Prof. ST Hsieh
Director, US-China Energy Industry Forum
626-376-7460
November 29, 2023
Biden Administration stoked the proxy war in Ukraine with the pre-text of defending democracy. But the real objective has been using the proxy war in Ukraine for degrading Russia’s national strength to the extent that Putin will never be able to challenge the west. It is a risky approach because Russia has the largest nuclear stock pile in the world and Putin would not hesitate to use his nuclear arsenal.
Biden and the allies overestimated the leadership of Zelenskyy and the national strength of Ukraine contesting Russia. Now after heavy causalities in the battle fields and billions of dollars, the proxy war reached a milestone of stalemate. It is a tragedy without end.
It is absolutely abhorrible that “Bombenomics: Biden admin circulates map showing states that benefit from Ukraine aid.” It only shows that Biden’s reelection campaign is desperate. But it is easy to understand the cause and effect, Biden will not benefit!
If Biden is a true honorable politician with integrity, he should renounce his reelection bid right now. Then he can focus his limited energy on one major domestic issue of his choice and one global issue: ending the proxy war in Ukraine. Even if he can not complete this assignment, he still could carry on after he leaves the White House in 2025.
But if Biden stays on his reelection bid, he will not have the bandwidth to manage any real issue. Still, he most likely would lose the election in 2024. What is his legacy then?
And Still, Ukraine
BY L. MICHAEL HAGER, Counter Punch, NOVEMBER 29, 2023
Israel’s seven-week campaign of retribution for the October 7 massacre has killed untold thousands of Palestinian women and children in Gaza. It has also diverted world attention from Ukraine, where the 22-month trench war drags on into stalemate with no end in sight. The common denominator between the two wars is President Joe Biden, who stokes both conflicts with taxpayer-funded offensive weapons.
Now that Israel’s war presents a competing claim for U.S. military support, will America be able to sustain arms shipments to Ukraine for the promised “as long as it takes?” How can Biden satisfy both Zelensky and Netanyahu when both conflicts could last many more months, if not years? The rising number of casualties in both conflicts calls out for ceasefire, in both Israel and Ukraine. .
When Putin sent his tanks toward Kiev in February 2022, Ukraine faced an existential threat. U.S./NATO arms aid for Ukraine supported justifiable self-defense to prevent a Russian government take-over. That defense succeeded.
When Russia shifted the battleground to Ukraine’s southern and eastern border regions, the conflict changed from a war of national survival to an ongoing battle for long-disputed territory. In the contested regions, languages and national allegiances are mixed. This “second war” has brought the number of Ukrainian war dead to over 70,000 (as of August 31). A recent New York Times article cited increasing Ukrainian losses. Is it morally just for the U.S. to keep fighting a proxy war with Putin’s Russia when it’s the Ukrainian soldiers who are dying?
Only President Zelensky will decide when to accept mediation of a ceasefire, a first step toward the negotiation of a long-term peace agreement. To date however, he seems unwilling to modify his top war goals of expelling Russian troops from disputed territory and recovering Crimea. An end to the flow of weapons and ammunition might prompt the Ukraine leader to accept that a David and Goliath battle is unwinnable over time.
Zelensky is unlikely (and may be politically unable) to stop the fighting as long as the U.S. and others continue to supply him with the guns and bullets his troops desperately need. Continuing reliance on long-range artillery and the rapid depletion of missile stock, have forced him to fundraise Western leaders repeatedly for more (and more sophisticated) weaponry. How long will Ukraine’s friends keep supplying arms?
An international peace coalition (300 people from 32 countries) met in Vienna last June. It called for a ceasefire, negotiations, and days of international actions. As the global peace movement gains support it will be harder for Western leaders to maintain the public support necessary for the funding of Ukraine weapons.
It’s time to question the conventional wisdom of our weapons supply policy. Democracy may be under threat in Ukraine, but not more so than in today’s America and other places (including Israel). So far, the only winner in the Ukraine war is the military-industrial complex, now reaping billions from defense contracts.
CIA Director William Burns and other experts on Russia have warned that Putin may resort to the deployment of nuclear missiles should he begin to feel threatened, especially in Crimea. Recalling Germany’s treaty humiliation in 1919, it seems unwise to demonize a whole nation for the evil acts of its leader.
With both Russia and Ukraine running short of weapons, Biden could already claim some success in degrading the Russian military. Now could be an opportune time for him to launch a global diplomatic effort to end the war. Russia has reportedly signaled an interest in a mediated ceasefire as a prelude to long-term peace talks. Turkey and the U.N. managed to negotiate grain deals with Russia during the war. Now China and other BRIC countries have the leverage to pressure Russia to remove its troops from at least some of the areas it holds.
As a major investor in the Ukraine war, the U.S. should encourage Zelensky to relent from his maximalist war goals. Neither Ukraine nor Russia has much to gain from territorial victories since most of the lands in conflict will be uninhabitable for generations due to the omnipresence of land mines and cluster bombs.
America should stop funding Ukraine’s war. Rather, it should help its suffering people with more humanitarian and economic assistance. It should call for international mediation to achieve a ceasefire and peace talks. For only diplomacy, not more war, will bring peace to Ukraine. The same could be true for Israel in its ongoing conflict with the Palestinians.
L. Michael Hager is cofounder and former Director General, International Development Law Organization, Rome.
Bombenomics: Biden admin circulates map showing states that benefit from Ukraine aid
Lara Seligman
Updated Wed, November 29, 2023 at 12:47 PM PST·4 min read