Ukraine, NATO, Russia and World War – Part 3

Continued from yesterday

In international law, it’s hardly ever fully enforced and nobody complains too hard.

Eventually, those who have power exercise it to their benefit. It may not be the most correct thing to do but it’s been done, and people have grown to live with it.

The United States itself had prevented USS from planting missiles in Cuba (which is only 90 miles away from the United States) by the then Soviet Union. And President Kennedy then threatened nuclear war if the USSR did not back down.

Fortunately, they did. Moreover, when the people of Panama tried to declare independence which the United States didn’t like, Brig. Gen. Omar Torrijos Herrera’s plane was blown out of the sky. When Manuel Noriega, who succeeded him, wanted to oppose the United States for things which the United States were doing in Panama, the United States went into Panama, took him out, carried him to the United States and jailed him in 1992.

India took over the Island of Goa which belonged to Sri Lanka arguing that the Island was too close and too close to India’s security.

As early as 1832, the United States had something called the Munroe Doctrine. That doctrine states that the United States will not tolerate any hostile states in the western hemisphere that is North America and South America and it has lived by that ever since which is why it did what it did in Panama and so far as central America and Latin America were concerned, United States was very active in overthrowing governments it didn’t believe would tow its own line so in Nicaragua, in Peru, in Chile, and all those places. Bolivia even attempted to depose President Castro of Cuba.

In the case of Chile, the socialists won the election under Allende. The United States was unhappy about this, organized a coup, ousted Allende and imposed General Pinochet in a government more to its liking. In Venezuela, because they had a Marxist Government which was akin to Cuba, the United States, led a campaign of calumny against Venezuela such that Venezuela has no friends in Latin America at this particular moment except Cuba. It put an embargo and sanctions on all Venezuelan leaders and as of today, Venezuela is still finding it very difficult to sell its oil.

In Egypt, the Muslim brotherhood under Mossi won the election… they are leftists but definitely anti-American. America encouraged a coup against Mossi, and imprisoned him. He died in prison. In Libya, the United States did not like some of the policies being pursued by Gaddafi especially as Gadhafi had given a lot of arms to Africans fighting in South Africa, Mozambique, in Angola. To cut a long story short, they did not like Gadhafi. The West bombed him, and they killed him like a dog. These are the realities of power. If you’re able to use it, you can get away with it.

In Ukraine, in a short period of ten years, the most corrupt, the most unstable government was turned into and is now the darling of freedom, liberty and democracy.

President Trump was impeached twice. One of the main reasons for his impeachment was that Ukraine had interfered in the United States election.

It’s important to point out this internecine relationship between Ukraine and Russia to understand how the Russians felt about Ukraine. Rightly or wrongly consider Ukraine seeking Independence as a betrayal. It’s like an insider that has gone out to betray by leaking the secrets of the family. 

Everyone including the US has a good side and a side that is not so good. Sometimes, the other side overtakes and when it does, you should be able to say yes, these were the kinds of things they used to do, but that doesn’t mean that what they did is justified.

These sanctions that have been imposed now reveal exactly how much the West has heavily invested in Russia. Shell is there, BP is there, Exxon is there, and all the others, and it’s only now that there is a crisis that these connections are being revealed. For instance, Russia supplies 40% of gas to Europe.

There are other lessons to learn from what is going on in Ukraine. The war in Syria. 6.9 million Syrians were turned into refugees. They got into Europe and countries like Hungary, and Poland adamantly refused to allow them into their country. Not only did they refuse, but they also increased the height of the fences within their borders and built a second fence with orders that anybody coming into their country illegally should be shot. What we see today in Ukraine is actually the way refugees should be treated. They are welcomed, trains are provided for them, buses are provided for them and they are carried out of an impossible situation to exist for some time while whatever else is being sorted out. No non-white has ever received that kind of treatment as a refugee.

What is likely to be the end of this conflict? The Russian Army had clearly been defeated once but the Russians have perfected the art of attack, withdraw, attack withdraw, regroup and attack again. These were the tactics that were used in defeating Napoleon and exactly the same tactic they used in defeating Hitler. So, the present withdrawal of Russia from the outskirts of Kiev perhaps may not be an indication that they are going anywhere. It might be returning to customs which they are used to withdraw, regroup and attack again. Nothing in the above is to be construed that what the Russians did is supported.

To be continued tomorrow
Dr.Cole (OFR) is a former Nigerian Ambassador to Brazil