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Moving Forward from War to Peace

Russia’s war in Ukraine — like the USA’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — should be understood as barbaric mass slaughter. The actions by the Russian government are causing death and suffering, and will further destabilize global security while rendering institutions like the United Nations even more powerless. As always, in this instance Russia has couched its aggression by claiming to act in defense, as the U.S. government often has. 

At this extremely dangerous moment in world history, the only sane course of action is a commitment to genuine diplomacy with serious negotiations, not military escalation – which could easily spiral out of control into nuclear war. 

Fueling a conflict between the two nuclear superpowers is insanity.

In the process, the perilous history of NATO’s eastward expansion and the threat of further expansion must be faced. Rather than dismissing out of hand the Russian Federation’s current insistence on a written guarantee that Ukraine will not become part of NATO, the U.S. government should agree to a long-term moratorium on any NATO expansion. The U.S. must also continue to reject calls for a No-Fly zone over Ukraine which would result in direct military confrontations between the U.S. and Russia — countries with 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons. We can also show solidarity with anti-war efforts in Russia, condemn the U.S. media for promoting ever more war, and recognize that the suffering people in Yemen, Palestine, Libya, Somalia, and other countries not in Europe have not received the attention Ukraine has… attention that is long overdue.

Diplomacy — not warfare — remains the only hope.

New to foreign policy? Read the RootsAction Education Fund Primer on Foreign Policy for U.S. Congressional Candidates to build a smart foundation.