USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Variables in the Ukraine-Russian Conflict

i'm not sure if  '"neo-nazis" in ukraine is anything more than propaganda.

don't know what it is based on.

but here's another factor, closely linked to gloria's points:

russia has atom bombs, and can't be attacked--except in response to an atomic attack.

that said, who would have reason to used bombs against russia for any other reason?

that said, putin figures he can take action to conquer another country and incorporate it into russia.

i think it's more or less that simple.

and ugly, since before this, other reasons were given for war--fallacious or not, but not using nuclear weapons as leverage points.

as for the argument that russia doesn't want to be surrounded by weapons, say, in poland--i wonder if that is relevant. russia and the u.s. have thouands of bombs, rockets to deliver them anywhere, submarines and airplanes etc

does the distance make the slightest difference any more?

the number of weapons is roughly equal between all of nato and russia. around 4000. enough to wipe out humankind.

war is now worse for all of us, all together, than any time in history since the real risk of mutual annihilation is there.'

for those of us who are old, this is sad, but not the real tragedy. it is our children and granddchildren who matter the most, and for us it is intolerable that they should be exposed, once again, as we were in our youths, to the threats of these weapons.

the last great campaigns of stuart hall were anti-nuclear.  he was right

ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

harrow@msu.edu

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From: 'Emeagwali, Gloria (History)' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2022 11:20 AM
To: usa <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Variables in the Ukraine-Russian Conflict

 

What is this Ukraine-Russian

war about? Here are twelve

short term and long term

variables to consider:

1.  Neo- Cold War superpower  

      rivalries between NATO and

      Russia.

2. Trans border ethnic /diaspora  

       solidarity in the light of the

       perceived persecution of  

       Russians in Eastern Ukraine.

3.  Russian security and border

      concerns and fears of  

      encirclement by the West

4. The rise of Neo-Nazis in Ukraine

5.  Russian diversion from internal

      economic and political  difficulties

6.  Putin's megalomania

7.   Failure of all regional and global

      organizations connected to the

      issue, including the UN, in conflict

      resolution

8.  The 2014 destabilization that

      dislodged a pro-Russian

      leadership and installed what

      is perceived as a puppet of the

      other camp

9.  The proliferation of weapons -

      and an unbridled arms race on all

      sides- a boon for the weapons

       industry

10. Russian neo- colonial sentiments

11. The invasions of Iraq, Afghanistan

       and Libya as negative models

       of conflict resolution and

       precedents for potential violators.

12.  Failure of the Minsk Agreements  

        of 2015.

Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association

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