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 could 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 devastation and loss of life on both sides.
In March 2022, shortly after the war began, 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 2021, 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 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 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 questioned 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 ally Putin’s fears. Looking at things now, what did he gain by signing the Strategic Partnership Pact with the USA in 2021?
Interestingly, Vladimir Putin, in his lengthy interview with Tucker Carlson earlier this year, claimed that preliminaries of a negotiated settlement of the war had been ironed out at a meeting in Turkey, but that the deal had been scotched by the last minute intervention of then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. It is hard to imagine that Johnson acted without the concurrence of the Biden administration.
Some day someone will write the history of Joe Biden's involvement in Ukrainian affairs from from his time as Vice President during the Obama administration to the present. In the meantime, the war is a real black mark on his Presidency. On the other hand, even Trump haters, who still believe that President Trump colluded with Russia, must admit that there was no war in Ukraine during the Trump administration. The war in Ukraine should be one of the leading issues in the 2024 Presidential campaign.
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