Over the Weekend: The Ukrainian-Russian Front Heats Up
Evidence mounted over the weekend that Russian tanks has crossed Ukraine's border. While the shooting down of a Ukrainian air transport by Russian "rebels," with the resulting death of 49 people, understandably captured most of the headlines, the heating up of what may now be a "front" between Russian and Ukrainian forces may ultimately be the bigger story. As feared, and denied by Putin over and over, Russia may be planning a military invasion of Ukraine.
The news reminds us that 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. It has been taught that the assassination of the Austrian Archduke and his wife in Sarajevo, Serbia, in July 1914 was the "cause" of that catastrophic war, it was at best an incident that did not have to lead to total war. Efforts were made by the various eventual warring parties to negotiate after the assassination, in order to avoid an all-out war. They failed. Once the troops marched and the initial military engagements began, the opposing governments - and their people - believed all would be over within a matter of months, if not weeks. No on expected the catastrophe that ensued.
Reason dictates that the Ukrainian - Russian conflict ought not begin a world war. After all, who would fight whom and why would they fight? It's too far-fetched to see multiple countries joining in a modern total war, not only because it would be against their own interests to slaughter each other, but because after the experience of the two world wars of the 20th century, people have learned first-hand the horrors of modern warfare, aided as it is by weapons of mass destruction.
Then again, much of this logic was understood when World War I began. It's important to know this when we brush aside talk of a wider war in the Ukrainian - Russian conflict.
It's important as well as the the string of victories of al-Qaeda Jihadists over Iraqi government forces - the real headline grabbing news - now has the U.S. government contemplating air strikes to support that government. Again it all seems like a local matter, but so was that assassination 100 years ago thought to be a matter concerning the Austrian Empire and what was thought to be the backward barbarian people of Serbia.
Just as events in Iraq command our attention, so too ought we too keep our eye on Ukraine.
The news reminds us that 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. It has been taught that the assassination of the Austrian Archduke and his wife in Sarajevo, Serbia, in July 1914 was the "cause" of that catastrophic war, it was at best an incident that did not have to lead to total war. Efforts were made by the various eventual warring parties to negotiate after the assassination, in order to avoid an all-out war. They failed. Once the troops marched and the initial military engagements began, the opposing governments - and their people - believed all would be over within a matter of months, if not weeks. No on expected the catastrophe that ensued.
Reason dictates that the Ukrainian - Russian conflict ought not begin a world war. After all, who would fight whom and why would they fight? It's too far-fetched to see multiple countries joining in a modern total war, not only because it would be against their own interests to slaughter each other, but because after the experience of the two world wars of the 20th century, people have learned first-hand the horrors of modern warfare, aided as it is by weapons of mass destruction.
Then again, much of this logic was understood when World War I began. It's important to know this when we brush aside talk of a wider war in the Ukrainian - Russian conflict.
It's important as well as the the string of victories of al-Qaeda Jihadists over Iraqi government forces - the real headline grabbing news - now has the U.S. government contemplating air strikes to support that government. Again it all seems like a local matter, but so was that assassination 100 years ago thought to be a matter concerning the Austrian Empire and what was thought to be the backward barbarian people of Serbia.
Just as events in Iraq command our attention, so too ought we too keep our eye on Ukraine.
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