By Erik Dolson
Readers have said they are curious about my take on events in Ukraine. I’ve held off, because I don’t really know what to think. Rather, my thoughts are scattered, and often contradictory.
But here’s a scrape off the surface.
I am shocked by the seeming incompetence and failure of what was supposed to be the “modern Russian Army.” And thankful, though it probably means that most of Ukraine will be wiped off the map by the time hostilities are over, because that will be the only way Russia will win this debacle of an invasion. And they won’t give up until they win, because they can’t. Those with the highest tolerance for horror often win.
I am nauseated by the hypocrisy and racism demonstrated at the beginning of this war. Two “White” cultures fighting one another has been viewed quite differently than two “Brown” cultures at war, or White versus Brown. I try to find the difference between what Russia is doing to Ukraine and what we did to Iraq, and can’t.
Except we were better at it than the Russians, and the Iraqis were not as good as the Ukrainians. We still blew it, and left Iraq worse off than we found it. The Russians will do the same, times ten.
This is a tragedy. War always is, but this one is going to have ramifications we can’t anticipate, including a drop in the standards of living for millions of people around the world. Russia used to sell a good portion of the world’s fertilizer, and together, Russia and Ukraine sold a good portion of the world’s wheat and corn. People are going to go hungry.
And when people go hungry and lose hope for the future, it will be a different political landscape, from New Delhi to New York. There will be winners, of course, but they are those who always win. The losers will be the other 99.9 percent. The rest of us.
We, and by that I mean the United States, and by that I mean policy creators, are partially responsible for this war. Brzezinski and Kissinger lay out the argument very well. As Putin said, we didn’t need to be friends, but we didn’t have to make an enemy of Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Imagine how we’d react if Russia was to build bases in Mexico. We’d attack on all fronts and wouldn’t stop until our troops reached Guatemala.
I’m surprised by the success of the Ukrainians, and realize that I do not know nearly enough about that country and culture.
Finally, for now, I’ll confess that I have lost all faith in “the media.” I have new friends in Ukraine. They tell me what’s going on from where they sit on the ground in Kyiv. U.S. media, and I mean on the left as well as the right, seem obligated to filter, spin, and manage the news. If it doesn’t fit their agenda, further their narrative, it is not reported, compared with what I receive.
Read Matt Taibbi, people. Glen Greenwald. Others. It’s time to take back reality.
It is better to have some media, showing both sides than just one that hides the truth about aggression. You are right.The US should have never gone into Irag and Afghanistan, there was better ways and the public was led to believe War was the best. This War should be stopped by a humanitarian effort from the World, to intervene with ceasefire and NATO armies going in rescue the population with an evacuation of the innocent. Putin is already in a no win and this will give a him an offramp. Because he and his administration have no future now.