Abelow – How the West Brought War to Ukraine – Comment

 

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the American and European governments, with the enthusiastic help from legacy media, have been spreading a false narrative. That is Putin is the new Hitler, and his government, like the 30’s Nazis, desire world domination, expanding Russia’s power across Europe, and eventually the United States. This is propaganda, and simply not true.   

Abelow has demonstrated in this concise essay, that the US and their NATO allies, since at least the fall of the Soviet Union, have baited Russia with NATO expansion, including offers to Ukraine to join NATO. Since Mr. Putin retained power, he has claimed many times that Ukraine joining NATO is a Red Line, and there would be consequences if such an alliance occurred.  

Abelow has listed 8 western provocations that forced Putin to war. (Only a summary):  

• Expanded NATO over a thousand miles eastward, pressing it towards Russia’s border. 

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• Withdraw unilaterally from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty and placed antiballistic launch systems in NATO countries. 

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• Helped lay the groundwork for, and may have directly instigated, an armed, far-right coup in Ukraine. 

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• Conducted countless NATO military exercises near Russia’s borders. 

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• Asserted, without pressing strategic need, and in disregard of the threat such a move would pose for Russia, that Ukraine would become a NATO member.  

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• Withdraw unilaterally from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, increasing Russian vulnerability to a US first strike. 

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• Armed and trained Ukraine military through bilateral agreements and held regular joint military training exercises inside Ukraine. 

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• Led the Ukrainian leadership to adopt an uncompromising stance toward Russia, further exacerbating the threat to Russia... 

 

It is interesting to note that when Russia first invaded Ukraine, intelligent people around me jumped on the Hiler bandwagon, calling Putin a dangerous dictator and desiring world domination. It was if the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in a vacuum, and any attempt to place the war in perspective was greeted with animosity, and endless name-calling.  

Personally, I have been antiwar since Vietnam. It is without question that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a war crime. But once you understand Russia’s reasons for their on-going attack, can see that they were provoked, and believed they had no choice in terms of Russia’s national security. As Abelow has pointed out for writing his text: 

My primary goal in this book is to correct a false narrative, and for a very practical reason: because false narratives lead to bad outcomes. (p.50) 

Putting the shoe on the other foot, the US would have started a fully-fledged nuclear war if Russia or China began placing nukes a few thousand miles away from its borders. The US would never put up with Russia or China practicing war games with Mexico, along the Texas border. The entire American population would feel frightened and threatened. Indeed, the Russian people felt threatened about US and NATO’s behavior on their border. For many knowledgeable about Russian security, crossing that Red Line, that is Ukraine becoming a member of NATO, was a bridge too far.  

Following the predictions of George Kennan, in respect to NATO expansion, Richard Sakwa wrote:  

In the end, NATO’s existence became justified by the need to manage the security threats provoked by its enlargement. The former Warsaw Pact and Baltic states joined NATO to enhance their security, but the very act of doing so created a security dilemma for Russia that undermined the security of all. (p. 51) 

The chicken hawks and slew of neocons in DC., including President Biden, could have stopped this war from the beginning. Ukraine has never been a threat to the US and have been deemed irrelevant by the US State Department. Thousands of lives could have been saved if the US had not pushed Zelenski towards continuing the war. Over 100 billion dollars in aid and weapons have been sent to Ukraine, all the while the US people, have gained nothing, and can barely point out Ukraine on a map. The only people who have gained from this war are the military industrial complex, and invested warmongering politicians, who receive millions from this cabal. When one observes this behavior, disgust is the only emotion.  

At last, a comprehensive essay that has revealed the false narrative of the US and NATO about this needless war.  

Benjamin Abelow should be commended for this insightful piece, giving us a greater understanding about Russia/Ukraine and these ever present, dogs of war.