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Dear John,
After a lengthy build-up, Russia invaded Ukraine last week [[link removed]] , wreaking havoc in the lives of Ukrainians [[link removed]] as they scramble for safety.
Today, Ukraine and Russia began talks to end the invasion. This won’t be easy. There will be knee-jerk calls for a military response to meet Russia’s aggression. Some will say that the time for diplomacy has passed. That would be a mistake.
The only way out of this situation is diplomacy. That was true a week ago before the invasion, and it remains true today. The only question is how bad the fighting will get, how long it will go on, and how many lives will be lost before diplomacy finds a way.
The Biden administration has vowed not to send troops in [[link removed]] . That’s a critical line, and there’s a critical role for activists to back up that position and counter the hawks who always call for a bigger military response.
But it’s not enough to say no to war. Diplomatic options are far from exhausted. Rather than pulling back, the U.S. must double down on open communication and searching for diplomatic solutions.
In peace,
Lindsay, Ashik, Lorah, and Sam
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THIS WEEK'S TRADEOFF
This March, we’ll be marking the two year anniversary since the pandemic began. While the US is slowly emerging from the Omicron variant surge, the pandemic is far from over, and COVID threats keep morphing. A campaign to fund global vaccines is advocating for $17 billion [[link removed]] in government funding to help end the pandemic abroad.
That’s less than the $22 billion the US spends on nuclear weapons each year. [[link removed]] With Putin now making oblique nuclear threats, it’s clearer than ever that unfettered nuclearization is a danger the world can’t afford.
Share on Twitter [[link removed]] , Facebook [[link removed]] , and Instagram [[link removed]]
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MORE (MILITARY) MONEY, MORE PROBLEMS
Pentagon budget boosters have been using the Russian threat as an excuse for higher military spending for a long time, but we can now expect those calls to reach fever pitch. Even prior to the invasion of Ukraine, rumors were that the Biden administration planned to call for an $800 billion military budget for Fiscal Year 2023 [[link removed]] - up from $740 billion two years ago, and higher than at any time since World War II.
But if a bigger U.S. military budget could solve this problem, we wouldn’t be here in the first place. The U.S. already spends more on our military than the next 11 countries combined — and more than 12 times as much as Russia [[link removed]] . If the budget we have isn’t enough to stop an invasion like this, then maybe…bigger military budgets can’t guarantee peace?
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RUSSIANS RESIST
While the Russian government breaks international law with its invasion of Ukraine, Russian citizens are rising up by the thousands and risking arrest [[link removed]] to demand an end to the violence. In just the past four days, at least 3,000 Russians have been arrested in mass protests.
Just like in the United States or anywhere, domestic resistance is a potent antidote to state violence, and domestic dissent inside Russia may help hasten the end of the invasion.
"That's a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another."
— President Joe Biden [[link removed]] [[link removed]]
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RECOMMENDED READS
Respond to Putin’s Illegal Invasion with Diplomacy, Not War [[link removed]]
Phyllis Bennis, Foreign Policy in Focus
Beware the Inflationary Bogeyman [[link removed]]
James K. Galbraith, Common Dreams
US Army draws praise, criticism with new net-zero plan [[link removed]]
Joseph Winters, Grist
We Shouldn’t Have to Rely on the National Guard for Basic Services [[link removed]]
Samantha Garcia, Otherwords
U.S. Militarism Is a Cause of Tension in Eastern Europe, Not a Solution [[link removed]]
Khury Petersen-Smith, In These Times
The US COMPETES with China — At What Cost? [[link removed]]
Ashik Siddique, National Priorities blog
Biden may push the military budget above $800 billion. Do you feel safe yet? [[link removed]]
Lindsay Koshgarian, National Priorities blog
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