By: Diane Sori / The Patriot
Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots
History is a cruel mistress in that lessons learned are not always
remembered nor acted upon in a wise or timely manner. And here I
speak of the lessons of war...lessons regarding the foreboding of
possible war to come as well as of lessons reminding some that things
that needed to be done were simply not done.
And war is more times than not the breeding ground of small-minded
men with Napoleon complexes who see today's world as but a mere
chapter in the ongoing saga of what many believe to be just a
geopolitical rivalry between the world's three major super powers.
Afraid to the face the truth about issues way more complex than just
three nations jockeying for the number one superpower position, those
here in the U.S., those in Putin's Russia, as well as those in Red
China, know that both circumstances and ambition, peppered with
self-perceived righteousness driven in part by media dictates can,
when melded together as one, be the determining factor in who becomes
the victor and and who the loser with what was believed to be a just
cause being relegated to the annals of war's history alone.
Such is the case, I believe, in regards to the current happenings
in Ukraine for the fact is that Ukraine and Russia have a long,
bloody, and ever so complicated history with each other no matter
words to the contrary. In fact, in June 1945, Ukraine...then known as
the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic...was among the first
countries to sign the United Nations Charter, thus being one of its
51 founding members. Also remember that the then USSR actually
endorsed Ukraine’s UN entry as it being a separate
country...basically admitting Ukraine's autonomy...albeit a separate
country that they counted on to always vote and side with them.
And while numerous conflicts did exist between the two countries in the
years since then, today's highly volatile and dangerous situation
started with Russia's February 2022 invasion of a country whose
leaders were looking towards the future...as in Ukraine truly becoming part
of Europe...instead of continuing to allow their country and her
people to live in the past...a past that would see Ukraine officially
returning to
“Mother Russia's” fold. And with Vladimir
Putin's overinflated ego coupled with his personally driven quest for
history making immortality being the hoped for components that would
propel Russia to victory, Putin deliberately escalated the still
smoldering eight-year long conflict that began with Russia's
2014 annexation of Crimea, the very action seen by many world
leaders as the historic turning point for European security.
And so with his victory in Crimea, Putin gambled on both “Mother Russia's” and himself being invincible and unstoppable, with Russia
being victorious in war and with his being hailed as the motherland's
hero. Thankfully though, history seems to have other things in mind
for Vladimir Putin as he is now being seen by many...military folks
included...as not just the purveyor of major strategic blunders in
regards to his underestimating his enemy's strength and
determination, but also as the destroyer of what was once great “Mother
Russia” herself.
Strength, focus, determination, and
history...catalysts all peppered with a healthy dose of reality finds
Ukraine, the second-most-populous and powerful of the fifteen former
Soviet republics, aka
“satellites,” now standing its ground
against one of the world's greatest armies and its ego-maniacal
dictator who relishes in his having one hand on the nuclear button at
all times. And as Ukraine continues to forge its own destiny as a sovereign and independent nation...a nation truly free to align
itself with nations in the West...Ukraine's President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy continues his personal quest to find a way to balance his
country's hope for the future while at the same time resolving what
remains deep seated internal divisions within his own country and
government...divisions not unlike those seen during the time of our
own Civil War...a war that saw brother pick up arms against their own
blood brother just as Russia now picks up arms against their
genetically tied Ukrainian blood brothers.
Think of the Ukrainian-speaking
population in the western part of Ukraine (those who support becoming
part of the EU and NATO) as being akin to the north's Union
soldiers...while Russian-speaking folks in Ukraine's east (those
wanting closer ties with Putin's Russia) as being Confederate
soldiers. Now compare and contrast the framework for each war...minus
the issue of slavery which itself was more about economics than the
actual breaking of black folks chains...and one can see how eerily
similar they are as both wars started with so-called
“breakaway
territories” declaring their independence from the
homeland...the Confederate states declaring independence from the
U.S., the Russian-backed states of Donetsk and Luhansk doing so from
Ukraine.
And also know that both wars targeted
the trade and transportation networks of the opposing side. In our
Civil War access was restricted to Confederate ports with European
nations feigning the face of neutrality while openly supplying arms
and munitions to both sides. In regards to Ukraine, last year not
only did NATO nations close their airspace to Russia, but
international sanctions actually helped to restrict Russian trade
while we and others who supported Ukraine continued and still
continue to send them military aid with neutrality, ever so wisely,
thankfully not even in the picture.
Neutrality, in my opinion, is but the
front of cowards for to be successful in war means one must not fear
the taking of sides nor the collateral damage incurred. And while
both our Civil War and the still ongoing Russia v. Ukraine War...a
war that in reality is simply a war of self-determination...sees as
their basic commonality a striving for national reunification coupled
with both political and economic conquest. But know that more times than
not it's tangible success in battle alone that determines who history
portrays as heroes and who are portrayed as villains, as well as who
will be determined to be the ultimate winners and losers in this
modern day version of civil war.
And for Ukraine's and the world's free
nations it best be Ukraine for if Ukraine falls to Russia...if she
falls to Vladimir Putin...the face of Europe herself will change for
Putin will not stop at Ukraine nor will he take his hand off the
nuclear button for madmen and egomaniacs are not constrained by the
ties of common sense or logic. And it's for this reason alone that we
must continue our military and monetary support of Ukraine no
matter what the naysayers in both parties here at home say for
without our support Ukraine will in the end fall setting off what
will truly be World War III.
Why so...because modern history has
shown that when U.S. support for any just war is lacking or minimal
at best, as it currently is with Ukraine, or when the U.S. enters
a said war fairly late in the game...as we did in World War II...said
war tends to last longer with more casualties and collateral damage
accrued than if the might of the U.S. military had entered said war
sooner rather than later. In today's truly global world, for better or
worse, a world now rife with the stain of cowardly
non-interventionist policies, the aggressor...in this case Vladimir
Putin and Russia...is given the time, space, and media coverage
needed to help stage the battlefields of war to play out in their
favor. We see it now happening on a daily basis with every step
forward Zelenskyy and his forces make being met by a new and more
deadly barrage of Putin's savagery with the tally in civilian
casualties showing no signs of waning
History, as stated earlier, has once again
become a cruel mistress as we and our allies basically sit by and
watch those in Ukraine bravely continuing their fight against
seemingly insurmountable odds, with help from the U.S. and NATO being
fleeting at best. Ukrainians are fighting for their freedom...after
all freedom is and always will be worth fighting for...while we tally up the
dollars and cents spent knowing well that Joe Biden's promises made to
Ukraine might never come to fruition. Our problems here at home
cannot compare to what the Ukrainian people are facing, and know as
truth that if Ukraine does fall what's to stop Putin from overtaking
Europe and then setting his sights on the U.S. I guess we'll just
have to wait and see how it all plays out, but know that when madmen
and fools are in control...when history's lessons learned are ignored...there truly is no safe place to call home.
Case closed.
Copyright
© 2023 / Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved.
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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, Biden's Balloon-a-Palooza.
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