Ross, I have also written about the aggression in Ukraine and favored diplomacy. War is horrible. I was in Sochi during the first invasion. Sadly, no one listened to me then, or now. That said, I am heartened to see you continuing to advocate for a peaceful resolution. May you draw strength from my words and the support of others. For what it’s worth, I have noted a steady increase in the comments section of the New York Times and Financial Times favoring a negotiated resolution. Keep writing, we will get there.
The thing you seem unable to grasp is that there is no deal Putin will honor. Any deal is just time for him to rearm and try again.
I’m an American who came over as a refugee from the former Soviet Union as a small child. I am under no delusion that there is a single agreement anywhere and with anyone that russia will actually abide by.
You’re not being silenced on this and there’s no religiosity about Ukraine. I’m sorry, you’re just wrong.
A simple look at recent history will show that it's the US, not Russia, which has not honored many of the agreements and deals it's made. I'm sorry that you have such hatred for your homeland and the Soviet Union (which doesn't exist anymore), but your opinions do not jive with the reality of US and its history of isolation, encirclement, and provocation of its "enemies", including Russia
This is very condescending. My homeland is the United States, and I love it and criticize it as needed/deserved. I do disdain a county that deported my family to Siberia for years, refused my father admission to university because he was Jewish, and is corrupt in ways you can’t imagine. I actually know people in Russia - I can’t imagine you do.
The US has done a lot of shit over the years, but that does not affect the reality of Russia, and it’s history of oppression, colonization, and ethnic cleansing. It can’t be that out only options are 1) America bad, Russia good or 2) America good, Russia bad.
My position is - America flawed, with a lot to apologize for, but constantly improving and learning. Russia - sclerotic, hateful, corrupt and deeply deeply traumatized.
I don’t understand why people are willing to give Putin parts of a country that didn’t want him there. Were the torture and rape chambers in Kherson and Bucha not enough? Is the deportation of tens of thousands of children not enough? Is it so easy to give away the lives of people far away from you?
Sorry that you believe the obvious propaganda about torture chambers and children theft (while conveniently ignoring the much more believable and well documented allegations of Ukrainian atrocities), but you seem completely willing to ignore and whitewash the US's complicity in this conflict, while pinning the blame entirely on Russia. The fact is, Russia has tried to settle these problems diplomatically for years, only to be rebuffed by a US which was actively seeking to provoke conflict in the region. The US has also been actively involved in Ukraine and other former Soviet satellites for decades undermining their sovereignty, and installing client governments that are subservient to US interests at the detriment to their own peace, security and prosperity. None of these illegal and provocative actions by the US gets mentioned as a possible reason for Russia's "unprovoked" invasion, but they absolutely are, and the US and its supporters need to understand this
Bless you Olga I COULD not agree with you more. Calling this a Vietnam situation would be correct except that in Vietnsm the enemy waa the U.S. here it is Russia. But asides ftom not understanding the concrete situation with putin and ukrsine there is so much else left out if the Vietnamese had the absolute right to defend themselves do do the ukranIans its a genocide its mass rape its stealing children and if not defeated he will not stop. Westerners too often think its about what will happen to us not about what is really happening
Ross, I will always welcome another voice for peace. Putin is the autocratic aggressor here, as you pointed out. But there are no good guys here. The U.S. helped overthrow the democratically elected Ukrainian president in 2014. They are blocking every peace initiative now, primarily to sell the wares of our war industry. Russia is an imperialist, but an amateur compared to the U.S., 20 yrs in Afghanistan. Zelensky has shut down dissident media and jailed anti-war church leaders. Either the U.S., or Ukraine, blew up the Nord pipeline, which even before the invasion they insisted the Germans abandon. Why? So they would have to buy our expensive, dirty oil. The Donbass has had a majority Russian population that has fought a sessesionist battle for 7 yrs before the invasion. The Crimean, 300 yrs part of Russia with 90% Russians voted to go BACK to Russia in 2014. It was given as a "gift" by Kruschiev to Ukraine vs their will.
These are important facts, which people have a right to know, and the U.S. surppresses.
