by Doug Bandow Posted on
President Joe Biden spoke to the American people after a fashion. He, or whoever writes his material, sought to calm rising fears about the consequences of intervening ever deeper in the Russo-Ukraine war. Early popular enthusiasm for the victims of Russian aggression has given way to more practical concerns over the potential for an expanded war, higher prices, a possible recession, and more.
The president began with his war aim: “We want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression.” That’s a reasonable diplomatic end but not a very good cause for war. What Biden said about Ukraine also applies to most every other nation on earth. The US wants every country every where to be democratic and independent. But it usually doesn’t go to war or support wars to promote that end.
For instance, in the 1990s and 2000s an estimated 5.4 million people died when multiple countries intervened in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. No doubt, Washington wanted “to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous [DRC] with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression.” But the US did nothing to make that happen because the interest at stake did not warrant the effort, expense, and risk of doing so.
Why is Ukraine different? The president did not offer an explanation. Instead, he announced: “We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.” Even if that is truly the objective, the question remains why? Washington did not routinely intervene in other wars to improve the bargaining power of one side. Even when US policymakers had a preference among the combatants, Washington usually stayed out or limited its role to diplomacy, perhaps supplemented by economic measures.
The US did lead multilateral intervention to impose peace in the Balkan wars, a move that looks increasingly dubious with continued popular resistance to the dictated peace in Bosnia and Kosovo. Moreover, the US and Europeans spent the last 14 years avoiding the ill-considered promise they made to Kyiv regarding NATO membership. Despite their sympathies for Ukraine, they did not believe that nation was vital to their security, warranting a confrontation with Russia. Moscow’s invasion was a moral outrage but did not change this calculus.
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