With his head under his arm in Ukraine
By inyheter.no - Helge Lurås Chief editor - Published January 29, 2023
The debate about tanks or not is over. Tanks are being sent to Ukraine. Already 300,000 people are dead and injured. No need to talk about negotiations yet…
In the US, Tucker Carlson is one of the few major news personalities who are critical of the US and the West's escalation in Ukraine. Both the Democrats and the Republicans have the gas pedal in. Zelenskyj must get what he asks for, Trump's former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said recently.
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Carlson also refers to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who recently said the following during the debate about tanks: "We are fighting a war against Russia, not against each other."
A small talk, perhaps. But that is how it is in reality. We are at war with Russia, another nuclear power. And it is in and through Ukraine that this war will be won. "It's crazy, and no one seems to care," is Carlson's comment.
There are hardly any dissenters to the line of sending more and more weapons to Ukraine to hit Russia back militarily. In Norway, even Rødt is in the process of supporting the weapons line.
In the article " Thanks, thank you ", Dagsavisen - who also has their feet firmly planted on the left - has written a so-called editorial.
In the article, the deeply state-supported newspaper stands wholeheartedly behind Germany and Norway's decision to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. “We didn't expect anything else. A broad majority in the Storting gives the government back cover," they write about the Norwegian decision.
They also praise the US for sending their Abrams tanks. "This means that Ukraine will be supplied with a tremendous capacity, which will be triggered within a few months when the necessary training of crews has been done. The new offensive force will take the war into a new phase where the Ukrainians will be able to take back Russian-occupied areas," the newspaper states.
Dagsavisen writes that "the Western effort is getting higher and higher. We are being collectively drawn further and further into the conflict, and closer to an open conflict between NATO and Russia. It could mean world war.”
Yes, world war, that is. But that does not scare the management team at Dagsavisen. And if it scares you, it doesn't matter. We have no choice, they write:
"The danger of the conflict escalating has obviously increased with the tank transfers, which will push the enemy backward and perhaps also out of the occupied Krym peninsula. It could create a more desperate and irrational Russia. But do we have any choice but to give the Ukrainians the very best conditions we can give to fight an anti-democratic and imperialist Russia?
No, we have guaranteed Ukraine's freedom, and Europe and the West must stand by that. Vladimir Putin's madness must be stopped in Ukraine. Now there is no turning back. The responsibility lies in Moscow.”
And with that claim, they end the editorial. Let me agree with Tucker Carlson: "It's crazy, and nobody seems to care."
It has become political suicide to advocate negotiations on the situation in Ukraine. Even on the traditionally peace-talking left, people are terrified to say anything nuanced about the situation. There is only one line that applies: More weapons to Ukraine, more war, and Russia must be defeated.
And Dagsavisen is not alone. All the newspapers in Norway think the same. So do all the parties in the Storting.
But a strategy must have a reasonable probability of success if it is to make sense at all. And in this case, it is doubtful. Because if it is "impossible" for us to negotiate and compromise on Ukraine, what would make it more politically palatable for Putin?
The Norwegian defense chief Eirik Kristoffersen recently came out and said that he thought Russia could fight for a long time. They were not about to run out of weapons and ammunition. And they could produce more. "Russia is actually capable of holding out for a very long time," said the defense chief.
So if we pour more weapons into Ukraine, it is unlikely to cause Russia to give up. They will also escalate - and thus we are at the same stage.
In the West, it is often pointed out that we must do what the Ukrainians ask. We do not have a right to pressure them to negotiate and compromise. But which Ukrainians are we listening to? And what kind of propaganda are they exposed to?
It is now coming to the surface that there is widespread corruption among close associates of Volodymyr Zelenskyj. And that should come as no surprise. Ukraine was one of the most corrupt countries in Europe even before the war. And now money and weapons are poured into a political system in a state of emergency which obviously does not have enough control mechanisms. The temptation to get rich will be overwhelming.
But with that, there are many in the Ukrainian top echelon who have a vested interest in the war continuing. They are not at the front. They have little risk of dying. The leading circles certainly manage to shield their friends and relatives from going to the front as cannon fodder. We must not be so naive as to think that Zelenskyj and company are exclusively patriots. They are doing everything they can to motivate their own population to continue the war.
What do the people of Ukraine have to gain from this war continuing? Their country is destroyed, and soldiers and civilians are maimed and killed. And the same goes for Russians. They are also cannon fodder for Putin's grand political ambitions. This war is not good for anyone but corrupt war profiteers and arms manufacturers. 300,000 killed and injured in less than 12 months! Chew on it.
I am not claiming that there is an easy way out of this predicament. The war seems to have to continue for a long time yet. No party is weak enough to give up. And in the background lurk nuclear weapons and "World War III".
The level of analysis and debates surrounding this conflict is deplorable. It simply seems as if we think there is a video game going on.
But it is actually a real war where people are killed in large numbers - and where NATO and Norway are drawn further and further into the war.
Because with advanced weapons, there is also a need for training and probably also direct assistance from "boots on the ground" to operate these advanced systems that Ukraine is now asking for - and getting.
Annalena Baerbock is right: We are at war with Russia.
But should we really?
inyheter.no - Helge Lurås Chief editor
There is no secret as to why this insane war in Ukraine is allowed to continue if you read the comprehensive explanation in Editor's Comments below.
The BIG question is, WHY ARE NOBODY TRYING TO STOP IT?
