PEACE IN UKRAINE AND WORLDWIDE! VIVA DIPLOMACY

As people on this and other continents are aware, the USA started as an invasion/occupation, with aggression, racism, and violence paving the way to “Manifest Destiny” from “sea to shining sea.” As the years have gone by, the push and pull both toward and away from peace, justice, and democracy has continued.

After the tragedy of 9/11, then-President Bush used the terrible event to get Congress to pass a War Powers Act that ushered in the current era of the “Forever Wars;” Congress gave up the requirement that the President/Executive branch needs their approval for entering the war. The new War Powers Act enabled the president to take military action anywhere in the world, at any time.

Thus, US militarism has ramped up even more! US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq went on for decades (neither country was involved with Al Qaida or 9/11); and US drones have also struck Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, and more.  This rampant military activity, approximately 900 US military bases worldwide, our military spending almost as much as the entire rest of the world put together, and our being the #1 arms merchants worldwide (sometimes arming both sides of a conflict), make us continue to be what Rev. Dr. King called “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world.”

Throughout the Forever Wars of the past two decades, the US military-industrial-Congressional-media complex has shown an insatiable appetite for war and ignores the wreckage left behind. Meanwhile, business is booming for weapons manufacturers and war profiteers; while people’s needs for health care, education, infrastructure, etc. go unmet (worldwide). In the last year alone, the United States sent $27.5 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. The war in Ukraine takes us deep into a proxy war with Russia, with nuclear arms on both sides, as well as nuclear power plants in the war zone – potential nuclear weapons all by themselves!!

The danger of nuclear war was emphasized when scientists set the Doomsday Clock for 2023 to “ninety seconds before midnight.” They also warned of the Russia-Ukraine war’s undermining global efforts to combat climate change. While Russia’s arrogance and violent land grab is a huge problem, it is clear that the US’s reneging on its pledge to stop expanding NATO eastward towards Russia was a key element precipitating the Russian aggression.

We have got to stop the madness. Shero activist and author Medea Benjamin has been sounding the alarm since co-founding CodePink (and before): fighting for peace, telling the truth about the war machine and the war economy. Medea is not pro-Russian; rather she is pro-truth, pro-diplomacy, and pro-negotiations. Come hear her at 1 pm, on April 23 at Fitz Books & Waffles, 431 Ellicott St, Buffalo; or April 24 (4:30 pm) at Niagara University.

Her book, War In Ukraine – Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict, shares the history and analysis of this dangerous conflict. For more info, check wnypeace.org or our Facebook page.