Arthur C. Donart, Ph.D. wrote this essay.
Most people would agree that you don’t put out a fire by throwing gasoline on it. Yet our foreign gurus are doing just that, in regards to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The deranged mentality of our Government seems to be, that the best way to prevent violence is to give everyone a gun. It seems that our Country does not learn from our mistakes. Furthermore, if I were a Ukrainian, I’d be very worried, given the U. S. record for success.
I remember the Korean Conflict, because I was a part of it. We did not win that war, a.k.a. “United Nation’s police action.” It was ended in a cease fire, not a peace agreement. Next, President Dwight Eisenhower sent thousands of our troops to South Vietnam, to train their military and provide them with our weapons. Does this sound vaguely familiar? We all know how that turned out! Defeat comes to mind. More recent are our ventures into Iraq and Afghanistan. Surely, no one has forgotten how that has turned out. So, look out Ukraine, we are coming to rescue you!
President Joseph Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have stressed that they want a “negotiated settlement.” They are playing the good guys. However, they are not moving off their position. That is not negotiating; that is “my way or the highway.”
They could offer a moratorium on expanding NATO; they could offer to withdraw U. S. troops from the Eastern Baltic states. They could sweeten the deal by ending some sanctions, etc. Negotiating implies some give-and-take. So far, the U. S. and its partners have been NO give and ALL take.
By arming and training Ukrainian “Nazis,” a.k.a. the Azov regiment, Ukraine’s version of the Proud Boys, our Government has made matters worse. The difference is, these guys succeeded in their coup to oust the Government. Arming and training Nazis is not what I would call “in the best interest of the USA.” Unfortunately, there is more.
When Secretary Blinkin states (as he has many times), “Capturing and holding another Country’s territory is a violation of International Law,” I shudder. The Israeli Government has done exactly that and continues to do so. Our Government feigns a slight irritation, every time Israeli settlers steal more Palestinian land. Yet, when the United Nations votes to sanction Israel, we veto it. We cannot cry violation of International Law, when everyone knows that we do nothing to stop Israel.
We could quit giving them $2-3 billion dollars of our taxpayers’ money every year. So much for “International Law.” Would that stop the Israeli settlers? We’ve yet to find out. But if we tried, we would at least have a consistent foreign policy. Then other Nations would not be snickering when our President states, “We believe in the rule of law.”
Unfortunately, we believe in the Monroe Doctrine. That means if a Central or South American country should happen to elect a Government we don’t like, (example Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Honduras) we do our regime change thing. We’ve toppled Haiti’s Government so many times, that the Haitians are coming here in droves. We have some 800 military bases in foreign countries to “protect our National interest.” What would we think if Russia decided to put military bases in Mexico, Cuba, and Panama? Would it be those Countries’ right to allow the Russians to put bases in their Countries? What say you, Monroe Doctrine?
Eli S. McCarthy in a recent article published in America: The Jesuit Review recommends, “We can shift to a “just peace” frame-work. Rather than reacting to a perceived threat, by trying to one-up an adversary for the sake of ‘deterrence,’ or identifying justifications for war, a “just peace” approach begins with identifying the root cause of the conflict, as well as the genuine needs of the adversaries.” McCarthy elaborates on ten steps to peace which I will list: 1. Avoid threats of war. 2. Avoid dehumanizing language. 3. Consistency between means and ends (“reflexivity.”) The means used to manage the conflict must be consistent with the ends of partnership, well-being, and a sustainable peace. 4. Integral disarmament. 5. Acknowledgement of responsibility. 6. Conflict transformation. 7. Economic justice. 8. Nonviolent direct action. 9. Robust civil society. 10. Uphold human dignity.
Finally, we need Russia. We need Russia to get back into the treaty with Iran. It is Russia that takes Iran’s excess uranium. We need Russia and China to work with us to reduce the threat of nuclear war. We need their help in fighting climate change. We don’t have to like their form of Government, which is no worse than that of our ally, Saudi Arabia.
And we need to keep in mind, our Country is not a candidate for sainthood.