An End to the Russia-Ukraine War

Accepting a Multipolar World

I recently read the book, “Generals Die in Bed,” a classic account of World War I. In terms of combat between Ukraine and Russia, there are serious echoes of WW1 with trench warfare and needless death on a massive scale.

There are few things dumber and more wasteful than trench warfare (Ukraine, from the New York Times)

Far too often, war is glorified when it is really colossal waste. As Dwight D. Eisenhower said, war is to be hated. So, short of abject capitulation to a tyrant, I support efforts to end wars. Stop the waste. Stop the hate. Find a way to live together in peace. The alternative, perpetual war, is too terrible to contemplate.

Diplomacy can be pursued without abandoning Ukraine or betraying NATO. Certainly, Ukraine should be a party to the negotiations. The war is being fought on their turf. They have bled, as has Russia.

But: All wars must end. The trick is ending them in a way that doesn’t generate future wars. That was the greatest tragedy of World War I: that its ending and the botched settlement led almost inexorably to World War II and an even greater bloodletting.

Here’s the rub: Ever since 9/11, indeed ever since World War II, almost without exception, America has ALWAYS been at war. And it hasn’t gone well, has it? (Except for the arms makers and the Cheney neocon crowd.) Isn’t it time we worked for peace?

Far too often, America’s worst enemy hasn’t been Putin or China or some other bogeyman. It’s been the enemy within. And I don’t mean the “red menace” or the “woke” crowd. I mean the enemy that is threat inflation. The enemy that is incessant warfare in unnecessary wars of choice, which drives deficit spending, and which is reinforced by lies.

How many times have we heard of bomber gaps, missile gaps, falling dominoes in Asia, WMD in Iraq, etc., that turned out not to be true, but which were used to justify massive military spending and (especially in Southeast Asia) drove horrendous casualties? Yes, the MICIMATT is powerful, but why are Americans so easy to scare? Why are we so fearful when this country’s geographic position is so enviably strong and defensible? It’s not like Putin’s on our northern border: friendly Canadians are there! (Even if they boo our National Anthem at hockey games.)

The world is becoming multipolar again, which doesn’t mean it has to be a scarier place. A multipolar world could be a more stable one if U.S. leaders could just back off on their goal of dominating everything everywhere all at once.

The idea of full-spectrum dominance and America as a global hegemon at any price must give way to an irenic and ecumenical view of the world. The American religion of violent militarism and prideful exceptionalism is simply too expensive to sustain. 

When the ship of state is slowly slipping under the waves, it’s not wise to steer closer to more icebergs. Let’s work to save our ship of state first.

3 thoughts on “An End to the Russia-Ukraine War”

  1. In addition to your economic analysis, a pervasive false claim during 1954–2025 misleads many voters to unwittingly support a foreign policy that violates the simple Golden Rule, so many nice citizens of foreign lands anger and fight back. Thus, US leadership in the world crumbles.

    The false claim says the US entered Viet Nam in 1954, with a noble intent to fight communism.

    But the US entered Viet Nam in 1865 and operated during 1865–1954 for business expansion, under brutal French invasion violence. After Viet Nam defeated France in 1954, US leaders took over the war. That was the real reason for the US-Viet Nam War. Far from noble, it shows the real, wrongful intent of US leaders then and in the decades through 2024.

    Foreign Policy Fault to 2024 from US in Viet Nam 1865–1954. Publication set for March 2025, by Brian Douglas Roesch

    Roesch, Brian D. (2020) Corporate Tsunami in Countryside Paradise : 1875–1900 Origin of US War in Viet Nam. US: Voter Knowledge Press.

    The 100 percent proof of the 1865–1954 US activity in Viet Nam reposes in US National Archives. Thousands of reports were sent by US consuls in Viet Nam. But this is not in US history books, schools, colleges, and voter debates. So, many voters falsely think a 1954 entry into Viet Nam was noble. They unwittingly support business expansion, often by force, which angers many nice foreigners.

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  2. So many Democrats hold to the idea that NATO/US is entirely innocent in the lead-up to the Ukraine War. The pushback to ending it is great but we can hope that for the lives of those who may yet be sacrificed for nothing being accomplished the end will come soon.

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  3. The idea of full-spectrum dominance and America as a global hegemon at any price must give way to an…. ecumenical view of …violent militarism and prideful exceptionalism,,,, is simply too expensive to sustain. 

    I presume the reference to the word “expensive” is not only monetary, but also morally and ethically. America is beginning to rapidly recede as a “hegemon” but its politicians continue to view it as such. At best it will soon become a “regional hegemon”. There is little doubt the country has lost its way, morally speaking, and has managed to alienate a generation of Arab speaking people in the Middle East. Trump is hastening its decline while his buffoonish ways are proving to be startling and causing grave consternation around the world.

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