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DR ERROL N BENJAMIN
IN A PREVIOUS article on the Russia/Ukraine situation I tried to show the equivalence between Russia and the West in their common hegemonic intent and their indifference to human suffering as part of that process. Today I extend that theme somewhat, pointing to how the politics of such hegemonic intent is only about power and self-interest and never about any human, ethical or moral consideration.
In this regard the parallel between Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler is apt and instructive, but the contrast of the reaction of the West to both these tyrants in their quest for conquest and domination is equally so.
Hitler would stretch his long conquering arm across Europe even unto Italy with Benito Mussolini as his ally, and later to Russia itself, but Winston Churchill in Britain, D-Day and Normandy, the Belgian resistance symbolised in Anne Frank, the French Resistance, and last, the telling Russian victory at Stalingrad, cumulatively leading to Germany’s surrender and Hitler’s subsequent suicide, are all reminders of the strong and successful military response to Hitler and his marauding German army. Of this, the movies The Longest Day and To Hell and Back are ample illustration.
Putin is also stretching his long conquering arm across Ukraine into Europe, having invaded the former Czech Republic, now on the verge of incorporating Belarus in the North, Crimea in the South and Luhansk and Donetsk in the East into the Russian republic, his final immediate prize being Ukraine as a way to Poland, Lithuania et al, in his expected march across Europe.
But what is the military reaction of the West to this all-conquering dictator? Joe Biden is big on his threat to “punish Putin,” whatever that means, thinking perhaps about the economic sanctions but not about anything military. Boris Johnson is sending military aid but remains distant. Emmanuel Macron is all talk and diplomacy, even meeting personally with Putin, but probably worrying about his re-election and not appearing to be an advocate of war to the French people. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has closed the Bosphorus but probably too late. NATO and the European Union are more about the rhetoric about Putin’s violation of international standards than any military response, and the rest of Europe seems to be following suit.
[caption id="attachment_943995" align="alignnone" width="300"] Dr Errol Benjamin -[/caption]
There is no better illustration of the non-interventionist approach of the West, militarily, in Ukraine than the absolute “No, No” to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plea for a “no fly” zone over his country under siege by the Russians, implementable according to one former UN diplomat, with western and Ukrainian planes patrolling Ukraine’s airspace and escorting Russian intruders without engaging in actual war.
But the question to ask is why the western military inaction against the marauding Russian army which is burning cities and villages and killing hundreds of innocent civilians especially when their pre-invasion rhetoric suggested that would defend Ukraine, if attacked. Maybe the West thinks that the sanctions will be effective, but by all reports, Russia would have been preparing for such a move.
Just think, however, of Biden and Kamala Harris, by their own confession, waiting for a month – 30 days – for these sanctions to work, when by then Ukraine would likely be completely obliterated by the Russians. Is Ukraine in practice expendable when it comes to the interests of the West? Again, does the hesitation of the West in implementing the ban on Russia participating in the SWIFT exchange system a reflection of its concern over jeopardising its own economic interests with such a move? Or is it a fear of World War III and all its fallout which, admittedly, is a legitimate concern?
Or is it that the West, inclusive of NATO and the European Union, has a mortal fear of the formidable military power that Russia is, nuclear and all, with that fear no less mitigated by the evolving perception of Biden, especially after the Afghan debacle, being weak and indecisive and the rest of the western allies having to follow his leadership as president of the US in taking the sanctions route as against any military intervention?
Is it possible that Putin is fully aware of this western indecisiveness, indeed weakness, for how can he invade Ukraine and continue on that path of bombing and burning cities and villages and indiscriminately killing innocent civilians with no fear of western deterrence? How can he make demands of Ukraine that the latter will never subscribe to, like its neutrality and non-membership in NATO or the European Union, the recognition of all occupied territories and its virtual surrender under the pretext of “denazification?”
How else can Putin fly in the face of the West after all his promises not to invade and do exactly that, with the arrogance that if the West tries to intervene it will be considered and act of war with fatal consequences. Can he mock the weakness of the West any further than by agreeing to safe corridors for Ukrainians fleeing the war, but having such corridors lead to Russia rather than to Europe? Is his putting his nuclear component on high alert merely a bluff?
So, Ukraine continues to burn as the West continues to fiddle and possibly will be reduced to cinders with the rampaging Russians on its doorsteps. But maybe the Polish move to send its airplanes to Ukraine via Germany will be the spark to ignite the continuing indecisiveness of the West and propel them into some form of military action to counter Putin’s. The threat of nuclear war with all its dangers is possible, but hardly, for to protect yourself you have got to show strength rather than appear effete, fragile and weak in the face of the enemy.
If Putin is allowed to march forward unimpeded, is it possible that sooner than later he may reach Trinidad and the Caribbean via Nicolas Maduro and Venezuela?
I dare not answer and I won’t ask you to, as I usually do.
 
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