The Trib’s editorial: "Ukraine’s counteroffensive succeeds" is positively ecstatic about the Ukraine counteroffensive retaking their Kharkiv Region.
The Chicago Tribune uses this singular victory in the 7 month Russian offensive as foreshadowing a possible Ukrainian victory in the war. But the Trib omitted that the 1,000 square miles recaptured represents just 2% of the near one fifth of Ukraine under Russian control. At a 2% success rate, that would require 49 more offensives to oust Russia.
But the real issue isn’t who’s winning in the moment. It’s how to stop a war with no military end in sight, and the specter of nuclear confrontation looming. That is only possible with a negotiated settlement that provides cover for both sides to accept a truce and pace treaty.
The Trib has consistently failed to support any negotiations, promoting instead billions more in US weaponry to prolong the killing for months, if not a year or more. Omitted from any Trib analysis is the tentative March agreement brokered by NATO member Turkey that could have ended the war within the first 2 months. Omitted also is how the UK sent PM Boris Johnson and the US sent Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Kiev to demand Ukraine president Zelensky pass on the possible deal. Why? The West needs to weaken Russia. That’s why this is a US, Russia proxy war.
The Trib needs to part company with its government determined to spend hundreds of billions, possibly even a trillion or more, to win the proxy war against Russia it’s been provoking for the past 8 years.
If the Trib commented on the Cuban Missile Crisis 60 years ago like they are now about the Russo Ukraine war, we’d likely not be around to debate this critical matter of life and death.
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.
After Afghanistan, and Iraq, the MIC needs a new reliable money source. Thank you proxy war!!!
“After Afghanistan, and Iraq, the MIC needs a new reliable money source. Thank you proxy war!!!”
Even without active ground wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the MIC managed to significantly increase the military budget. They already had a reliable money source, but, you are correct, “the more the merrier.”
“The Trib needs to part company with its government determined to spend hundreds of billions, possibly even a trillion or more”
After 6-8 trillion dollars for the war on terror, what’s another trillion for a proxy war with Russia?
As you can probably tell, I am being quite sarcastic. It is becoming painfully obvious to nearly everyone, that our economic woes are accelerating at an exponential rate, and that now, each additional dollar spent on military waste will have a noticeable negative effect on economic well being in this country. I was finally just getting my financial house in order, but increases in the cost of living are making that very difficult.
To me, the interesting question is one of self-awareness.
Is this stuff a Hail Mary play to try to save an empire that Biden et al. understand is in decline, or are they just the dead dinosaur who’s still thrashing around because the message that it’s dead hasn’t made it to its brain from its spinal column yet, and it still thinks it’s alive and hunting prey? It’s really hard to tell.
Putin seems to have a pretty clear understanding of the Russian empire’s situation, and his actions are explicable in the former way. He’s just doing what he can to stop/reverse, or at least slow down, Russia proper’s descent to equality of status and image with the former Soviet [insert names here]stans.
Xi seems to understand the stakes and to be hoping that a reversal of China’s long period of, effectively, glasnost/perestroika can reinvigorate the aging and sclerotic Communist Party, keep its monopoly rule from coming apart at the seams like its Soviet predecessor’s did, and allow China to become the next World Hegemon Pretend.
But it’s just not really clear that the “leaders” in “the west” have a grip on reality as strong as Putin’s or Xi’s.
“Is this stuff a Hail Mary play to try to save an empire that Biden et al. understand is in decline”
I admit that I am so naive that that possibility was not really in my conscious mind, but, yes, it is conceivable that it is true. I still have trouble grasping the idea that these moves are sometimes made deliberately, with full knowledge of the possibility of human disaster. I know that I often interpret the motivation for the actions of politicians using the standards I am used to for my friends and acquaintances, and that it is often the case that with politicians we are talking about whole different kinds of animals. I am going to have to get out of that habit.
I don’t know anything about you, or your friends. But I’m going to out on a limb, and assume none of your group feed out of the public trough stealing my money, use insider info to get rich from their political positions, make policy decisions deliberated on the acquisition of raw power, and money, with no regard for the suffering of millions.
Pretty sure….
That was my point, that politicians have proven over and over again that they can’t be trusted to have the right motivations, and, that, in that regard, they are quite different than ordinary people. All I was saying was I always look for the good in people, with the assumption that it is there if you look hard enough, but perhaps I am being naive. My friends and acquaintances, when they have a lapse in moral or ethical behavior, would appear to do so out of ignorance rather than malice. I am reluctant to believe that that is not the case as well with everyone, even politicians, and my habit is to assume ignorance rather than malice as a motivation.
We are all imperfect in different ways, and, imperfection is a qualitative characteristic, not a quantitative one. Nobody is more imperfect that anyone else. I still believe there is good and bad in everyone, and simply think that if anyone, including a politician, if given full knowledge of the consequences of their actions, they would take the right action in any situation. I have been told I am naive in that regard, but, for now that is the way I look at it.
Voting against the most recent welfare package destined for Ukrainazia, Rand Paul—-whose constituents are still reeling from the flooding and tornadoes that ravaged Kentucky—-mentioned that none of the folk he represents are begging the Amerikkkan regime, “Please, please send our tax dollars to a foreign country!”