Republican Debate Issue: Ukraine

At one point in the recent Republican debate one of the moderators asked the eight participants to raise their hands if they favored sending $77 Million dollars of military aid to Ukraine. Except for outsider Vivek Ramaswamy, they all raised their hands in favor. In effect, they were in favor of escalating the conflict which after 18 months seems mired down in a kind of stand off. 

Not one of these politicians spoke of working for peace in the war torn area. Ramaswamy primarily objected because he thought the money would be better used to ward off the invasion of our own southern border. In this respect they are supporting the Biden administration's failure to use the office of the Presidency to take the lead and work for peace.

Both Ukraine and Russia are members of the United Nations, but so far President Biden has failed to address that body and make an impassioned plea for peace. As far as I know, only Pope Francis has been trying to bring the parties together and negotiate an end to the bloodshed although his efforts have gone largely unnoticed in American media. 

A year and a half ago I put up a post on this blog most of which I believe is still relevant. 

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I do not know what the outcome of the Russian invasion of Ukraine will be, but I do believe that the war and its terrible consequences could have been avoided. Faced with Russian warnings over the past few years, the government of the Ukraine only had to pledge that it would never join NATO or the European Union, or allow foreign troops on its soil.

In other words, while affirming its independence of both Russia and the West, Ukraine would have opted for neutrality in the same way that Switzerland has done for hundreds of years. This pledge would have retained Ukraine’s independence as well as its ability to deal politically and financially with both Russia and the West. A pledge of neutrality would not have been appeasement. It would have allowed the people of Ukraine to live in peace and shape their own destiny. It was worth a try especially now that we see the mounting devastation and loss of life on both sides.

 

The war in Ukraine is a tragic failure of diplomacy on all sides. It is easy to blame President Putin of Russia and call him insane as our media likes to do, but leaders in the West are also to blame for the diplomatic failure.

 

On 3/22/22, the Wall Street Journal, always hawkish on Ukraine, published an interview with Robert Service, a respected historian and analyst of Russian affairs. In the interview he pointed out that in November of last year, President Biden dismissed Russian objections to NATO expansion. Here is an excerpt from the interview:

 

The Russian invasion of Ukraine resulted from two immense strategic blunders; Robert Service says. The first came on Nov. 10, when the U.S. and Ukraine signed a Charter of Strategic Partnership, which asserted America’s support for Kyiv’s right to pursue membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The pact made it likelier than ever the Ukraine would eventually join NATO—an intolerable prospect for Vladimir Putin. “It was the last straw,” Mr. Service says. Preparations Immediately began for Russia’s so-called special military operations in Ukraine.

 

People will remember President Biden’s history of meddling in Ukrainian affairs as Vice President during the administration of President Obama. He even bragged about bullying the government of Ukraine by threatening to cut off U.S. aid unless it agreed to dismiss a prosecutor investigating corruption in the Ukrainian energy company whose board of directors included his own son, Hunter, who somehow got the high paying post with no experience or qualifications. Ironically, President Trump was impeached by Democrats because of a phone call to Ukrainian President Zelensky asking him to investigate corruption.

 

The Biden administration can now add the war in Ukraine to its growing list of failures which are too numerous to recount here. Any policy that results in war with its attendant destruction, loss of life, and displacement of millions of people must be regarded as a failure despite the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people.

 

I also blame Democratic politicians in this country for spending the four years of the Trump administration constantly harassing the President over a Russia collusion hoax that effectively hindered the President of the USA from coming to any kind of peaceful arrangement with Russia over the status of Ukraine. ***

Remember that President Trump was a critic of NATO and its expansion. He even went so far as to question its existence especially since the European partners seemed unwilling to bear the financial burden. Nevertheless, NATO went so far as to include tiny countries on Russia’s border like Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania as members. Does anyone seriously believe that the USA will go to war if those countries are invaded?

 

Of course, Vladimir Putin of Russia must bear the lion’s share of the blame for the tragedy in Ukraine no matter how the war turns out. It seems to me that he could have used Russia’s vast energy reserves as a much more potent weapon than his military. Ukraine and Europe are dependent on Russia for energy. Despite the long-standing animosity between Russia and Ukraine, they still could have worked together for each other’s benefit.

 

Despite his heroism in the current crises, President Zelensky could have and should have found a peaceful resolution to allay Putin’s fears. Looking at things now, what did he gain by signing the Strategic Partnership Pact with the USA last November?

 

 

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***Note. The publication of the Mueller and Durham reports have demonstrated that not only was the charge of Russian collusion on the part of Donald Trump a hoax, but also it was a charge fabricated by his Democratic opponents.