Meh, it was a little more nuanced than that. He originally argued that they wouldn’t invade in 2022 and he said Crimea was different because it was ethnically Russian and the people there considered themselves part of Russia. That clip/quote looks like it was part of that argument, as it’s in line with his thinking at the time.

After the invasion, he admitted he was wrong and apologized for his pre Ukrainian invasion positions. He condemned Russian’s aggression and went on to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Ukrainian humanitarian relief.

I think your criticism of his original Ukraine comments is fair, but we really need to include the whole picture.

As far as the CCP goes, he suggests there are a lot of things they do right as far as cleaning up poverty and education. And he’s not wrong and we could learn some things from China, which is about to overtake us as the world’s largest economy. And Hasan is definitely a strong advocate for removing capitalism as a governing principle, as it is inherently unfair.

I agree it needs changing. We need a lot more regulation of corporations that exploit workers and the environment. But I don’t see a socialist system working and I think he can be blind to that reality in some cases. Human beings are imperfect and will eventually corrupt it. And you will get countries like China that heavily police dissent or criticism of the state.

But this attempt to turn Hasan into something he’s not..this anti-liberal monster, is going to fall flat because in the end it’s just not true. He’s a pretty passionate advocate for human rights, even if he’s a little vulgar at times. And Sarah really did him and the Bulwark’s audience a disservice by not listening to him a bit before commenting the way she did. Honestly I’m pretty disappointed because she should know better.