Judging Freedom - How the Ukraine Russia War is Altering all of Europe - Alastair Crooke fmr Brit ambassador

Episode Date: June 15, 2023

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🎵 Hi, everyone. Judge Andrew Napolitano here for Judging Freedom. Today is Thursday, June 15th, 2023. It's about 9 o'clock in the morning here on the east coast of the United States. Alistair Crook joins us in just a moment with fascinating observations about how cultural and political attitudes in the European continent are changing right before our eyes and what the implications are for the war in Ukraine. But first, this message. When it comes to carrying valuables or even firearms in your vehicle, most people feel they have to choose between safety and convenience. A vehicle break-in occurs every 36 seconds in America. Give dad the perfect Father's Day gift this year.

The Headrest Safe. The Headrest Safe gives you the power to store cash, jewelry, medication, and yes, even your concealed carry firearm you'll never have to worry about taking your valuables with you again keep them safe with the headrest safe use promo code judge nap and enjoy 50 off for a limited time at the headrest safe.com alistair crook joins us now from italy Alistair, of course, it's always a pleasure. Thank you very much for sharing your time with us. You recently wrote, everything you write is fascinating,

but you recently wrote a piece that really grabbed me about the seismic shift in European attitudes. A lot in there about Germany, some about France. Give us the bottom line here of what observations you make from your perch in Italy. It is an earthquake. It's been slow to start, but it is gathering steam. And basically, it's a sense of distrust of the elites, a complete distrust and a change of values and a search for a change of values. They're fed up with this absurd politics that we've been given on a daily diet. The politics of who can and cannot use a lavatory, what is a woman, all of these things, what really matters to them is not being attended to, it's forgotten, which is these things, what really matters to them is not being attended to,

is forgotten, which is about housing, about education of their children, about medical facilities being available to their children if they need it. And these things are not addressed because they can't address them. They just go on with the same narrative. So it's produced a huge shock in Germany, where the right party, the AfD, which supports, if you like, Russia, and also is opposed to the green agenda, the very extreme green agenda. Look, all Europeans, of course, care about the environment, but they just see that the green agenda has become so radical that some of the

greens are proposing to destroy humanity to save humanity. And they don't want to go down that Vietnam. How stable or destined for longevity, in your view, is the German government of Chancellor Scholz? Well, if you look at the recent poll that came out at the end of last week, I think it was a Gallup poll, it shows that they no longer have a mandate. I mean, they don't have support of the people. The support has gone to AFD, the CDU, the center-right party has support, and Scholz's party has collapsed down to 19 percent and the Greens to about 13 percent. They don't really have a mandate, so how long they can stay in power is really very moot. What is the AFD? Where is that on the ideological spectrum? Is that hard right? It's called Alternative for Germany. AFD stands for that. And really, it is quite

radical, if that's the right word to use in this day and age because it stands for reasserting Germans' interest as it affects Germans and German sovereignty. And that is the basis of their platform. It is a sovereignist one. They're very sceptical of the Green Agenda and they are pro-Russia and want an end to what is happening in Ukraine. Now, it's an agglomeration. You can't define it precisely as one thing because it's got a tail, which is a bit further to the right. But the leader of the AFD, Alice Verdel, is a very accomplished performer. I mean, she took on and bested Merkel easily in Parliament in some of the debates. She's sharp, bright and an attractive young woman. And so they're on the rise. One in five Germans would vote for this party, one in five. Its main support is in the

East because it's the East Germany that got de-industrialized after the unification. West Germany took most of its industry from it. So they've always been poorer and always felt the effects. And now it's getting worse with inflation, with the de-industrialization of all Germany taking place now. So there's a shift, earthquake in many ways taking place, and in France and in other countries. How strong is the woke movement, the transgender movement, what we would consider in America to be the hard progressive left. How strong is that in Europe today? Well, some of your listeners would have heard about the famous

Italian philosopher Gramsci, who proposed the revolutions will never, shouldn't be top-down, but what you do is you infiltrate from the bottom-up into the areas of institutional influence. And then when you get there, then you bring the whole system down. And that's really what we're talking about. The Greens have been very successful in academia and various institutional levels. They penetrated it from bottom up, captured a culture.

Does it have that much support? Well, if you look at, say, Germany, or if you look at France, if you look at Britain, very little indeed. But they have got capture of many institutions and much of the media. So how popular, how important are they? Well, their importance lies with that more than with their popular reach. Does the German government plan to naturalize as citizens the millions of immigrants currently in Germany. And if they do that, if they do that, numerically, will Germans no longer be the majority of citizens in Germany?

I think, believe it or not, it's already the case. But if they further naturalize these so-called refugees or coming into Germany, certainly they will be one minority amongst various minorities living in Germany. And this has been a profound shock to most Germans to discover this. It was put in a newspaper, and there's a lot of questioning about, therefore, I mean, what is going on? I mean, was this labor really necessary for our industrial prosperity or is there a political gender, if you like, a social engineering gender that also lies behind it is this uh below the and don't let me put words in your mouth alistair is this below

the radar uh bottom up uh animosity toward the elites common to the major countries uh in western europe italy france germany spain Portugal, your native Great Britain, or are there exceptions where the elites are tolerated and likely to stay in power for a while? You know, they've got such a, I mean, you know, a chokehold on Europe. They control most of the political parties. The money that goes for the media comes from Brussels and the European Union. They do have a huge hold

over people and their thinking. And a lot of Europeans, I have to say, are still sort of the comfort generation. You know, they're talking about their next summer holidays and what they're going to buy and whether they're going to have a new kitchen or something. And it hasn't necessarily penetrated to them yet because they are fearful for losing those comforts. But it's coming because the comforts are already being slowly withdrawn from them because of economic circumstances. It's very different now. It's harsh. Germans, a lot of, many Germans are not sure that they can survive this winter financially. We're going to take a break for a word from our sponsor. When we come back,

we will play portions of, brief portions of President Putin's three and a half hour, very candid off the top of his head conversation with a couple of dozen Russian journalists. And Alistair will analyze all of this for us right after this. You want to feel safe in your vehicle. And for you, that means easy rapid access to your firearm but safety also means your items don't fall into the wrong hands. You don't have to choose between safety and convenience. The headrest safe keeps your firearm where you can access it and no one else can. Just order your Headrest Safe, install it yourself when it arrives, and enjoy peace of mind. It starts at theheadrestsafe.com.

Alistair, before we get to President Putin, how, in your view, is this disenchantment with the elites, notwithstanding their control over society, influencing the war in Ukraine. Can you connect the dots? I know you can, but can you do it for us? Very clearly, yes, it's growing. Everywhere in Europe, the pro-Russia parties, I mean, not everywhere, but in a lot of countries, the pro-Russia parties are surging at this point. Also in Germany, also in France.

This is contra to the elites, because with the exception of President Orban in Hungary, all the NATO leaders seem to be lockstep behind Victoria Nuland and Tony Blinken and Joe Biden. No? Yes, that's absolutely true. They're frightened. They are terrified. And if you like getting it cross purposes with Washington, because they think that will be the end of them. So they are all still following in Biden's footsteps. I mean, this is what I say when it's a cultural problem. There's no courage, there's no integrity and no willingness to face the people with the truth, to look truth in the eye and tell them how it is, what's happening in Ukraine. So because, you know, this is a generation that has become narcissistic. The leadership has

bombed, the elites have become self-important and narcissistic the leadership was on the elites that become Self-important and narcissistic and think that they can still control everything by Control of the printing press by control of the big media and so on that they can keep everything stable And yes, there'll be protests But they'll clamp down on those with an iron fist and they'll survive and get through it They're getting a bit more nervous they'll clamp down on those with an iron fist and they'll survive and get through it. They're getting a bit more nervous, I think, about death. Before we get to President Putin, is the death of Silvio Berlusconi, you're in the hills outside of Rome right now,

is the death of Silvio Berlusconi, will that strengthen or weaken Mrs. Maloney's government? Oh, I mean, he was a figure on his own. And I think it will push people more in his direction in Italy, and less so because Berlusconi, of course, was pro-Russian and opposed to the war in Ukraine. And Maloney, perhaps for tactical, strategic reasons, is playing the cards of being an avid supporter of the Biden policies in Ukraine. So, I mean, we'll see, but I think it will do that, because he was regarded as, I mean, he was a strange figure. One person said, I mean, the greatest contribution Peres-Koenig made was he believed politics had to be fun.

That's for sure. No doubt. Here's President Putin. This is a little bit longer than a minute. It's in German with English subtitles. I will do my best to read the subtitles for the benefit of our viewers who are listening to this rather than watching it. And then I'll be very anxious to hear, Alistair, your thoughts about what he says. He's very, very candid in his assessment in this clip of the military position of the Russians vis-à-vis Ukraine. Then, after we chat, we'll play another clip in which he gives what, in my view, is an excellent understanding of what happened in Ukraine vis-à-vis Russia in 2014 when Mrs. Nuland staged her coup. During this time, they lost over 160 tanks, over 300, 460 armored vehicles of various types.

This is just what we see. There are still losses that we do not see that are inflicted. The Russian Federation has also been using high-precision, long-range weapons to attack large concentrations. So there are actually more of these losses on the Ukrainian side. And so by my calculations, it's 25, maybe 30 percent of the volume of equipment that was supplied from abroad. Here's about, it seems to me that if they can objectively, they will go along with it. But as far as I've seen from open sources, from Western sources, that's about what they seem to be saying here. So the offensive is on. These are the results to date of what I

have just said. 25 to 30 percent of NATO equipment destroyed. It's probably worse than that, but that's what because he doesn't like to exaggerate or promise more than he can deliver. It's one of his virtues seem about right to you. Understated, if anything. I mean, the disaster has been for the Ukrainians has been an extraordinary one. I mean, all the things that they thought should happen didn't happen. The Russians had some surprises. I think one of your correspondents has mentioned the mines, but also the helicopters that were far that with man pads continuously.

All of them were repelled by electronic means. I don't think one helicopter came down. And the huge losses of manpower, the huge losses of equipment, I mean, it was a complete reversal. I think the only thing I would say is, you know, the military experts who are very good at the analysis on the military side, sometimes neglect the fact that Putin is playing a long game.

