SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
US President Joe Biden arrives to make a statement from the East Room of the White House about Russia's invasion of Ukraine February 24, 2022, in Washington, DC. Biden announced "devastating" Western sanctions against Russia on Thursday. After a virtual, closed-door meeting, the G7 democracies said they stand firm against Russia's "threat to the rules-based international order." (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Nothing Can Justify This Flagrant Violation by Russia
Now is the time to unite in condemnation of Russia's flagrant breach of international law, and in support of immediate sanctions.
Feb 24, 2022
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the West now has no choice but to impose the toughest possible economic sanctions on Russia and to seek to unite as much of the world as possible in pressing Russia to end the attack. All scholars and analysts of Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union must add their voices to the unqualified condemnation of Russia's action, and their support for massive economic retaliation.
Once the immediate crisis has passed, there will be a time to consider the lessons of this disaster for the formulation of U.S. global strategy, and the errors of that strategy over the past generation.
Whatever may be the legitimacy of at least some Russian grievances about Western and Ukrainian policy, nothing can justify this flagrant violation by Russia of international laws and norms to which Russia itself has repeatedly appealed. And while Russia has had legitimate grounds to protest against Ukrainian discrimination against the linguistic and cultural rights of Russian-speakers in Ukraine, nothing remotely justifies President Putin's grotesque lies about Ukrainian "genocide" and "Nazism." Putin's speech justifying the invasion brings to mind Secretary of State Cordell Hull's response to the Japanese statement that accompanied the attack on Pearl Harbor:
"In all my 50 years of public service I have never seen a document that was more crowded with infamous falsehoods and distortions--on a scale so huge that I never imagined until today that any government on this planet was capable of uttering them."
Especially sinister was Putin's reference to the "denazification" of Ukraine and the punishment of Ukrainians guilty of "atrocities" against Russian citizens in Ukraine. This would seem to hint at potentially ferocious repression in areas of Ukraine controlled by Russian forces, or even at an attempt to destroy Ukrainian nationalism as such.
Once the immediate crisis has passed, there will be a time to consider the lessons of this disaster for the formulation of U.S. global strategy, and the errors of that strategy over the past generation. For the moment, we must all support the Biden administration in its effort to punish and isolate Russia for this flagrant breach of international law.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 Responsible Statecraft
Anatol Lieven
Anatol Lieven is a Professor at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Qatar, visiting professor in the War Studies Department of King's College London, and a senior fellow of the New America Foundation in Washington DC. He is the author of
Pakistan: A Hard Country.
Anatol spent the first part of his career as a journalist in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the former USSR.
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the West now has no choice but to impose the toughest possible economic sanctions on Russia and to seek to unite as much of the world as possible in pressing Russia to end the attack. All scholars and analysts of Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union must add their voices to the unqualified condemnation of Russia's action, and their support for massive economic retaliation.
Once the immediate crisis has passed, there will be a time to consider the lessons of this disaster for the formulation of U.S. global strategy, and the errors of that strategy over the past generation.
Whatever may be the legitimacy of at least some Russian grievances about Western and Ukrainian policy, nothing can justify this flagrant violation by Russia of international laws and norms to which Russia itself has repeatedly appealed. And while Russia has had legitimate grounds to protest against Ukrainian discrimination against the linguistic and cultural rights of Russian-speakers in Ukraine, nothing remotely justifies President Putin's grotesque lies about Ukrainian "genocide" and "Nazism." Putin's speech justifying the invasion brings to mind Secretary of State Cordell Hull's response to the Japanese statement that accompanied the attack on Pearl Harbor:
"In all my 50 years of public service I have never seen a document that was more crowded with infamous falsehoods and distortions--on a scale so huge that I never imagined until today that any government on this planet was capable of uttering them."
Especially sinister was Putin's reference to the "denazification" of Ukraine and the punishment of Ukrainians guilty of "atrocities" against Russian citizens in Ukraine. This would seem to hint at potentially ferocious repression in areas of Ukraine controlled by Russian forces, or even at an attempt to destroy Ukrainian nationalism as such.
Once the immediate crisis has passed, there will be a time to consider the lessons of this disaster for the formulation of U.S. global strategy, and the errors of that strategy over the past generation. For the moment, we must all support the Biden administration in its effort to punish and isolate Russia for this flagrant breach of international law.
Anatol Lieven
Anatol Lieven is a Professor at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Qatar, visiting professor in the War Studies Department of King's College London, and a senior fellow of the New America Foundation in Washington DC. He is the author of
Pakistan: A Hard Country.
Anatol spent the first part of his career as a journalist in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the former USSR.
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the West now has no choice but to impose the toughest possible economic sanctions on Russia and to seek to unite as much of the world as possible in pressing Russia to end the attack. All scholars and analysts of Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union must add their voices to the unqualified condemnation of Russia's action, and their support for massive economic retaliation.
Once the immediate crisis has passed, there will be a time to consider the lessons of this disaster for the formulation of U.S. global strategy, and the errors of that strategy over the past generation.
Whatever may be the legitimacy of at least some Russian grievances about Western and Ukrainian policy, nothing can justify this flagrant violation by Russia of international laws and norms to which Russia itself has repeatedly appealed. And while Russia has had legitimate grounds to protest against Ukrainian discrimination against the linguistic and cultural rights of Russian-speakers in Ukraine, nothing remotely justifies President Putin's grotesque lies about Ukrainian "genocide" and "Nazism." Putin's speech justifying the invasion brings to mind Secretary of State Cordell Hull's response to the Japanese statement that accompanied the attack on Pearl Harbor:
"In all my 50 years of public service I have never seen a document that was more crowded with infamous falsehoods and distortions--on a scale so huge that I never imagined until today that any government on this planet was capable of uttering them."
Especially sinister was Putin's reference to the "denazification" of Ukraine and the punishment of Ukrainians guilty of "atrocities" against Russian citizens in Ukraine. This would seem to hint at potentially ferocious repression in areas of Ukraine controlled by Russian forces, or even at an attempt to destroy Ukrainian nationalism as such.
Once the immediate crisis has passed, there will be a time to consider the lessons of this disaster for the formulation of U.S. global strategy, and the errors of that strategy over the past generation. For the moment, we must all support the Biden administration in its effort to punish and isolate Russia for this flagrant breach of international law.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.