—such as Liz Truss claiming she was blocked by technocrats from implementing policy—suggest that elected leaders have little real control, with bureaucracy and establishment forces running the system. Regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, the speaker believes no side currently accepts compromise, leading toward escalation. Western elites, he argues, cannot accept NATO being defeated and cannot emotionally accept a world not directed by the West. This denial fuels unrealistic narratives about Russia collapsing. As a result, he believes Russia will be forced to pursue full military objectives—“denazification,” neutrality for Ukraine, and imposing a political settlement from a position of strength. Only after a decisive “trial of strength” might negotiations become possible. He concludes that the situation is still salvageable, but only if Western leaders acknowledge reality rather than maintain illusions about the war or Europe’s internal political instability.