I am not a fan of Russia. I spent most of my career in the Department of Defense trying to ensure that our military forces were superior to those of the Stalinist Russians. However, I have to ask an uncomfortable question – why is America focused on the Russians and Ukraine?
For the entirety of the Trump Administration, all we heard out of the Democrats was Russia, Russia, Russia. Virtually every news story involving Russia mentioned that President Trump had colluded with the Russians to win the presidential election, although the only certainty of collusion involved the Clintons and the infamous Steele Dossier.
Why is Ukraine so important to the current Biden administration.? Apparently, America is willing to go to war, or at least impose severe and serious costs on the Russians if they invade Ukraine. None other than Kamala Harris, in one of her more ironic statements, said, “And I will tell you that part of the posture that we have taken is grounded in the respect and the value we place in sovereignty and territorial integrity.” (It would be nice if she thought the same way about America’s southern border.)
This constant beating of the drums of war has caused me to think about what President Trump did to bring peace to the mid-East. Was the animosity between Israeli Jews and Islamic countries any less vitriolic than between Russia and Western Europe? Why did his search for peace in that region work?
It appears that the years of Russia, Russia, Russia have now snowballed to the point where Democrats, and all too many Republicans, can’t think in terms other than Russia bad. This single-minded anti-Trump thinking is just plain ignorant and potentially deadly. Options always exist in the world of geopolitics. Could America broker a reasonable deal with Russia rather than stumbling into war?
To me, Russia is less of a threat than Communist China and creates more of an opportunity for compromise similar to what happened in the mid-East. Russia is a predominantly Christian country and America is a predominantly Christian country. (Interestingly the percentages of Christians are nearly the same in both countries.) Racial and ethnic percentages are similar although both countries feature substantially diverse populations. America and Russia are more similar to each other than either are to China.
General William Tecumseh Sherman is quoted as saying ““I am sick and tired of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell.” General William Westmoreland said, “The military don’t start wars. Politicians start wars.” Albert Einstein warned, “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” – if there is anyone left to fight.
Maybe we ought to tone down the rhetoric and consider whether it is possible to work with Russia rather than constantly treating it as an enemy run by an ogre. What President Trump accomplished in the mid-East has been called a miracle. Maybe there is another miracle or two available in the world of geopolitics.
