While the United States and NATO continue to fuel the Ukraine-Russia War by sending more lethal aid to Ukraine, former President Donald Trump warned last week that peace talks are needed immediately to avert disaster.
“It’s far past the time
for all parties involved to pursue a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine before
this already horrific catastrophe spirals out of control and ends up leading
indeed to World War III and this would be a war like no other war, because this
would be a nuclear war,” he said on his social media platform, Truth Social.
You can trash Trump all you want, but he’s
right on this one. The war is threatening to spiral out of control and a
nuclear confrontation with Russia is entirely possible.
The implications of
that are terrifying --- a nuclear clash would likely be a world-ending event.
Just last week
President Biden went ahead and approved the dispatch of M-I tanks to Ukraine, breaking a promise he made in March when he said he would never do that because it would mean “World
War III.”
Now there’s talk of
sending fighter jets. The Russians have warned that such a step could have very
serious repercussions. Again, Biden has said he won’t go that far. But will he
keep his word?
Sending the jets may
be crossing the Rubicon for the United States.
It’s a sad
commentary on the state affairs in our country when the much-criticized Donald
Trump is the only national political leader who’s making any sense on Ukraine.
Are there any leading Democrats speaking out on
the need for peace and urging that the administration change course to avoid
disaster? The answer is, sadly, no. This is an utter disgrace. We have the
prospect of nuclear war on the horizon and the Democrats say nothing; in fact
they’re getting on board for sending more aid to Ukraine to “help Ukraine win.”
Win what? A radiated wasteland?
Unfortunately, the
Democrats today are not the party of George McGovern, Gene McCarthy, Wayne
Morse and Al Gore Sr. --- courageous statesmen who spoke out generations ago against
the terrible Vietnam War and urged peace. Far from it.
But the
Republicans are not much better on the war. Except for some libertarians in the
House, there is little opposition from the GOP on Ukraine. And some
Republicans, like Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, are goading Biden to ratchet
up the war by sending the fighter jets.
Already the Ukraine-Russia
War has been disastrous. There’s been 200,000 casualties, including tens of
thousands of deaths. More than 5 million people have been forced to flee
Ukraine and the country’s infrastructure has been devastated.
 |
| The US is sending M-I battle tanks to Ukraine, in a major escalation of the war. (Photo, Wikimedia Commons) |
Right from the
beginning the Biden administration has turned its back on tentative peace deals
that could have settled the conflict and opted instead to provide an unending
stream of military aid to the Eastern European country.
Biden’s flip-flop on delivering tanks to Ukraine recalls the lying by another president in the lead-up to the Vietnam War. Lyndon Johnson had
pledged during his 1964 campaign for president against the hawkish GOP
candidate Barry Goldwater that he would never send American soldiers to Southeast
Asia, where the US was supporting South Vietnam in its efforts to beat back a
communist insurgency. America had limited its involvement to providing military
advisors and equipment.
But within eight months of his victory in the ‘64 election, Johnson went back on his word and dispatched 40,000 troops to Vietnam, and the United States became fully
involved in a land war in Asia.
After that, the US spent eight years trying to
win in Vietnam with a seemingly unending series of troop deployments (the US
troop total rose to over 500,000) and relentless bombing campaigns against
North Vietnam and targets in South Vietnam. The US effort ultimately failed and
America had to pull out of Vietnam in defeat.
Some 54,000 Americans
and 3 million Indochinese lost their lives during that war. The Vietnamese
countryside was left poisoned by environmental toxins used by the US to
defoliate the jungle during combat operations.
Where is the Ukraine
War headed? Nowhere good, in my view --- unless political leaders, the media
and yes, the peace movement, wake up from their comatose state, realize the
severity of the situation and demand an end to the fighting.
Fortunately, there is some ray of hope that
the peace movement may be finally expanding to stop the war. A rally called “Rage
Against the War Machine” will take place February 19th in Washington
DC. What is noteworthy here is that several prominent activists associated with
the left and people tied to the libertarian movement on the right are joining
forces in the protest.
Anti-war activists
and left-leaning figures such as Jill Stein, Max Blumenthal, David Swanson, Chris Hedges
and Ann Wright will be speaking out against the war along with libertarians
like Ron Paul.
The event is being
sponsored by the Libertarian Party and the People’s Party. A statement by the
People’s Party said “While the People’s Party and the Libertarian Party do not
agree on a number of substantial issues, we agree that there is no “Life Liberty
and the Pursuit of Happiness” in a world devastated by nuclear war. We agree
that US resources should be used to improve the lives of Americans, not to
prolong wars around the world that profit the war industry. We agree that
diplomacy has not been given a chance in Ukraine and that the senseless deaths
and destruction could have been avoided and needs to be stopped.”
The statement added,
“To make a difference in this country, we need to be able to come together with
a diversity of voices and opinions.”
Some people on the
left may quibble with the idea of joining forces with libertarians on the right
but this is no time to insist on ideological purity. This is a time when people of diverse views but who share a common desire for peace have to come together to stop the
madness.
.
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