Is a long, bloody war between Russia and Ukraine really in our national interest?
By David Bromwich, The Nation
Russia invaded Ukraine in violation of international law, and now we stand on a precipice. Advocates of war are saying that World War III has already begun, and the United States should therefore plunge in. How can they say that? People may finally hurl themselves into an abyss from the sheer terror of falling.

I learned something about this mood from a retired Foreign Service veteran. On October 27, 1962, he was sitting in the next room, listening on an intercom with second-echelon State Department officials while President Kennedy and his advisers discussed the appropriate response to Russian missiles in Cuba. As we now know, Kennedy barely held off an almost unanimous recommendation to bomb. What my informant vividly recalled was the mood of decision. They all recognized that a nuclear war would be a catastrophe of unimaginable dimensions; but at a certain point, the momentum seemed irresistible. “I thought to myself,” he said, “OK, let’s just do this.”
That state of mind—of blank acceptance (because they had already come so far)—“lasted,” he continued, “for about 20 minutes. Then, somehow, I came to my senses. But I’ve thought of that moment ever since. I was willing to ‘live with’ the end of the world. It showed me what we are capable of—what I was capable of.”
Joe Biden has long been a man given to sentimental avowals and reckless denunciations. He was indulged for half a century; the slips were easily exposed and of no large consequence. His rhetorical effervescence took on a graver aspect in mid and late March, when he called Vladimir Putin a war criminal, broke with the US renunciation of chemical weapons by saying we would use them in retaliation if Russia used them, told members of the 82nd Airborne Division that they would soon be deployed in Ukraine, and signaled a wartime goal of regime change in Russia: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”
Recent Posts
Democrats Are Too Paralyzed To Take Action On Abortion Rights
July 6, 2022
Take Action Now For months, the Democratic Party leadership knew the Supreme Court was preparing to gut Roe v. Wade. When it happened, they…
Corporate Media Keeps Helping Big Oil Whitewash Its Image
July 6, 2022
Take Action Now Even now, when scientists say we’ve done irreversible damage to our planet, corporate and legacy news outlets won’t give up…
Shireen Abu Akleh’s Murder Not “Intentional,” Claims State Department
July 5, 2022
Take Action Now “The odds that those responsible for the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh will be held to account are all but…
Joe Biden Is Faltering Amid The Biggest Challenges Of His Presidency
July 5, 2022
Take Action Now Joe Biden is not up to the task at hand By Eoin Higgins, The Flashpoint During the 2020 Democratic primary,…