The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming

Maybe Russia will invade Ukraine, maybe they won’t. But America’s apparent all or nothing negotiations where America wins, Russia loses, actually makes invasion more likely.

Russia has valid national security concerns going back 30 years when the U.S. promised Russia, NATO would not expand one inch into former Soviet territory once Russia pulled its troops from East Germany, allowing German reunification. Surprise, surprise. NATO went on a recruitment binge, bringing 13 former soviet republics into NATO and encouraging 2 more, Georgia and Ukraine as well.

The latter two represented a threat too far for Russia to accept. In 2008, egged on by President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain, Georgia initiated military action to regain 2 Russian leaning breakaway provinces. Russia responded with overwhelming force that crushed the Georgian incursion. Realizing Georgia acted irresponsibly in goading Russia to counterattack, and that the war was of no material consequence to the West, the West did nothing.

Six years later the West did intervene in Ukraine. They inspired and supported a nationalist coup, neo-Nazi led, against the Russian leaning Ukraine president who was about to conclude an economic treaty with Russia. That was unacceptable to NATO and the US which demanded Ukraine align economically with Europe, not Russia. The coup set off a civil war between Western Ukraine and the Russian leaning and speaking Ukrainians in the Eastern Donbass. Over 13,000 killed in a still simmering truce. The coup also resulted in Russian annexation of the Crimea to secure Russia’s naval base at Sebastopol. Neither of these developments would have occurred had the West had simply allowed Ukraine to set its own national policy.

In the following 7 years, Western efforts placing offensive missiles near Russia’s borders and continued floating of NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine, finally caused pushback the West can’t ignore: threatening invasion to force sensible negotiation of legitimate Russian security concerns.

NATO has been obsolete for 30 years. Their continued presence and threatening expansion up to Russia’s borders, including placement of offensive weaponry, does not serve the cause of peace whatsoever. It simply provoked the current crisis that could lead to catastrophic war.

The film The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming was a comedy. American and NATO hyperbolic posturing about the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming to gobble up Europe is a farce that may lead to tragedy.

Walt Zlotow became involved in antiwar activities upon entering University of Chicago in 1963. He is current president of the West Suburban Peace Coalition based in the Chicago western suburbs. He blogs daily on antiwar and other issues at www.heartlandprogressive.blogspot.com.