Here’s how we are again at the doorstep of the first major war in Europe in 75 years as Ukraine and Russia face off.
In 1994, the Clinton administration, with the approval of the U.S. Congress, signed a treaty with Ukraine, the UK, and Russia. The treaty required that Ukraine voluntarily give up its nuclear arsenal that it retained after the fall of the Soviet Union. It was part of a Western strategy to safeguard similar arsenals in all of the former Soviet republics.
In Ukraine’s case, the United States and Britain agreed to defend it against any future attack from Russia. From 1989 until 1994, that nucelar arsenal was the only deterrent Ukraine had against a Russian invasion.
Dwight Widaman, Metro Voice Editor
Fast forward to 2014 when Russia invades and takes over Crimea and Eastern Ukraine through a proxy civil war that was fought by Russian troops disguised as rebels. Instead of dealing with Russia at the time, Barack Obama reneged on the treaty and broke the promise to Ukraine that America would defend it. With no nuclear deterrent, Ukraine was then vulnerable to the threats of an expansionist Russia.
Obama allowed huge swaths of Ukraine to come under Russian military control. Instead, Obama instituted sanctions against Russia. How are those sanctions working today?
I’m against war and the loss of American life. But if we do not honor our commitments and treaties with other nations, can the United States ever be trusted again?
How is Israel feeling today? What is Poland thinking right now? What about Taiwan and South Korea? Can Japan trust the United States in our mutual aid treaty against a hostile China? More importantly, can other countries around the world now just ignore THEIR treaties?
Here’s the danger the world faces.
By failing to honor the American and British treaty with Ukraine, and yes, defend them militarily, the United States is forcing the world to become the Wild West. Anything goes.
The binding force behind treaties, which provide peace in hundreds of hotspots around the world, is that both parties agree to the terms and abide by them. The United States, under Obama, and now Biden, has broken that treaty with Ukraine and set a dangerous precedent.
When treaties become meaningless, war then becomes the only solution for nations. Ukraine is not World War III, but our inaction is pushing us into a future world war with China or Russia because they now know we do not honor our treaties with other nations.
The Biden administration’s inaction in Ukraine does not prevent a conflict with Russia, it just postpones it.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice