As we accelerate toward war across the globe, a decade of hostilities around the Black Sea heated up considerably last month as beachgoers in Crimea fled cluster bombs supplied by the U.S. and delivered by Ukraine. There were 150+ casualties and five fatalities, including children.
This is comparable to civilians on Gaza's beaches being killed with munitions supplied by the U.S. and delivered by Israel. My country is indeed the arsenal of the world. Ka-ching!
Also parallel are the red lines being crossed with impunity.
The Biden administration's fake red lines for Israel are like the Minsk negotiations: a stalling technique intended to usher in the next round of escalated violence.
Putin has warned that striking inside Russian territories with NATO supplied weapons is grounds for escalation. Then again, he and other Russian officials warned for years that continuing to shell civilians in the Donbas was crossing a line that would, and did, bring a military response.
Crimea is of course highly desirable due to its ports and access to shipping through to the Mediterranean. In 2014 the CIA-sponsored coup in Ukraine led to plans for the U.S. Navy to establish itself there, kicking the Russians out. Since the Black Sea is in their backyard, not ours, Russia annexed Crimea and held a referendum which indicated 97% of voters wanted to join Russia.
Both the Ukrainian, Israeli, and U.S. militaries exhibit another parallel -- recruitment is lagging, and the morale of those already in uniform is dismal.
In Ukraine citizens are press ganged, literally, into the military.
And in the U.S. the National Defense Authorization Act setting terms for the next fiscal year's Pentagon budget provides for automatic registration for the draft of not only young men but, in a significant escalation in the Senate version, young women.
Photo credit: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images, Huffpost
And in Israel, a nation that has long expected everyone except ultra orthodox Jews to enlist, removal of the exemption on the basis of religion by their Supreme Court has led to widespread rioting. As seen above, their brethren in New York City appear to feel the same way.
This holiday weekend the U.S. celebrates its "independence" with displays of militarized patriotism and fireworks that terrorize veterans suffering from battle-related PTSD. Many U.S.ians will head to beaches where they'll frolic in the waves oblivious to the genocide they're funding in Gaza. If they know the U.S. is sending weapons to Ukraine that have been banned worldwide for humanitarian reasons -- cluster bombs go on killing and maiming civilians, often children, for years after they've been scattered -- they will likely ignore it.
Happy 4th of July! Is it World War III yet?
No comments:
Post a Comment