Today’s entry is comprised of links to commentary that differs from most opinion in mainstream media outlets, followed by a link to an Associated Press wrapup in today’s newspapers throughout the United States. — MCM
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To Punish Russia, the ‘Liberal Order’ Attempts to Suicide Itself, by Moon of Alabama, begins, “Two days ago we looked at why Russia is doing what it does . . . The ‘west’ had failed to understand Russia’s need to act. It has failed to make the necessary commitments, and accept Russia’s reasonable demands, to avoid the struggle. In consequence it will now fall apart. The knee-jerk reaction to Russia’s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine will, as Alastair Crooke writes, lead to the end of the ‘liberal order’ . . .” READ MORE . . .
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A Proposed Solution to the Ukraine War, by Greg Mello, begins, “Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, what was a regional conflict has become a global hybrid war with ever-greater stakes, not least the risk of nuclear war. Perhaps the greatest danger lies in the difference of motives between parties, which is also the fundamental cause of this war: Russia seeks security, while the U.S. and its NATO allies have been using Ukraine to deny that security — to “break Russia,” in Henry Kissinger’s 2015 phrase. The U.S. does not want peace, unless it be the peace of a conquered Russia. That is why there is no obvious end to the escalations and counter-escalations. The U.S. and NATO see opportunity in the war they have been trying so hard to provoke. The tragedy is that few people seem to understand that at the root of the Ukraine crisis is a specific strategy known as the Wolfowitz Doctrine . . . READ MORE . . .
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Would a ‘Cold’ War Be the Best News Around?, by Michael Klare, begins, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been widely described as the beginning of a new cold war, much like the old one in both its cast of characters and ideological nature. “In the contest between democracy and autocracy, between sovereignty and subjugation, make no mistake — freedom will prevail,” President Biden asserted in a televised address to the nation the day Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine. But while Russia and the West disagree on many issues of principle, this is not a replay of the Cold War. It’s an all-too-geopolitical twenty-first-century struggle for advantage on a highly contested global chessboard. If comparisons are in order, think of this moment as . . . READ MORE . . .
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In These Days of Great Tension, by Vijay Prashad, begins, “It is impossible not to be moved by the outrageousness of warfare, the ugliness of aerial bombardment, the gruesome fears of civilians who are trapped between choices that are not their own. If you read this line and assume I am talking about Ukraine, then you are right, but of course, this is not just about Ukraine. In the same week that Russian forces entered Ukraine, the United States launched airstrikes in Somalia, Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen and Israel struck Syria and Palestinians in Gaza. READ MORE . . .
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Worthy and Unworthy Victims, by Chris Hedges, begins, “Rulers divide the world into worthy and unworthy victims, those we are allowed to pity, such as Ukrainians enduring the hell of modern warfare, and those whose suffering is minimized, dismissed, or ignored. The terror we and our allies carry out against Iraqi, Palestinian, Syrian, Libyan, Somali and Yemeni civilians is part of the regrettable cost of war. We, echoing the empty promises from Moscow, claim we do not target civilians. Rulers always paint their militaries as humane, there to serve and protect. Collateral damage happens, but it is regrettable. This lie can only be sustained among those who are unfamiliar with the . . . READ MORE . . .
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Today’s Berkshire Eagle bannered this headline at the top of page 1: “Ukraine: Putin’s tactics ‘medieval’: Humanitarian crisis deepens as Russian forces continue shelling” over a version of reporter Yuras Karmanau’s daily Associated Press wrapup, which began, “LVIV, Ukraine — The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine deepened Monday as Russian forces intensified their shelling, and food, water, heat and medicine grew increasingly scarce, in what the country condemned as a medieval-style siege by Moscow to batter it into submission. A third round of talks between the two sides ended with a top Ukrainian official saying there had been minor, unspecified . . . READ MORE . . .(The link is to the report as carried in the Orange County Coast.)
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made “an impassioned speech today to the British House of Commons” lasting about 10 minutes, according to NPR’s “All Things Considered” program. This the day after the New York Times printed a letter from U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, headed “Russia’s War on Ukraine Must Fail.” The letter appeared in the space at the upper left-hand corner of its editorial page often reserved for the newspaper’s own editorials. Times subscribers can read it HERE.