Instead, we try to resolve our differences diplomatically. That is because, largely, we accept that wars of conquest are no longer acceptable. The postwar order has, despite its flaws, proven remarkably stable and extremely conducive to peace. In doing so, he not only threatens the peace which has mostly held in Europe since the end of the Second World War, but he threatens the existing global order of sovereign nation-states. He is determined to reclaim the old Soviet empire, spreading autocracy and oligarchic economics while he’s at it. Putin, on the other hand, doesn’t intend to go anywhere. Nation-building and forcing our way of life on sovereign states might be a form of imperialism, but the idea was that eventually the United States military would leave those countries. There was never any serious talk nor motivation of incorporating Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan into the American empire. We know this because he’s told us he’s already taken Crimea, and now he wants the Donbas.Īs reprehensible as America’s imperial wars of the 20 th and 21 st century were, they were not wars of conquest. I wonder if Waters would have encouraged the Iraqi people in 2003 to negotiate with us, the invading and occupying force? Would he have said, “Sure, give up your oil or part of your territory if it means ending the war”? Because that’s what Putin wants: Ukrainian territory. I thought it in 2002 and I still believe that in 2022. The most conservative estimate of Iraqi civilian casualties of our war is over 180,000. I protested against the Iraq War because no matter how evil I personally found Saddam Hussein I did not see a justification for invading a sovereign state which had not attacked us. There can be no peace when your neighbor is determined to destroy you. Asking them to negotiate an end to the hostilities is like celebrating Chamberlain declaring “peace in our time.” It might make you feel good, but it’s all a lie. The Ukrainian people, fighting for the sovereignty of their country which has been invaded by a hostile and brutal foreign oppressor, are the heroes of our story. We have plenty of blood on our hands.Īnd yet, for all our faults, we did not invade Ukraine. I’m not here to argue America and the west are innocents. We’ve meddled in Ukrainian internal affairs too, most notably in the 2014 Euromaidan revolution, aiding a coup as we’ve done all too many times. I don’t disagree with Waters that America has a lot to answer for in the world. It’s clear he wants to make a point about how the US treats other countries. He’s criticized Donald Trump before, in similarly strong terms. Rather than laying the blame squarely at the feed of Vladimir Putin - the man who actually ordered the Russian invasion of a sovereign state - Waters wants to posture against perceived western imperialism. His use of the article “the” in front of Ukraine also suggests that he doesn’t believe it is a legitimate country (the Soviets used to call it “the Ukraine” rather than “Ukraine” to diminish any claims to sovereignty the Ukrainian people may have made). Yet Waters seems to think that it is Joe Biden’s or Volodymyr Zelensky’s fault. I agree that the war in Ukraine is horrific and horrendous. In an interview with CNN’s Michael Smerconish, the presenter pushed back on the inclusion while the rock star stuck to his guns, accusing Biden of “fueling the fire in the Ukraine” and insisting that it was a “huge crime.” The US, Waters insisted, should encourage Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky “to negotiate, obviating the need for this horrific, horrendous war.” Waters recently included a picture of Joe Biden in a list of war criminals featured in his “This Is Not A Drill” live show. This should go without saying, but apparently Roger Waters - co-founder of the legendary rock band Pink Floyd but most known to younger audiences as the man who wanted Madonna to boycott Eurovision when it was held in Israel and who thinks he is more important than Drake and the Weeknd - needs to have it repeated. Not everyone you dislike is a war criminal.
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