The military side is hugely important, very important indeed, but he's also playing a long political game and he's playing financial war as well. He's in the middle of a financial war and a diplomatic war. So he's playing all of that. No triumphalism in his speech. Very calm, very quiet, low key. You know the old adage, it's best not to win too much. And he's trying to keep it at that, To make the West understand how big that there were severe losses, but not to sort of revel in it and not to try and make more of that, but to really say to them, okay, think about that. Think about what you're going to do next, because that's what you've got to do. But unfortunately, at the moment, there's not much time of that. I saw the Washington Post today was writing articles saying, you know, this poses questions that Washington finds unpleasant and is not ready to answer at this point. So we're obviously doing it. But my concern, really, in all of this, is that every time this happens like we've just seen,

you've got the New York Times comes up and says, oh, well, let's lower the bar. I mean, it's not a success just if they take Crimea. Any territory, however tinsy, constitutes a success. And therefore, at Vilnius, we may end up having to increase more weapons or increase the support as long as it takes for Ukraine to win. They've got to win. They can't join NATO until they win. And that implies we're going to escalate and we're going to go on. And this is what I meant when I said initially, you know, we can't do any other. We do what we've always done, increase and escalate, and we can't do any other instead

of actually sitting down and working out, is this a sensible thing for us to be doing? You know, you're right about the New York Times. This may bring us back to where we started, even though it's on the other side of the Atlantic. You're such an astute student of political trends. Have the liberals in America, whether it's Joe Biden, The Washington Post, The New York Times become the pro-war gaggle after all these years? Yes, absolutely. They are the pro-war. And this is what is so amazing, that we have the pro-war being left by the liberal Democrats in America and the anti-war function by Republican candidate Trump, Donald Trump, and on the Democratic side by RFK Kennedy. So, I mean, it's a complete topsy-turvy, all of the old, if you like, signifies of politics.

What is left or right anymore when you have, you know, Kennedy in the same, you know, being accused of being a MAGA supporter by the American press? I mean, none of it, all of these categories, again, were in a big resorting of values and politics, and that's what I was saying about Europe. It started. It'll take time.

But this is one of these great cultural shifts, shifts of values, culture, which overturns ultimately the old order, which I think, what's the name of them, Strauss and Howe, who wrote The Fourth Turning? They said that this is what makes The Fourth Turning. It's a bottom- up change of values. People actually are fed up with not being told the truth. And that's what Kennedy promised to do. And that's what Trump does. Kay Jr.'s brothers, I won't mention him by name, a friend of mine and former colleague at Fox is a serious libertarian. I never thought that I would see the day when a small government, maximum individual liberty, pro-peace, anti-war, card-carrying libertarians would be lauding someone named Kennedy. Let's go to the other clip from President Putin.

It's a bit of a history lesson. There's a little bit of anger in here, but I want your thoughts on it. But listen, this was not the first coup. And how did Yudyshenko come to power? What, as a result of elections? You want me to show you how he came to power? We know that they came up with a third round of voting. What bloody third round?

It's not provided by the Constitution. This was a coup. But at least it was passed in a relatively peaceful way, and we communicated with them. I went there. They came to us. No, it came to a bloody coup d'etat. It has become obvious that we are not given any chance to build normal relations with our neighbors and the fraternal Ukrainian people. What do you think? I think this underlines precisely the point of where we are and why there can't easily be a ceasefire. Zbigniew Brzezinski long ago wrote his book saying that he who controls the heartland controls the world, basically, heartland being Eurasia. And then he added, and Ukraine is the spearpoint

to achieve the change. And so this is the fundamental point that Putin understands and is reflected in that piece so clearly. You know, this is, Ukraine is just a tool. I mean, a femoral tool. It's being used at the moment, and it's at the center of the news. But it's actually the struggle for the heartland. It's the struggle for sovereignty of the heartland. And it's a struggle against Western hegemony and their attempt to block that happening. This is the big game. That's why I'm saying that, you know, the policy, the military back and forth in Ukraine, of course, it's important. But Putin is playing the big game, the long game,

20 years hence, that is to change the psychology of the West, to be able to accept that things have moved on, and the rest of the world no longer has to tug its forelock at the West or to accept that things have moved on and the rest of the world no longer has to tug its forelock at the West or to feel that it's in their employ. They're doing quite nicely, the periphery, without us. They're doing better than us in many ways. And so they've moved on. And we have to either get with it and try and be part of this, or we'll bang our heads against an impossible task of trying to upend such a strong movement. I mean, just to give you a sign of the times, the biggest tar block in Dubai, Bo the 12th, was decked out in Russian colors.

It was Russia Day. And they had all the red, white, and blue colors all up the biggest top in the UAE Dubai center. Doesn't that tell you something about a change taking place in the world? It sure does. It sure does. It sure does.

Alistair Crook, always a pleasure, my dear friend. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. Thanks. Of course, if you like this, tell a friend, like and subscribe. And as always, more as we get it. Judge Napolitano for judging freedom. The headrest safe is quick and easy to use. Some may even call it a game changer.

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