Great comment. The "unprovoked" Russian attack, mentioned by MIC pantheon member RAND Corp., reeks of an unserious, untrue assessment. The bioweapons labs, mentioned by Undersecretary Nuland last year, the 2014 western lead coup, NATO doing what it said it wouldn't do by going so far east ... it's a long list and if it were done to the Globalists who've destroyed these United States by going into Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and a host of other countries, it would be undoubtedly be seen as "provoked".
Isn't it funny how everyone is happy to send billions to Ukraine, and yet after a decade and a half, we haven't been able to scrape together the money to fix the water in Flint or fix the water in Jackson.
I'm not saying that skin color is the only thing here - no one would get rich providing clean water to Mississippi's capital, whereas support for Ukraine is sending donor class profits through the roof.
I've always wondered why it's OK with these people to send tens of billions $$ for the white people in Ukraine, to protect their borders. Yet if you talked like that about the United States you're suddenly Bad Orange Man Racist Isolationist Bigot.
I have had many of the same thoughts over the last few months. No end in sight and so many people displaced or killed on both sides. And Trump is out there saying he would have "negotiated" with Putin before this even started - perhaps allowing annexation of additional "Russian speaking" territory. DeSantis going in the same direction as the costs both economic and human start piling up.
Well articulated. The only people who win in war are the MIC. Eisenhower warned us, JFK was killed for opposing them, and DJT faced a coup throughout his term for not starting any wars. $100 billion later, 10% for the big guy!
Like you I am appalled at what is happening in Ukraine. The conduct of the Russian army amounts to gross human rights violations. I marched and demonstrated against Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq. That was our country and we weren’t listened to. What effect can we expect to have on Putin. The lesson I learned a long time ago is that I should focus on where I can help to better government and expand social justice here in my community. You do such important work writing about the city and state. You work is a change agent. This is where to keep your focus. This is your mission. That is what I propose.
Yeah this was really quite a silly and hysterical article. Strip out all the hyperventilating and authorial self-regard as the brave critic refusing to be silenced by mindless zealots, etc etc, and the argument is just a link to another paper somewhere else that you haven't even accurately summarized. Yawn.
How would you accurately summarize the RAND report? And if you aren't worried about a de facto war between global superpowers, you are in possession of an inhuman amount of sangfroid
>>the positive reverberations will be felt across the globe,” Francis Fukuyama wrote
It is a kind of neo-domino theory.
>>his all has the taste of Vietnamization
It is more like the beginning of the Vietnam war than the end. Steadily escalating the engagement and commitment. I wouldn't be surprised if we already had "advisors" on the ground.
It is indeed verboten to lay most of the blame for the war on Putin without turning it into a good and evil fairy tale.
There is a certain psychosis in war or the run up to war that precludes reasoning. No one, who has some capability to exercise their will through force of arms, truly believes in their own defeat. Where they are the weaker militarily then they must be the stronger morally. It is intrinsic in human nature to fight. Peace can never be achieved through outright victory. Both world wars are testament to that. Peace and harmony go hand in hand. I do agree however, that at the very least .. we should start talking about ending the conflict and scaling back the rhetoric.
Thanks for your article. It's good to see a continued push for peace and diplomacy, even in the face of "appeasement" hysterics. Nobody likes to mention the majority pro-Russian sentiment in Crimea and the Donbas, or the active role the CIA and US Government played in fostering anti-USSR hatred in Ukraine (which then transformed into hatred of ethnic Russian Ukrainians), or the anti-democratic policies the US employed to undermine the elected governments in Ukraine, but these all played an integral role in the conflict today. Understanding that the US's actions have crossed red lines and created legitimate national security concerns, not just for Putin, but for all of Russia is something the US will need to come to terms with as it navigates an end to the war (at some point? in the near future? Maybe?)
Keep writing Mr. Barkan. Anyone even within shouting distance of diplomacy deserves to be heard. But be careful - you say "diplomacy" or "peaceful settlement" too loudly, you'll get labeled 'far right', 'isolationist', and a host of other pejoratives by the people in power and the Corporate Press for whom you seem to still have a bit of affinity.
