It is in the nature of man to flex his muscle, dominate and extend territorial boundaries. It is also, in the nature of man, to adjust, to maneuver in order to avoid traps set by enemy interests.
The strong man will try to dominate with his brute strength, while the weaker one will rely on his guile to survive; it is a trait of animals and a general characteristics of how nature works. But, all the same, when people are united as a group they are very very difficult to dislodge; that is why there is hope for Ukraine, as the world appears to be one with them.
However, it is basically the decision of Ukraine’s leaders to allow themselves to be goaded by the US and its allies into an open confrontation with Russia; they have allowed themselves and their country to be sacrificed as pawns by the superpowers as the poor citizens suffer and valuable infrastructure needlessly destroyed.
Only God knows how long the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts will take; we do not even know how long the war will last; but then this is just the beginning. A critical analysis of the causes of this conflict will reveal that not all parties involved are innocent, except the ordinary citizens of Ukraine, Russia and others all over the world suffering the consequences of this war.
Already people are dying, businesses are collapsing and prices going northwards; that is what war brings to the people, you cannot quantify the damages; that is why it is advised that, no matter the situation you find yourself, it is better to jaw-jaw than to war-war; by talking, you are avoiding so many unpleasant things. So, when outsiders are goading you into a fight, be very sure of your position before going into a war.
These super powers carryout both covert and overt operations to undermine legitimate governments. According to Lindsay A O ‘Rourke, writing for the Washington Post: “The US tried to change other countries governments 72 times during the cold War, between 1947 and 1989; 66 covert and six overt”.
Covert operations are such that ‘the operations are designed so that the intervening state can plausibly deny it was involved, deflecting blame to other actors ‘.
Exactly what the US and its allies in NATO did to overthrow the Russia-backed government in Ukraine from 2013 to 2014.
Also, writing under the title: “United States Intervention for what?” John Coatsworth concluded that: “In both the United States and Latin America, economic interests are often seen as the underlying cause of US intervention”.
People are already talking about the nordstream gas project as a possible cause of the US involvement in Ukraine, but the most profound is the statement credited to Senator Bernie Sanders on Putin, he said: “…Putin may be a liar and a demagogue, but it is hypocritical for the United States to insist that we, as a nation, do not accept the principles of spheres of influence.
“For the last 200 years, our country has operated under the Monroe doctrine, embracing the principle that is: the dominant power in the Western hemisphere, the United States, has the right to intervene against any country that might threaten our alleged interest, and under this doctrine, the US has undermined and overthrown, at least, a dozen countries throughout Latin America, Central America and the Caribbean…In 1962, we came to a brink of nuclear war with the Soviet Union, in response to the placement of Soviet missiles 90 miles from our shores. It is unacceptable for a hostile country to have a significant military presence 90 miles away to our shore…”
How touching! With this US policy in place, one is then forced to ask the question: what is the United States and its NATO partners doing in Ukraine? Ukraine is a border country of Russia with a significant Russian population living there; the US and NATO meddling is one of the excuses Russia is using to attack Ukraine.
So, what is the lesson from this? If the super powers are ready and willing to stay in their own space and not be unnecessarily greedy of other nations’ resources, the world will be a peaceful place for all. As it is today, any country that is not in sync with them is regarded as an enemy.
In the light of the US and Russia behaviour, China has been flexing muscles in the Asian axis of the world; they want to have authority over everything, they will not allow an independent Taiwan and Hong Kong, they want to control the South China Sea that belongs to all, they are extending their territories to places that they have never been before; and that is because they believe they now possess the necessary arsenal to see it through. They want economic power like the US and will not tolerate any subordinate role anymore at the world stage.
Russia wants the same influence they enjoyed when the whole Eastern bloc in Europe was under the Soviet Union; they cannot get rid of the fact that countries like Ukraine, Georgia and the rest are no longer under their control and influence; that is why they want these countries under them to be brought into submission, and that is why we are having this war today.
Like Russia, so it is with the United States and China; it depends on which among the trio you are sympathetic to.
To them, what is right is according to what they want and how they want it. The International Criminal Court, ICC, was set up to deal with people, institutions and countries that are carrying out human rights abuses, but you will never see any one from these countries being charged to this court for war crimes; they set their own rules and no one dares to oppose them.
That is why everyone in the world is praying today that Ukraine triumphs in this war, so that it will serve as a deterrent to anyone attempting a repeat of what Putin has done. If the Russians succeed in this adventure, you will wake up one day and discover that China has invaded Taiwan.
The world must stop these super powers from such abuse of power and we must begin by allowing true democracy to work at the Security Council of the United Nations where veto powers are exercised by only a few countries.
On a final note, it is unfortunate to see disturbing pictures emanating from Ukraine and Poland, exhibiting racism. It is shockingly ironical that Ukraine which presently enjoys the support and sympathy of most countries of the world encouraging racism against Africans and people from the Muslim Middle East.
The ways of man and the world are indeed beyond comprehension.
*Ikhioya wrote via www.southsouthecho.com
