In the 1970 song “War”, the answer to the above question is “absolutely nothing” but in the real world, in the political world, sadly it too often serves the needs of the powerful who have only their own interests in mind.
I am tired of watching the people of Ukraine suffer as they
serve as the proxy victims in our proxy war against Russia. I realize that they do not think of
themselves that way, but my reading of this war and the complicated history
leading to it directs me to that conclusion.
President Putin of Russia fired the first shot, but before
that shot was fired many besides Putin marched in the parade toward war. Few took the time to understand the Russian
mindset and the complicated history between Russia and Ukraine, or to
acknowledge the West’s aggressive enticement of Ukraine to become a fully
Western State. There were few if any
real attempts to negotiate a settlement of sorts that would have prevented war,
gained a stronger democracy for Ukraine, and appeased Russia’s fears of the
West.
A brief and highly abridged history
As part of the Pontic Steppe in Eastern Europe, the area now
known as Ukraine has been an important and sought after part of that
geographical area since prehistoric times.
Many Russians see Kyiv (Rus) as the birthplace of Russia. Ukraine has come under the rule of several
rulers and other countries. During the 1600s, in order to escape
Polish-Lithuanian rule, Ukraine sought protection from Russia which led to its
rule by Tsarist Russia. In the late
1700s, the far west of Ukraine fell under Austrian control while the rest
became part of Russia.
At the time of the Russian revolution, Ukraine tried to
break free of Russia. In 1919 several
armies fought one another in Ukraine - Kyiv changed hands 6 times. In 1921, Ukraine was incorporated into Soviet
Russia. During WWII, much of Ukraine
supported and fought with the Nazis whom Ukrainians saw as liberators from
Russia. Russians were united against the
Nazis and their supporters, and the Ukrainian Nazi support continues to be a
sore spot with Russians to this day.
After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine became
an independent state. In 2004 the “Orange
Revolution” revealed a Ukraine clearly divided between those Ukrainians, many
of whom are ethnic Russians, who wanted to maintain strong ties with Russia,
and those who were more interested in creating ties with the West and its
organizations such as NATO.
Russia, for its part, includes both those who would like to
see Soviet Russia restored including full incorporation of Ukraine into Russia as
well as those who back an independent and westernized Ukraine. Russia, however, generally silences
opposition to its official pro-war stance.
War moves from likelihood to certainty
The Russian Federation annexed Crimea in 2014 and has fought
with Ukraine over other eastern portions of Ukraine since then. In 2016 Ukraine joined an agreement with the
European Union that allowed trade and visa-free travel between Ukraine and the EU. In 2019 Ukraine amended its Constitution to
put it on a stated path towards membership in the EU and NATO. The original plan was to formally apply for
EU membership in 2024, but that was moved forward, and the application was made
in early February 2022.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin began more
assertively voicing his opposition to Ukraine joining NATO, in part because of
the military threat to Russia of NATO having the ability to place missiles or
other military equipment at the border with Russia. Here one must remember that NATO was
established to counter the threat posed by the then Soviet Union and its
mission continues to be to secure its member countries against Russia. Since the fall of Soviet Russia NATO has
aggressively sought to expand its membership. Whether this is a threat to Russia in reality
or not is less important than the fact that Russia sees this as a threat.
Throughout 2021 Russia moved its troops to the Ukrainian
border, obviously building towards a potential invasion. During that time the United States, while
condemning the buildup, took no real action against it. President Biden threatened sanctions etc.,
but it was always too little too late and in the opinion of many only presented
a face of weakness to Russia that encouraged Putin to be more aggressive.
To others, many of the statements made by President Biden
seemed to be goading President Putin into taking military action. Why he might do that is open to speculation,
but a war would distract from the rising inflation and other problems he was
and is facing in this country, it would create someone (Russia/Putin) to blame for continuing
economic problems, it might make Biden some sort of hero (he did
keep putting forth the idea that this was going to be his Cuban Missile Crisis
so perhaps he thought it would gain him a Kennedy-like respect), and then there
is the fact that since he was a Senator, Biden has made no secret of the fact
that he hates Putin.
Shortly after Ukraine made its application to NATO, and
after Biden effectively gave Putin no possible way to withdraw without losing
face, on Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine.
Whose war is it?
The United States and other Western and NATO countries proclaimed their support for Ukraine. Ukraine asked for money – we sent it. Ukraine asked for military equipment – we sent it. Finding the precise figure of aid, both military and humanitarian, to Ukraine is difficult, but it is somewhere around $50 billion in 2022 in direct aid and over $100 billion if one counts indirect aid. The majority of that is for defense, and the funding does not show any sign of ceasing. We are sending our store of weapons - tanks, missiles, guns, and other military equipment - and that too shows no sign of ceasing, even though we are so depleted that this country is in a position where it does not have the ability to defend itself.
Ukrainian President Zelensky has done a marvelous job of
building strength and unity amongst his people.
He also does a wonderful job of begging the West and U.S. for money to support them. Many people of that country are firm in their
belief that with the U.S. behind them and supplying them, that they can defeat
Russia without making any concessions whatsoever. Indeed, many believe that they can even see
Crimea returned.
With this confidence inspired by the U.S. and other backers,
they are not interested in negotiating an end to the fighting. This Ukrainian digging in and belief in total
victory might be far less strong if not for US and other Western support. So, are the Ukrainians fighting their war, or
are we, the West, fighting that war? And
if it is we who are fighting it then why is it Ukrainian and not our blood that
is being spilled?
Why isn’t the thought of peace even on the table?
If we really cared about the Ukrainian people as we say we
do, then why aren’t we seeking peaceful solutions to end this; solutions that
indeed might result in some territory loss but that would end the loss of life?
Yet instead we escalate.
In 2022 President Biden told us that sending tanks to Ukraine would
result in World War 3. In January of
2023 he announced he would send tanks to Ukraine. We are going to train the Ukrainians on how
to use the tanks, bringing them to the U.S. for that training. When one of those tanks kills a Russian is
that an aggression by Ukraine or by the United States? And Putin has threatened use of nuclear
weapons if the United States or NATO countries are the ones actually fighting
this war.
If this does become World War 3, then we are going to have a
hard time since our weapons stockpiles will be empty and parts to rebuild often
come from China who will likely be aligned with Russia and not inclined to
assist us. Does our President even
consider let alone understand such things? Does he understand that it is young
Ukrainians dying for his cause? Does he
care?
Where are the diplomats, the peacemakers who will use reason
and negotiation rather than human life to solve their differences? Let America lead on that front instead of as
warmongers.
We are using the Ukrainians.
Perhaps they are using us as well.
But when their usefulness is over, will we care at all what happens to
them? I doubt it. Because this is not really a war about
freedom or democracy. It is a war about a
few men wanting to puff up and show off their power.
I close with a few lines from Edwin Starr’s 1970 song “War” written
by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong:
War, I despise
'Cause it means destruction of innocent lives
Life is much too short and precious
To spend fighting wars each day
War can't give life
It can only take it away, oh
Peace, love and understanding, tell me
Is there no place for them today?
They say we must fight to keep our freedom
But Lord knows there's got to be a better way, oh
War, huh (God y'all)
What is it good for? You tell me (nothing)
Say it, say it, say it, say it
War (good God), huh (now, huh)
What is it good for?
Stand up and shout it (nothing)
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