Ross, I have also written about the aggression in Ukraine and favored diplomacy. War is horrible. I was in Sochi during the first invasion. Sadly, no one listened to me then, or now. That said, I am heartened to see you continuing to advocate for a peaceful resolution. May you draw strength from my words and the support of others. For what it’s worth, I have noted a steady increase in the comments section of the New York Times and Financial Times favoring a negotiated resolution. Keep writing, we will get there.
The thing you seem unable to grasp is that there is no deal Putin will honor. Any deal is just time for him to rearm and try again.
I’m an American who came over as a refugee from the former Soviet Union as a small child. I am under no delusion that there is a single agreement anywhere and with anyone that russia will actually abide by.
You’re not being silenced on this and there’s no religiosity about Ukraine. I’m sorry, you’re just wrong.
A simple look at recent history will show that it's the US, not Russia, which has not honored many of the agreements and deals it's made. I'm sorry that you have such hatred for your homeland and the Soviet Union (which doesn't exist anymore), but your opinions do not jive with the reality of US and its history of isolation, encirclement, and provocation of its "enemies", including Russia
This is very condescending. My homeland is the United States, and I love it and criticize it as needed/deserved. I do disdain a county that deported my family to Siberia for years, refused my father admission to university because he was Jewish, and is corrupt in ways you can’t imagine. I actually know people in Russia - I can’t imagine you do.
The US has done a lot of shit over the years, but that does not affect the reality of Russia, and it’s history of oppression, colonization, and ethnic cleansing. It can’t be that out only options are 1) America bad, Russia good or 2) America good, Russia bad.
My position is - America flawed, with a lot to apologize for, but constantly improving and learning. Russia - sclerotic, hateful, corrupt and deeply deeply traumatized.
I don’t understand why people are willing to give Putin parts of a country that didn’t want him there. Were the torture and rape chambers in Kherson and Bucha not enough? Is the deportation of tens of thousands of children not enough? Is it so easy to give away the lives of people far away from you?
Sorry that you believe the obvious propaganda about torture chambers and children theft (while conveniently ignoring the much more believable and well documented allegations of Ukrainian atrocities), but you seem completely willing to ignore and whitewash the US's complicity in this conflict, while pinning the blame entirely on Russia. The fact is, Russia has tried to settle these problems diplomatically for years, only to be rebuffed by a US which was actively seeking to provoke conflict in the region. The US has also been actively involved in Ukraine and other former Soviet satellites for decades undermining their sovereignty, and installing client governments that are subservient to US interests at the detriment to their own peace, security and prosperity. None of these illegal and provocative actions by the US gets mentioned as a possible reason for Russia's "unprovoked" invasion, but they absolutely are, and the US and its supporters need to understand this
I am having trouble posting this comment, which is maybe a sign.
Good luck to you. We’re not going to be able to discuss this when our views of reality are so different.
Bless you Olga I COULD not agree with you more. Calling this a Vietnam situation would be correct except that in Vietnsm the enemy waa the U.S. here it is Russia. But asides ftom not understanding the concrete situation with putin and ukrsine there is so much else left out if the Vietnamese had the absolute right to defend themselves do do the ukranIans its a genocide its mass rape its stealing children and if not defeated he will not stop. Westerners too often think its about what will happen to us not about what is really happening
Ross, I will always welcome another voice for peace. Putin is the autocratic aggressor here, as you pointed out. But there are no good guys here. The U.S. helped overthrow the democratically elected Ukrainian president in 2014. They are blocking every peace initiative now, primarily to sell the wares of our war industry. Russia is an imperialist, but an amateur compared to the U.S., 20 yrs in Afghanistan. Zelensky has shut down dissident media and jailed anti-war church leaders. Either the U.S., or Ukraine, blew up the Nord pipeline, which even before the invasion they insisted the Germans abandon. Why? So they would have to buy our expensive, dirty oil. The Donbass has had a majority Russian population that has fought a sessesionist battle for 7 yrs before the invasion. The Crimean, 300 yrs part of Russia with 90% Russians voted to go BACK to Russia in 2014. It was given as a "gift" by Kruschiev to Ukraine vs their will.
These are important facts, which people have a right to know, and the U.S. surppresses.
