John --If you’ve been watching the news about Ukraine the last few weeks, you may have the sinking feeling that we are on the verge of becoming involved in another war.

 

The truth is, we are on the verge. But we don’t have to be.

 

The rhetoric from the White House, prominent members of Congress – and frankly, the vast majority of the media – has painted a picture that war is inevitable.

 

They use phrases like “imminent” and “any day now” while reporting on the possibility of a Russian invasion.

 

Yet while the U.S. Government has continued to amplify the perception of an inevitable conflict, the government of Ukraine has been begging for caution as they work to achieve a diplomatic solution.

 

All of the reporting in recent weeks has focused on military maneuvers by the Russian government, which are cause for concern. But none of the mainstream media outlets have explored how we got to this point – and what role the United States has played along the way.

 

Right now the U.S. government is acting on muscle memory, flexing generations of policy default that places military-readiness as the highest priority.

 

When you’re constantly prepared for conflict, you will find a conflict – even if it means creating one.

 

Right now there are two major legislative proposals before Congress regarding Ukraine, and both are problematic.

 

The first is a $500M authorization for “military aid” and the second is a proposal for sanctions against Russia in the event of an invasion.

 

The military aid package constitutes a “soft war authorization” that will send American weapons – along with troops to deliver them and provide training – into a conflict zone that includes radical white nationalists fighting for an altogether different cause.

 

Experts we have consulted describe the parameters of the current sanctions proposal, headlined by Senate Republican Ted Cruz, as “more likely to trigger a Russian invasion than prevent it.”

 

The situation in Ukraine is too complicated to break down in one email, and there is plenty of blame to go around. But let’s be clear about one thing: War is never inevitable. War is always a choice. 

 

We still have a chance to stop this war from happening. There are multiple plausible diplomatic solutions on the table, but those options are narrowing each day that passes with dangerous rhetoric like this:

We at Brand New Congress are working hard to elect a different generation of leaders who will be voices for peace. People who do not see conflict as inevitable or necessary.

 

That leadership is urgently lacking in Congress right now, and it risks sparring another protracted conflict with ripple effects that will last for generations.

 

You can help us elect representatives who will always prioritize peace over conflict at the negotiating table. Your contributions help us recruit, train, and support candidates for Congress and their teams to help them win.

 

When we talk about ending forever wars, it doesn’t just mean putting an end to the conflicts in which we are already engaged. It means actively pursuing peace and averting conflict in the first place.

 

As a global superpower with (by far) the world’s largest military, we bear responsibility for preventing conflict by actively facilitating peaceful resolution. But that will only happen under leadership guided by the priorities of peace.

 

War is not inevitable. We must choose peace.

 

Cory Archibald
Brand New Congress