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Posted by on Mar 4, 2014 in Blog, Politics | 1 comment

Russia Invades Ukraine — America’s Shit Sandwich

russia-ukraine-war

 

Here’s an article about America’s hypocrisy when it comes to lecturing on meddling in and invading other nations.

 

Russia needs to get out of Ukraine!

Right now!

Who does Russian President Vladimir Putin think he is — invading a nation divided amongst itself and caught up in the midst of a civil war?

The United States would never do such a thing — except when it came to fighting wars in Korea (1950-1953) and Vietnam (1964-1975).

What does Russia expect to accomplish — crossing international borders and intervening directly into the domestic affairs of a sovereign nation?

The United States would never do such a thing — except when it came to launching invasion forces multiple times within our own hemisphere, in Cuba (1961), the Dominican Republic (1965), Grenada (1983), Panama (1989-1990), and Haiti (1995).

Russia needs to learn to mind its own business and not meddle in the affairs of other nations, no matter how justified military action might seem to be.

The United States would never do such a thing — except in places such as Syria (1949), Iran (1953), Guatemala (1954), Cambodia (1970-1975), Chile (1973), El Salvador (1982-1986), Nicaragua (1981-1987), and Libya (2011).

Russia is dead wrong to use its powerful military force to restore order.  Russian troops have no right to be anywhere on the ground within the Ukraine/Crimea.

The United States would never do such a thing — except in war-torn regions like Kuwait/Iraq (1990-1991), Somalia (1992-1994), and Bosnia-Kosovo (1993-1995).

Russia is staging an unprovoked, pre-emptive attack against a foreign nation, which showed no discernable intent whatsoever to threaten or intervene in Russian affairs in any way.

The United States would never do such a thing — except when it came to going to war under false pretenses in Iraq (2003-2012, with ongoing occupation in the form of military bases) and Afghanistan (2002 to present).

Hmmm.

On second thought, when it comes to the United States claiming some kind of moral high ground on the appropriate use of covert action, direct military intervention, and interfering with peoples’ rights to self-determination — it has no leg whatsoever to stand upon.  Since 1945, we’ve seen where the United States consistently positions itself on the murky issue of meddling in the affairs of other countries.

Virtually none of this is President Obama’s fault, of course.  He inherited the weight of this ball and chain, tethered to the bloated military and defense establishment which can never get enough and always wants more spending.  President Obama came into office bearing the immense responsibilities of a foreign policy predicated on the notion that we must always be the world’s policeman, regardless of our national interest.  This administration carries the heavy baggage of American historic manipulation and cohesion all around the globe (another word for this is “imperialism”), in places where it clearly doesn’t belong, and where intervention actually made things worse.

But President Obama will certainly bear all the blame.  His critics, so blind and raging with hatred, seem unwilling to concede that there’s a hopeless shortlist of limited options for the United States right now when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.  Instead, they’ll aim for political brownie points, insisting the President is both soft and indecisive, without offering any viable alternatives to what can be done.

No, America now being tied into an international straightjacket and padlocked around the waist is the consequence of a long, misguided, and unsustainable foreign policy.  It’s what happens when military commitments all around the world exceed our ability to follow through and back them up.  It’s what happens when the powerful tail of defense contractors wags the D.C. dog.  It’s what happens when daring to call for an end to the madness triggers accusations of “weakness” and “isolationism.”  For those who wish to rattle President Obama on this issue, let me pose a rather simple question:  “Do you really want a fucking war with Russia right now?”

Fact:  There are no good options here.  There is no moral high ground for America to take.  There is only the freshly-carved shit sandwich prepared by countless previous administrations which created this meandering mess of misery for millions, and beyond.

Yes indeed, this is what happens when America has military bases positioned virtually everywhere around the world.  This is what happens when America invades other nations at the drop of a hat, without an end-game strategy.  This is what happens when America continuously meddles in the domestic affairs of other nations.  This is what happens when America never, never, never, never seems to learn what should be a bloody and expensive lesson.

Enjoy chomping on the sandwich, my fellow Americans.  Go ahead, take a bite of the sour pickle, too.  And get ready for plenty of juicy leftovers for years to come so long as we insist on policing the world instead of taking care of things that need to be done right here at home.

TAG: American imperialism

1 Comment

  1. I agree with you on every point, except that I feel compelled to point out that none of this makes what Russia has done right, and I condemn Putin’s actions. I can understand why he feels compelled to do what he has done, and I’m glad he’s shown restraint by stopping only in Crimea rather than invading the whole country, but this was morally wrong and I expect it to backfire on him politically in the near future.

    My favorite moment from this was John Kerry’s, “You just don’t invade another country on phony pretexts” comment. A lot of folks have used this as a punch line, on the assumption that Kerry doesn’t see the irony in his statement. I believe Kerry knows full well the irony of the statement, and is not only referring to Putin in 2014 but Bush II in 2003.

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