War, Inhumanity, and War Crimes are a Plague That Easily Spreads
The US did not get involved in the 1940 German invasions in Europe until Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. President Roosevelt wanted us to get more involved other than shipping supplies, but the country was not ready until we were attacked and lost 1,700 in one day. That is less than we have lost many days in an incomplete attack on Covid-19. Eventually 70-85 million died as it became World War II, which was 3% of the then world population. The US fire bombed Tokyo, Hamburg, Dresden and other German cities. We dropped Atomic bombs of 15 kilotons on Hiroshima and 21 kilotons on Nagasaki, without warnings.
The frustration of not achieving a swift and non-destructive military victory and total Ukrainian surrender by an enormous 190,000 person Russian army has escalated to horrendous annihilation attacks on non-military government buildings and then vast civilian housing areas and structures. The world economic sanctions against Russia are now being called a declaration of war by Putin, without specifying any country, thus the start of World War III. Since the closing off of many Russian banks and the collapse of the Ruble attacks all Russian civilians, it could even be likened to a war crime. Less than two weeks have passed in this war, and there are over two million women and children refugees from Ukraine, a country of 44 million.
We are now committed to not give an inch, or a foot, or an actual meter of NATO land. Russia has already put its nuclear weapons of mass destruction on alert. The typical size of nuclear weapons, built decades ago when targeting was not scientifically accurate, is about a megaton of TNT. That is about 50 times the destructive power of the initial bombs, and they can be exploded in the air to cover larger areas, and to better destroy missile silos. As much as we oppose new nuclear weapons, replacing older ones with much smaller ones and less radioactive ones could suffice for the nuclear stalemate, and leave more and healthier survivors. That could be done along with the much hoped for decrease in the number of allowable warheads. I know that others who have worked a lifetime on getting rid of nuclear weapons will say that anything that makes them less deadly or destructive is to be avoided, since it will increase the likelihood of their use. That works fine among sane leaders, but not among very questionable one. That includes the latest two who say “like nothing ever seen before,” and “what’s the use of having them if you can’t use them”.
Is it soothing that the UN just established a war crimes committee that will report in one year on Russia’s inexcusable invasion and destruction of Ukraine? It should report every day or even every hour on all social media and on Ukrainian and Russian penetrating radio and short wave radio, in order to reach all of those who could stop the atrocities. Also, the idea of indicting Putin or also including his top generals and planners is terribly insufficient.
Nobody has brought up the saying from the My Lai massacre in Vietnam by a US unit: to save it, it became necessary to destroy it. This is Putin’s strategy now that the clean and rapid shock and awe first strike was not met by a meek and rapid surrender by Ukraine. Putin is following standard siege warfare: don’t destroy those who surrender, and destroy those who won’t, as a lesson. The worst part of this is attacking those who flee, even when a corridor is supposedly open for them. Destruction by shelling lessens the losses of actually invading and subduing a city.
While Eastern European countries are giving generous care of the over two million refugees, they are only giving temporary visas to them, although they have now been extended to three years. Europe has had declining birth rates. A young workforce is necessary to support their generous retirement and social support plans. The people of Ukraine have been Europeans since their independence of 1991, for three decades, more than a generation. Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons that it had from the old USSR, and has been turning more democratic. They are also bravely standing up to Russia, something NATO may soon be tested on doing. If Ukraine eventually falls, Europe should make great efforts to accept Ukrainians, as well as should the United States. All efforts should be given to reunite the families that were forced to split up.
It is shocking what is being carried out by the Russian military, which is two-thirds professional, and one-third innocent young men without grudges toward anybody, who are conscripted for a year. That they would engage in such destruction of civilian property, innocent lives, and inhumane acts such as destroying water, gas heating, and electricity on a population related to Russians. These are also war crimes, and should eventually be charged against the troops carrying them out. The Russian military must not train their soldiers in what war crimes are. They must also heavily brain wash them. Something we have now seen happen in our own country, where violence and hatred of others has been continually encouraged by a faction.
Putin has threatened that the economic sanctions are acts of war by all of the participating countries. Probably not a fight to have picked, since so many countries, businesses, and people are lining up because they cannot stand the unrestricted and escalating violence and inhumanity of his military. Like we speculated at the start, you cannot carry out atrocious behavior in the age of TV, the internet, and ubiquitous cell phones without being informed. The fact that Putin has shut down all informative social media and dissenting press outlets with a 15 year fine for even using certain words has to tell his people that horrible crimes are being covered up.
There are two even worse things happening now. Putin is sending in his own young and personal national guard to police pacified areas. We have seen how bad that became with the Brown Shirt Nazis. On top of that, Putin is sending in tens of thousands of mercenaries from Syria, used to the war crimes there. Both of these spell disaster to the ex-soldiers and the civilian population. They also will be a disaster to the 200,000 Jews who have resettled in Ukraine.
Their is a small possibility that Putin has so intimidated his underlings that none of them want to tell him the bad news and the truth. We have also seen that happen in the past US administration.
It’s amazing that Russians still do not understand what is happening, that their independent and outside media has been discontinued, and that they are violently roughed up for protesting, imprisoned, and persecuted later.
When they find out, and they will find out, their guilt and their soldier’s guilt will hang over them for generations.
