The United States cannot fail the Ukraine as it has failed Egypt and other nations seeking freedom and democracy in recent years. Leading from behind has proven to be a failed type of foreign policy and the U.S. was not even sufficiently aware of conditions in Ukraine to lead at all. Another U.S. intelligence failure? Now, telephone diplomacy seems the only way the administration can deal with this severe breach of international law.
The yearning for freedom and democracy is an innate component of the human soul for millions and millions of people… just like Americans had to fight for and secure our freedoms over two hundred years ago. Of late, the President of our nation seems to have forgotten this fact and left those seeking freedom and democracy in the lurch all over the globe. Perhaps the United States cannot be the policeman of the world; however, we must be the strong advocate and protector of movements seeking to achieve human dignity and democracy.
Mourners carry the coffin of Volodymyr Topij, one of protesters that clashed with police at Kiev’s Independence Square, during his funeral in the city yesterday. Photograph: Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
Both the fall of communism and the Arab spring saw the blossoming of freedom. Yet the U.S., of late, has been slow to act decisively when threats have emerged and, as a result, people have died. This is especially obvious in areas of the world new to democracy and struggling to secure democracy.
Ukraine is a unique and pivotal nation for many reasons. Since its orange revolution some ten years ago, this nation of 45 million has been trying to develop a democratic form of government. This large, agriculturally significant, strategically located nation has had to endure corruption and the ever present gaze of the former mother Russia. Ukraine needs to have a stable government and cash—now. Phone calls, debate and extended diplomacy will not reduce the threat to a free nation in a timely fashion. Putin was planning and calculating, while the Olympics proceeded. Annexation of the Crimea, with its proximity to the Black Sea, cannot be allowed to stand.
The current Russian government seems intent on recreating the old Soviet empire. President Putin refuses to accept the dissolution of that empire and seeks to take advantage of perceived vacillation and indecisiveness on the part of the United States. For the Russian leaders there seems to be both a degree of nostalgia and a desire to extend their sphere of influence. With many nations reducing their defense budgets, including the United States, Russia under Putin must view this trend as an invitation to make daring and bold moves.
Ronald Reagan, the American President critical in the cause of the fall of communism, said, “Democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.”
The brave souls in Kiev Square recently proved this point again. How can the United States, NATO, and the free world fail them now?
Fletcher R. Hall
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Morris Ellison says
Editor,
Great idea! Lets start another war!
If it is worth dying for, then let the author be the first.Note that he did not provide a single example of what (military) action he thinks we should take.
If we and others set a good example of functioning democracy, people will emulate it, as already shown by the Ukraine revolution. Be patient. No force is necessary.