Friends, I am not usually at a loss for words, but the Russian war against Ukraine has left me almost speechless. I have talked to friends about the difficulty of writing something meaningful in the face of this unilateral aggression that is causing absolutely senseless, needless human suffering.
I am in disbelief that after two years of a pandemic that has sickened and killed so many people, Putin would choose to bomb, maim and terrorize a neighboring country. So much needless death inflicted by a madman’s order—the only word for that is evil.
And yes, Trump DIRECTLY fostered the conditions that made this happen. Don’t forget that his first impeachment was about threatening to hold back weapons sales from Ukraine. “I would like you to do us a favor, though….” is what Trump said to President Zelensky as a condition of selling Ukraine weapons. And of course, Trump sucked up to Putin for years. Every time I hear that Putin is isolated and not getting the best information, I think that any time he spent in the company of Trump was not helping.
I know that the government does not equal the people. I support ordinary people in Russia who call for peace. Those who are taking the bold steps to protest, or wish they could protest but feel that they can’t risk their lives, or jail, by doing so.
And to the people of Ukraine, the world is with you. I had been wondering what an outpouring of support could do, and it seems like it is doing quite a bit. The courage and tenacity of Ukrainians is a lesson to us all. We need to look for all the ways we can help them, as people, as a country, as NATO, as the whole rest of the world.
President Biden’s first State of the Union speech is tonight. It is beyond time for the Republicans to shed their Trump-era nonsense and get down to business with unity and purpose. I know that is probably not going to happen. But Americans, and the world, can’t afford anything less.
Greg Sargent in The Washington Post: Five vile things Trump did to Zelensky and Ukraine that you forgot about https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/01/vindman-zelensky-ukraine-putin/