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In late summer 1944, as the Allies clawed France back from Nazi occupation, Adolf Hitler is reported to have asked one of his generals, “Is Paris burning?”
The führer’s question was more of a demand; Hitler wanted to deploy scorched-earth tactics in the French capital to slow the Anglo-American advance.
Fortunately, the German dictator’s underlings punted and Paris was spared. Today, however, Paris is in flames, along with several other French cities. Rioters have torched cars and buildings and smashed homes and storefronts. Like Hitler before him, Vladimir Putin needs the West ablaze in order to postpone military defeat.
With Russia, nothing comes out of the blue. The timing—coinciding with Donald Trump’s final, complete betrayal of Ukraine, ahead of the November US midterms and presidential elections in France next spring—is no accident.
Everything is telegraphed, and the Kremlin’s hand is plainly visible in the chaos for all those willing to see. Here is Putin’s playbook: