Monday. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, "One of the US’s goals in Ukraine is to see a weakened Russia." He also said, "The U.S. is ready to move heaven and earth to help Ukraine win the war against Russia."
The first statement contains no goal of saving Ukrainian lives. That is because saving Ukrainians is not a major focus of US war aims in Ukraine. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called out America’s disregard of the staggering death and destruction there saying "There are countries within NATO who want the war to continue. They want Russia to become weaker."
Apparently "heaven and earth" in the second statement includes billions in weaponry, but not a single pair of US boots on the ground. Nor does it include American war planes; even a no-fly zone to counter Russian air superiority. That telegraphs America does not consider the Ukraine war critical to America’s national self-interests that risks a single American life. US policy boils down to: Ukraine does the dying; America does the supplying.
The US has never once offered negotiations as a path toward peace. For the US to enter negotiations, they would have to cease denying the provocative history of the US, NATO, and ultra nationalist Ukrainians’ actions toward Russia’s borders, including the killing of 14,000 Russian speaking Ukrainians in the Donbas. Refusing to address that long, tortured history makes a negotiated settlement virtually impossible. That leaves endless weaponry provoking even stronger Russian warfare, guaranteeing the killing goes on throughout 2022, per Secretary of State Antony Blinken, or even several years according to Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley.
But endless war and deaths is just one of several calamities facing the world by using weapons, and its less violent policy mate, sanctions, instead of negotiations. Worldwide recession may be now more likely than not. Flowing from worldwide recession, and sanctions crippling supply chains, millions in poor countries may be doomed to starvation and death from policies proclaimed as life savers.
But the worst possible consequence of proxy war by the US and NATO against Russia is all out nuclear war between the 2 major nuclear powers possessing over 13,000 nuclear weapons. Sixty-four days into war, every day brings new potential for miscalculation, blunder, simple misunderstanding, to trigger warfare not seen since World War II, 77 years ago. If that happens, the catastrophe will not be limited to two Japanese cities.
It is counterproductive for the US to substitute weapons and sanctions for diplomacy if it is truly interested in peace. Last week Blinken counselor Derek Chollet advised that Blinken’s negotiating team refused to even consider Russia’s security concerns regarding NATO’s membership for Ukraine, a red line to Russia they’ve been warning us about for 2 decades. Chollet spilled the beans on Blinken saying "We made clear to the Russians that we were willing to talk to them on issues that we thought were genuine concerns to them in some way. But the future of Ukraine was a non-issue."
As a result, Secretary of State Blinken hasn’t spoken to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov since February 15, nine days before war began. That abrogation of simple diplomacy that could have avoided war was inexcusable and unacceptable.
America and its fervent media supporters should be supporting, demanding even, that our government use negotiations, the only means of bringing this horrific war to a prompt conclusion. Endless demonizing of Russian President Putin also makes even starting such necessary negotiations difficult, if not impossible.
That leads to a fair question many in the peace movement and others are asking: Is the U.S. supplying endless weapons but no negotiations simply to wage proxy war fought by Ukrainians, primarily to isolate, weaken, even effect regime change in Russia, rather than to save Ukrainian lives?
We need every media organization in America to begin asking the tough questions that could provide an off ramp from endless war, worldwide recession and starvation, and most importantly, possible nuclear war
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.
“The US has never once offered negotiations as a path toward peace. For the US to enter negotiations, they would have to cease denying the provocative history of the US, NATO, and ultra nationalist Ukrainians’ actions toward Russia’s borders, including the killing of 14,000 Russian speaking Ukrainians in the Donbas.”
BINGO!!! Imagine Minsk 2 being in the news on a daily basis? Or NATO encroachment? Or the shelling of Donbas? The propaganda machine would lose all validity. Plus, Blinken wouldn’t have a job because he wouldn’t know what diplomacy was if it bit him on the a$$.
Blinken could concentrate on other Biden goals in other places in the world. Walt Zlotow is trying to grow the Peace Movement and other helpful entities to save Slavic (Ukrainian, Russian) lives. (Sidenote:The propaganda would be used on other priorities)
Apr 27, 2022 Putin warns of ‘lightning response’ to intervention in Ukraine
President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that if any other country intervenes in Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, Russia will launch a quick-fire military response.
https://youtu.be/EL34zFX2YHA
As Scott Ritter said, “When Putin says something, you can take it to the bank.”
As Scott Ritter said, “I hope you are a minor…”.
He’s a paedophile who has been caught multiple times.
Explains Western obsession with seizing and freezing assets…
(bringing this horrific war to a prompt conclusion)(I have read this article twelve times).
Walt writes about counselor Derek Cholle. He wrote a book above the
Dayton Accords. These accords put an end to the three-and-a-half-year-long Bosnian War, one of the Yugoslav Wars. Russia was an observer at the time. This is now the 145 million strong Russian Federation. Whatever, the Administrations playbook*, this is a different game but I see the Anglophile chauvanism that thinks, they have the solution to Eastern Europe and that requires escalation. Its the Slavic peoples that suffer. The ethnic conflict is bad enough.
*”..that we thought were genuine concerns to them(Russians) in some way. But the future of Ukraine was a non-issue”…//Sidenote: the Russian speakers lost faith in the end over, the OSCE, and April 30th, its being desolved in those territories.
So what do you do when Slavs attack Slavs? As someone who is against war I hope the aggressor loses. Russia crossed the border, my sympathies are with Ukraine.
Ok, your sympathies & the limited resources of your North Ameriacan government is used (& blown up) over there.. Blank Cleck? Yet, Ukraine is still the graveyard. The population suffers. Unemployment goes up. Internally displaced people. A negotiated settlement stops the war. Walt said Ukrainians die, the U.S. supplies.This is escallation. You turn this area of the world into a divided Korea & that doesn’t help Slavs. EU expanaion helps Germany first. You need a peace mechanism (European) & a REAL ceasefire that doesn’t allow.violations over the line-of-control.
So far it seems the Ukrainians want to fight. As long as they are willing to fight I think we should support them. The better the fight the less screwed they will be in the final negotiation.
I don’t share your opinion, as you write off bloodshed dismissively as”unfortunate”. Its the Grozny Chechen (Втора́я чече́нская война́) situation with three civilian casualties for every soldier. Chechens fought, and their end situation became worse. The Korean division is 69 years & counting. The Chechens became more screwed,and less industrialized. I am going with Walt’s camp. The British aided Confederacy(U.S. civil war) had one munitions factory (that I visited) to the Union’s four. They never stood a chance. A fraction of Donetsk & Lugansk Oblasts where originally lost. They could not eat their loss and respect OSCE mandate of not firing, over the line of control. Now, more territory will be lost. War turns everything to crap. I am antiwar, the proWar camp has proRussian & Pro Ukraine factions.
not challenging your anti-war opinions, but just urge you to slow down a little bit with the sentiment that “they never stood a chance” when talking about confederate traitors, British helping their industry, etc. This is part of the ‘lost cause’ narrative, that the industrial superiority of the north made appamatox inevitable. no it did not. what they were writing in 1870 was not at all what they were saying in 1860! the secessionist absolutely stood a big chance the first three years of the war. the lost cause narrative tries to diminish the work and sacrifice of the loyal people and the prowess of the loyal leaders and generals. Acting like appamatox was inevitable is a way to denigrate Lincoln and Grant.
The secessionists were bragging about their powers and before seceding all the disloyal southerners still in the federal government stole as much as they could steal before they left. They stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bullion from the New Orleans mint but the stupid confederates didn’t even know how to strike coins out of it- seriously, ever wonder why don’t you ever see a collector with a confederate coin? would be worth a fortune no doubt, not just to Neo-confederate revisionist losers, but to any one with an interest in the civil war. would be a priceless artifact in a museum! reason there aren’t any confederate coins is they didn’t know how to strike them. they only struck four coins. Not four types of coins as in a Penney and a Nickel and quarters etc., but actually only one two three four actual coins struck, and they were defective. The confederates didn’t have enough ability to mint coins, only paper script.
Ukrainians sure do want to fight against the Kiev regime. At least 50,000 Ukrainians are fighting alongside the 125,000 invited Russians
I heard that too, that when the Russians take over they find all the military age men, issue them a Mosin Nagant and drive them forward to expose enemy positions. I wonder how willing the are
The resources are pretty huge 33 billion is 1/2 of the Russian defense budget ( pre theft) . Of course war is a tragedy and Ukraine is totaly screwed and damaged for generations. But given that, what is the least tragic outcome possible starting from now?
“what is the least tragic outcome possible starting from now?”. You are hitting paydirt as I like the wisdom of your question. (The Ukrainian president ran as the peace candidate). Giving both sides an out. Ukraine needs Odessa as its Singapore harbor, If economic development is ‘really’ its goal. Russia wants a buffer zone. Diplomacy & longer term Peace requires not a “weakened Russia” but a more prosperous Dombass. Israel/ Egypt had a viable international force installed on its Sinai border after the 1973 October/Yom Kippur war/Peace deal. If Ukrainain president wants to be a ‘big Israel’, it has to be mature enough to keep Peace on that border from 1974 to 2022. Let that force be stationed in Odessa.Not the Belarus & Russian border that will always surround Kiev (its main population center) whose government don’t want any color Revolutions.
You seem to be on to something.
The Russians opened their ‘spec op’ on three distinct fronts of three oblasts each.
The southern theatre included Zaporzhzhia Oblast, Kherson Oblast, and Mykolaiv.
Odessa Oblast was left untouched, and would have been a fourth oblast, breaking the pattern.
Though there have been missile bombardments, Russia has made no serious actions to take Odessa.
“Odessa Oblast was left untouched, and would have been a fourth oblast”. This war is not over yet. Russia will try and capture Odessa with little damage by defeating the Ukraine army before it takes Odessa. It is a Russian speaking city home to the 2nd May 2014
horrendous massacre of Russian speaking citizens of Odessa whom the Nazi locked inside a building, set it on fire and then watch hundreds of people burn to death. The police and fire department watched. No one was charged never mind spent any time in jail. Odessa will not remain a Ukraine oblast.
If so, Odessa is a phase of the special operation well down the list.
Present Russian special operation resources seem to be on a strict budget, just like they are in Syria.
They can’t draw on any kind of general mobilization; Putin and his general staff are saving that for a potential direct NATO confrontation.
Austin and the Biden Administration believe that Russia is bluffing when they remind the world that they have nuclear weapons and they will use them.
The catch here is that these “elite” bureaucrats will be in a bunker 100 ft down or flying at 40,000 ft when the missiles start flying while we, the masses are vaporized instantly. These bastards are gambling with our lives because they will be safe.
Its like playing poker with somebody else’s money
True enough.
They seem to act as if anything goes now because nukes dare not be used.
If they’re wrong, well they won’t mind inheriting the Earth.
The planet will be a little scorched, and cold for a while from nuclear winter, but hey, they survived.
So Austin and the rest of the gang want Russia to become weaker. Weaker like what?
Like having the economy destroyed, hyperinflation a la Germany 1920’s mass unrest but still have nuclear weapons?
Or just starving but still have nuclear weapons?
Or running out of ammo and being faced with a return to the pre-war borders but still have nuclear weapons?
The insanity and the stupidity of what these guys utter in public is beyond belief. They still want to feel good by convincing themselves that Russia is just a giant gas station without considering ALL the facts.
Weaker so that the idea of invading a neighbor is viewed as really stupid for the next century.
“The wheat will not be planted”
The wheat was planted in December.
The question is whether it will be harvested in July.
There is more work to be done even when the wheat comes up and is still green, it has to be fertilized and sometimes treated for pests, and fungus… etc…
Also there is ongoing work on equipment and land…
Plus, wheat farmers generally plant rotational crops, like peas, and lentils… ect… A lot of those crops may be for animal feed.
I’m not sure needed supplies can get to the farmers in Ukraine… it’s monumentally stupid if that’s not considered… The world is going to erupt in a war of those without food, and those with… soon,
In any case it’s bad, if the world’s leaders don’t act fast to save as many crops as possible… all over the world.
Do yourself a favor and actually work on a wheat ranch.
I worked on a ten thousand acre farm for four years, all year long…
The ranch I was on grew: wheat, green peas, dried peas, seed corn, seed wheat, garbanzo beans, pinto beans, and sun flowers.
If a field only has wheat grown on it, it becomes nitrogen depleted. Growing peas puts nitrogen and other nutrients back into the soil.
If a wheat farmer tries to grow wheat season after season they will see their yields drop noticeably.
How is anything harvested if a tactical nuke hits the main growers? Particularly a dirty tactical nuke.
All that is true, but I was responding to the specific claim that “the wheat will not be planted.” The 2022 crop of wheat was planted in late 2021. Whatever disruptions to agriculture may be occurring right now, postponing the planting of wheat is not one of them.
I didn’t say the fields weren’t planted, I said there is more to farming wheat than than just putting seeds in the ground, and the war is most likely going to interfere with those chores…
I’m well aware of that (I grew up on and around farms).
I’m not sure why my reply was addressed to you, as I thought I hit “reply” on Dua-Kheti’s post. I have no doubt that farming in Ukraine is being greatly disrupted. I was simply pointing out that vis a vis wheat, the PLANTING is not part of the disruption. Almost all Ukrainian wheat is winter wheat, which was planted three months before the war started.
Depending on how bad the disruptions are, and when the war ends, there may be at least SOME harvest in July. Hopefully the thing won’t drag on into the next cycle.
That’s cool… someday computers will make our lives easier…
I’m with you on hope that the harvest is brought in and it isn’t way under normal…
Otherwise a lot of people are going to die of starvation, and there will be more events like the Arab Spring, which if I remember right had food shortages as a trigger?
Will the wheat be contaminated by weapons from the war that’s going on there? Zelensky might let that happen to get sympathy from the West.
Chernobyl was not a direct hit, which a tactical nuke would be.
Absent a nuclear event, I wouldn’t be too worried about “contamination.”
The big questions have to do with how much the farming routines have been disrupted — stolen or damaged equipment, armies traipsing back and forth across the planted fields, interruption of fuel supplies for equipment, interruption of or damage to irrigation, etc.
I suspect that there was a lot of all that, and that even if the war ends tomorrow, the July harvest will be severely diminished from usual yields. But it’s hard to tell, as it’s not seemingly being covered very much in the media.
“There is a Spring Wheat sowing Tom.”
Maybe so, but if so it’s a tiny one. 90-95% of wheat grown in Ukraine is winter wheat.
You might want to stick with Gog and Magog. You don’t seem to know any more about that than you do about farming, but at least it’s entertaining.
Because the wheat fields have been mined (by Ukraine forces) in The Dombass, farmers won’t risk taking their harvesters out – already crops go to waste.
Team Biden is still part of the Reset crowd of woke leftism.
Pointing at weakening Russia, is only misdirection from the dire economic and social effects on the West.
It the West and US in particular that is weakening fast as a result of reckless warmongering.
Austin would like to make Russia as weak as Iraq became after Gulf War I so the US & UK could divide it into No-Fly-Zones and bomb Russia from there and let the UN restrict food being sent to Russia so that lots of people starve there and someone like the late Madeleine Albright would say it was worth it. Austin of course knows that won’t happen except in his wildest dreams.
If Lloyd Austin were alive in the 19th Century, he’d be the only Black American exempt from America’s racist laws and Austin, Texas would be named after him.
Apr 29, 2022 The Intelligence Community & the Ukraine War w/Phil Giraldi
Latest on the Ukraine Russian war with Phil Giraldi, former CIA Case Officer and Army Intelligence Officer.
https://youtu.be/cKDRT4PomWw
Feb 3, 2022 Why Putin cannot allow Ukraine to join NATO
And if it does… it will destroy itself. He explains.
https://youtu.be/fe0vSpqvvyk
Zelensky and Biden could let Ukraine join NATO and destroy itself and Sweden and Finland will follow their leaders (Zelensky and Biden). That could start a Domino Effect.
Well, I just came across this news.
May 1, 2022 Speaker Pelosi meets Zelenskyy in unannounced visit to Kyiv
ABC News Senior Foreign Correspondent Ian Pannell reports on the Russian invasion of Ukraine on “This Week.”
https://youtu.be/npsnmVejBBk
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a0e8a38091d516b37a981a7af31f2185e2896c0c50023c8eb3205acdff1a39ef.png
Negotiation is going to be between Ukraine and Russia. We are helping the Ukrainians secure a powerful negotiating position. The bloodshed is unfortunate and should end as soon as Russia leaves.
The bloodshed already started in 2014, after the coup in Kiev (Maidan) eight years before the recent Russians intervention in February 2022. It could have been prevented if Ukraine had implemented the by Russia brokered 2014 Minsk Agreements, (the Normandy Format) signed by Ukraine, France and Germany shortly after in 2015. The US is aiming for wars of attrition which have proved to be so provitable. The hell with Ukrainians dying, they don’t care same as in other parts of the world.
Excellent article. The upshot is that Russia is waging a just war.
Well, Russia is just waging a war anyway.
no billions for americans. just for death overseas.
Killing innocents or noncombatants and keeping the conflicts hot and enduring are integral part of American sense of existence. It pulses its life forward on blaming other of crimes and carrying out same crimes withought regard of any sense of integrity or consistency.