On March 23, 2022

Irony of the ages

By Angelo Lynn

The challenge Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented to President Biden and the U.S. Congress in his televised Wednesday, March 16 address was as direct as it was brilliant: If you aspire to be the leader of the free world, he told President Biden (and all Western allies), then you must be willing to fight for freedom.

His sincere appeal for help captured the irony of the ages: to have peace, there are times you must fight.

Yet, the threat of nuclear war makes this a particularly fraught appeal. Because the U.S., France and the United Kingdom are the three NATO countries that possess nuclear weapons and Russia and China are the other two countries with vast nuclear weapon stockpiles, the danger of a nuclear conflict is real. It’s also commonly accepted the détente that has existed since the Cold War was based on the premise of deterrence — that is, each side has a rough parity of nuclear power so that it would be suicidal to deploy the weapons. The threat of mass deaths on both sides was enough to make the use of them unthinkable.

Putin is comfortable pushing the world to the brink of WWIII because he’s betting the U.S. and its allies are too timid to match his dare. The West will be the responsible party, he assumes, so he doesn’t have to be.

The strategic military debate at the moment — the behind the scenes conversations happening 24-7 in the Pentagon and White House — is how much firepower can the West bring to Ukraine’s aide without triggering an escalation. But if President Biden is to be true to his promise that he won’t let Ukraine fall to Russia, a tougher military response may be required.

A no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace has been ruled out for a number of reasons, but substantial military aid — delivered immediately — will boost Ukraine’s military capacity.

Hopefully, that will be enough. But if peace talks stall and Russian forces move to seal off the capital of Kiev or move to attack Odessa, we would hope the West will do more to create defensive zones around vital areas of that country — and help man them. It is simply not tenable to think that once Putin has conquered strategic areas of that country he will easily walk away from them. Rather he will try to change the boundaries, as he did in Crimea — leaving Ukraine and the West few options but to continue a war-like footing in a divided and greatly weakened Ukraine.

Throughout the past three weeks, much has been written about Zelenskyy’s meteoric rise as a stalwart of democracy. Who would have imagined a month ago that this former show-biz comedian would do so much to strengthen and revitalize the democracies of the world? He and the Ukrainian people have embodied what it means to fight for freedom, for the love of their land and their independence, for the right of self-determination — and consequently jolted Americans and Europeans of all political stripes away from their flirtations with autocratic populists and to remember the core values of the democracies they were so casually undermining.

Zelenskyy went on to raise the prospect of a new world order when he envisioned a body of nations who would respond to each other’s aid within 24 hours. He termed it United for Peace, or U-24, and envisioned a group of democracies that would respond to attacks on their homeland, natural disasters and pandemics within 24 hours. It’s an idea that sounds much like the mission of the United Nations, except that that organization is now rendered useless by the veto powers of two of the world’s more dangerous autocracies: Russia and China.

It’s an intriguing idea that directly addresses the need for more effective international bodies to preserve peace — and stymie the actions of dictators looking to overwhelm smaller neighboring countries.

America is fortunate to have a statesman like President Biden taking measured, but strong, responses to counter Russia’s invasion. Biden is right to warn China not to be on the wrong side of history and lend Russia aid. He’s right to use economic measures to cripple Russia’s ability to carry out a long-term war. He’s right to emphasize America’s willingness to militarily defend every inch of NATO-member countries.

But he’s wrong if he thinks that’s enough. If America and the West are going to be leaders of the free world — leaders of peace — they’ll have to be willing to carry a bigger stick. Specifically, they can no longer broadcast that military options are off the table, that the prospect of nuclear war is so terrible they can’t risk it. That’s a stance that invites dictators to thumb their noses at civility.

Putin broke the détente. To match his dare, the defensive measures available to NATO members should be on the table, and that should start with Ukraine. The hunch is that it will bring Putin to the table quicker than not.

Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication to the Mountain Times.

Do you want to submit feedback to the editor?

Send Us An Email!

Related Posts

Before school budget talks turn to slashing expenses

November 20, 2024
By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the owner and publisher of the Addison Independent, a sister paper of the Mountain Times.  With 2024-25 education property tax rate hikes well into double digits last year, it’s little doubt school boards will be primed for holding costs to a minimum for their upcoming budgets. Already…

Keep pets safe this trapping season

November 20, 2024
Dear Editor, The recreational trapping season in Vermont begins on the fourth Saturday of October each year and lasts through March 31st. For some animals, like otters and beavers, this season lasts for five long months. There are no limits on the number of animals a trapper may kill or on the number of traps…

‘You belong here’

November 20, 2024
Dear Editor, A Latin teacher from junior high school once told me that the word “trivia” comes from roots, meaning three roads. The idea was that people would come together where roads meet to exchange small pieces of information — trivia. Here in Vermont, we certainly swap news on street corners, and I’ve had my…

Welcoming new Americans will strengthen Vt’s economy

November 20, 2024
By Mike Pieciak, Vermont State Treasurer As Vermont’s Treasurer, I am committed to growing Vermont’s economy and building a more inclusive future for our state. To keep our economy on a positive track, we must address our demographic challenges and grow our workforce. I regularly hear from employers about the difficulty of finding workers —…