Great comment. The "unprovoked" Russian attack, mentioned by MIC pantheon member RAND Corp., reeks of an unserious, untrue assessment. The bioweapons labs, mentioned by Undersecretary Nuland last year, the 2014 western lead coup, NATO doing what it said it wouldn't do by going so far east ... it's a long list and if it were done to the Globalists who've destroyed these United States by going into Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and a host of other countries, it would be undoubtedly be seen as "provoked".
Isn't it funny how everyone is happy to send billions to Ukraine, and yet after a decade and a half, we haven't been able to scrape together the money to fix the water in Flint or fix the water in Jackson.
I'm not saying that skin color is the only thing here - no one would get rich providing clean water to Mississippi's capital, whereas support for Ukraine is sending donor class profits through the roof.
I've always wondered why it's OK with these people to send tens of billions $$ for the white people in Ukraine, to protect their borders. Yet if you talked like that about the United States you're suddenly Bad Orange Man Racist Isolationist Bigot.
Stick to what you know. You are on the mark on state and city politics but all over the place here. A lot of hand wringing with little knowledge.
What do you propose?
I have had many of the same thoughts over the last few months. No end in sight and so many people displaced or killed on both sides. And Trump is out there saying he would have "negotiated" with Putin before this even started - perhaps allowing annexation of additional "Russian speaking" territory. DeSantis going in the same direction as the costs both economic and human start piling up.
Well articulated. The only people who win in war are the MIC. Eisenhower warned us, JFK was killed for opposing them, and DJT faced a coup throughout his term for not starting any wars. $100 billion later, 10% for the big guy!
Like you I am appalled at what is happening in Ukraine. The conduct of the Russian army amounts to gross human rights violations. I marched and demonstrated against Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq. That was our country and we weren’t listened to. What effect can we expect to have on Putin. The lesson I learned a long time ago is that I should focus on where I can help to better government and expand social justice here in my community. You do such important work writing about the city and state. You work is a change agent. This is where to keep your focus. This is your mission. That is what I propose.
Yeah this was really quite a silly and hysterical article. Strip out all the hyperventilating and authorial self-regard as the brave critic refusing to be silenced by mindless zealots, etc etc, and the argument is just a link to another paper somewhere else that you haven't even accurately summarized. Yawn.
How would you accurately summarize the RAND report? And if you aren't worried about a de facto war between global superpowers, you are in possession of an inhuman amount of sangfroid
>>the positive reverberations will be felt across the globe,” Francis Fukuyama wrote
It is a kind of neo-domino theory.
>>his all has the taste of Vietnamization
It is more like the beginning of the Vietnam war than the end. Steadily escalating the engagement and commitment. I wouldn't be surprised if we already had "advisors" on the ground.
It is indeed verboten to lay most of the blame for the war on Putin without turning it into a good and evil fairy tale.
There is a certain psychosis in war or the run up to war that precludes reasoning. No one, who has some capability to exercise their will through force of arms, truly believes in their own defeat. Where they are the weaker militarily then they must be the stronger morally. It is intrinsic in human nature to fight. Peace can never be achieved through outright victory. Both world wars are testament to that. Peace and harmony go hand in hand. I do agree however, that at the very least .. we should start talking about ending the conflict and scaling back the rhetoric.
Thanks for your article. It's good to see a continued push for peace and diplomacy, even in the face of "appeasement" hysterics. Nobody likes to mention the majority pro-Russian sentiment in Crimea and the Donbas, or the active role the CIA and US Government played in fostering anti-USSR hatred in Ukraine (which then transformed into hatred of ethnic Russian Ukrainians), or the anti-democratic policies the US employed to undermine the elected governments in Ukraine, but these all played an integral role in the conflict today. Understanding that the US's actions have crossed red lines and created legitimate national security concerns, not just for Putin, but for all of Russia is something the US will need to come to terms with as it navigates an end to the war (at some point? in the near future? Maybe?)
Keep writing Mr. Barkan. Anyone even within shouting distance of diplomacy deserves to be heard. But be careful - you say "diplomacy" or "peaceful settlement" too loudly, you'll get labeled 'far right', 'isolationist', and a host of other pejoratives by the people in power and the Corporate Press for whom you seem to still have a bit of affinity.
I can't
Who can understand this world