There hasn’t been a day passing by for past few months when I don’t hear someone talking about war in Ukraine. Or rather, how Ukraine is pushing back the Russian forces and inching towards a winning a war. I visit news portals, not one but several, including one of the most trusted news sources here in the UK, the BBC, to get the latest updates and they all are singing the same lyrics. Maybe they were getting paid for singing. For example, the government in the UK awarded £4.1 million to BBC to counter “propaganda and fake news“, which in simple terms means BBC is not showing what actually is happening on the ground but is blatantly promoting a narrative chosen by the masters who are paying them. I had in the past written a few articles about BBC’s propaganda in its coverage of Indian affair.
Have a read: Dark truth behind BBC’s narrative on Liquor consumption in India and Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing forgets the clothing: BBC’s report on Fake News reveals more than expected
But this is not just about BBC, its about the bias, prejudices and ignorance that the people in the UK or Europe carry about my side of the world, i.e. east of Europe.
Cold war, a war between the two powers (Soviet Union and the USA) was cold for the west, but it was bloody hot for my part of the world. A country, Afghanistan was entirely torn apart, and ripped in pieces by this cold war only because the so-called proxy wars and military operations took place on its land. The US in that case had set up its base in Pakistan. And for that matter, Pakistan has paid dearly for letting the US use the country as a base to fight a war that neither Soviet nor Americans could win. But did Afghanistan really win? If that’s what victory looks like, no country would want to win ever again!
The United States invested millions and billions in Pakistan in the form of Military aid and otherwise to fight Soviets. Below is a chart showing the investment over the years ever since it got its independence.
Worth noting from the chart is that major armed conflicts with India always followed the time spans with heavy investments. Military assistance from 1954 to 1964 was followed by a major India Pakistan war in 1965. Major assistance from 1982 to 1990 lead to one of the largest genocide and exodus of Kashmiri Hindus by the Pakistan sponsored militants. Pakistan’s bleed India by thousand cuts was the doctrine in play. Western countries lead by the US were lending military assistance to a military dictated state that was not even a democracies, shame for those countries who claim to be fighting for a cause to support democracies of the world.
What is different in case of Ukraine?
There is absolutely nothing different. Its exactly the same, point by point. The only difference is that Ukraine is playing the part of both Afghanistan by fighting a war on its own land and at the same time playing the part of Pakistan by allowing countries to set up their camps. Ukraine is the new playground for the US. The US is by far the biggest stake holder in this conflict. Have a look:
Moreover, the military aid is not just this year, it has been building up for almost a decade now, exactly like the aid to Pakistan. Military aid to Ukraine since 2013:
Since, the US still do not have its boots on ground in Ukraine, which was the very definition of the term “cold war”, still stands true. This is just another proxy war between the US and Russia, however, its in Europe this time, so the lives matter, the pain is real, and the blood is red.
The result will also not be any different then what happened to Pakistan and Afghanistan. The only country with a bigger begging bowl than Pakistan today is Ukraine. In this day and age a country’s sovereignty is threatened less by military invasion, but more by economics and data. China is occupying countries, lands, ports without throwing even a single stone; just by lending money. Pakistan and Ukraine both waged wars which they know for sure that they can’t win by themselves, they would beg for both the weapons and money from the rest of the world.
There won’t be a clean victory for any side unlike World War II, unless Nukes are used; which is very unlikely as of today. And in this case it won’t even matter who wins, Ukraine loses and its neighbors too (not just energy crisis and high inflation). Millions would be displaced, demographics would be altered, middle class and above would move out of Ukraine to countries with brighter prospects. You could find Pakistan’s rich and wealthy in abundance in the UK and Canada but not in Pakistan, that’s why it is next to impossible to rebuild that nation. Won’t be any different in Ukraine.
What do you think would happen to the countless weapons that are being sent to Ukraine to fight Russia? They would not just disappear. Sooner or later, the US would go back, rest of Europe would have a brand new problem to tackle: militancy. Of course, there would be new terms invented on the lines of Good Taliban and Bad Taliban, till Good Taliban reaches the US again. And the cycle continues.
At least US would still keep its hypocrisy alive by continuing enforcing the Monroe Doctrine, according to which any country other than the Americas setting up military camp in the western hemisphere would be seen as waging a war against the United States of Americas. However, the USA can set up camp on the border of Russia and if it complains Putin is crazy. Cuban Missile Crisis was an excellent example for this. In 1960s the US installed its Jupiter Ballistic Missiles in Italy and Turkey and responding to this Soviet installed its in Cuba. That one instance lead to world coming closer to a nuclear for no good reason. Monroe Doctrine and NATO/EU Expansion towards Russian Border can go hand in hand only when Russia ceases to exist. Russia is responding in exactly the same way as the US does in its neighborhood.
English Media houses are playing their part in making a sensitive situations even worse. Countries are reeling under peer pressure to provide military assistance to Ukraine. For instance BBC promotes things like
If France wants to lead Europe to a new era of military self-reliance, how come its contribution to the war effort in Ukraine is so small?
That is the awkward question being posed by some of the country’s top strategic thinkers, who are pushing President Emmanuel Macron to make an urgent decision on more arms to Kyiv.
That’s a clear case of war mongering. The intention here is not a ceasefire, but defeat Russia; whatever the cost.
Also read: A tale of two conflicts and the hypocrisy!
A controlled nuclear strike would start looking feasible and a viable action as soon as media succeeds in convincing the larger audience that its for the greater good. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are justified strikes today. Aren’t they? For the greater good!!
Also read: ASAT, ABM and the shifting Nuclear Paradigm; one of the biggest reasons why Soviet Union collapsed.
I am not a fan of Communist Regime, my previous 150+ articles are a testimonial for that, but I am also not a fan of a super power concept.
Balance of Power is the very need of the hour. In today’s scenario, the US with its whooping $20 Trillion GDP, is miles ahead of any other country. Russia with its less than $2 Trillion GDP is ten times weaker. This is the very recipe of a disaster.
By the way, China with its $15 trillion GDP is a little too quiet so far. The country hasn’t yet stepped in the war alongside Russia. What is the country waiting for? Please follow my blog to know some of the answers for such questions.
Thanks for reading! If you liked the article, please do share it with family and friend! Peace and Ceasefire!
Also read:
Can Taliban 2.0 get Kashmir for Pakistan?
