Morality of War Part 2
David Ahern
David is the editor of The Majellan
Last week I wrote about the scandalous attack on Ukraine by Russia (https://majellan.media/morality-of-war-part-one/). The invasion cannot be justified for any reason. As we have witnessed on the daily news feeds, innocent lives have been lost which is appalling and dreadfully sad.
The Ukraine is a sovereign nation of more than 43 million and Russian troops have no place being there. I compared the current situation to Hitler’s rampage through Europe in World War 2 and Japan’s military activities in the South Pacific.
Vladimir Putin can be compared to Hitler for his callousness and his lust for power. Putin is a war criminal, pure and simple.
I finished the article with reference to Australia’s contribution: missiles and other weaponry. While Australia stands with the rest of the world condemning Russia’s actions, the thought of sending weapons to aid Ukraine doesn’t sit easily with me.
Then again, how do you deal with a bully? Britain tried appeasement with Germany in the late 1930s. Remember the “Peace for our time” declaration made by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in September 1938.
Talk about famous last words! Appeasement clearly did not work and a year later Hitler plunged Europe into a war with Britain, Australia, the US and many other nations dragged into the conflict. The war was catastrophic, lasting six years and claiming millions of lives.
My two grandfathers survived World War I. My father survived World War 2. And I am a fortunate baby boomer who has never set foot on a battlefield. Please God that our sons and daughters never have to witness war first-hand.
The worry now is how far Putin will go. Many countries and international corporations have cut their business dealings with Russia. The ruble has plunged in value in recent weeks and the average Russian is paying more for food.
While no one wants to see ordinary Russians suffer, the international community is hoping it will bring about political change and an end to Putin’s tyrannical rule. That may be overly optimistic as dictators – and Putin is a dictator – have the ability to weather storms.
Those Russians that have been brave enough to protest have been detained. It will take widespread unrest and more large-scale protests before we get a sense of what is happening in Russia and whether change is a real possibility.
In the meantime, more innocent Ukrainians will perish …
Morality of War Part 3 next week.
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