Though Washington insists that it is not
interested in a direct military conflict with Moscow, the latter claims that
the US is, in fact, directly involved. But who is telling the truth?
اضافة اعلان
On September 8, US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken appeared in Kyiv on an unannounced visit. He carried with him pledges
of yet another military and financial package of nearly $3 billion, mostly to
Ukraine, but to other Eastern European countries as well. According to a report
published by the New York Times last May, US financial support to Ukraine has
exceeded $54 billion.
Devex’s Funding
Platform states that “a relatively small percentage of that funding is
humanitarian-focused”. The same source also indicates that the total amount of
mostly military aid provided by the West to Ukraine between February 24 and
August 16 has topped the $100 billion mark.
For such a massive
military arsenal to operate, one can imagine the involvement of legions of
military experts, trainers, and engineers. Washington’s latest package includes
hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid, such as more High Mobility
Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
And more is coming.
According to Blinken, “President Biden ... will support the people of Ukraine
as long as it takes”.
The Russians have
no illusion that the US military support for Ukraine is confined to mere
shipments of weapons or limited to financial transactions. On August 2, the
Russian defense ministry accused the US of being “directly involved in the
conflict in Ukraine”. The ministry’s statement was citing an admission by Ukraine’s
deputy head of military intelligence, Vadym Skibitsky, who told the British
Telegraph newspaper that “Washington coordinates HIMARS missile strikes.”
This is not the
first time that Russia accuses the US of direct involvement in the war. In
fact, as early as March 25, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the
West has declared “total war” on Russia. In this instance, Moscow’s top
diplomat was referencing every aspect of this “real hybrid war”, including
unprecedented sanctions that were meant to break the back of Russia’s economy
and the will of its military forces. Since then, the US Western embargo on Russia
has exceeded 10,000 sanctions, an unprecedented number in modern conflicts.
Also, since then,
the nature of American involvement in the war has changed. The type of
armaments that were first provided to Kyiv by Washington quickly transformed
from weapons of defensive capabilities with limited outreach, to weapons of
offensive capabilities with long-range artillery systems, including HIMARS's and
M270's.
When American weapons are provided and operated by American military experts, and when the movement of Russian forces is monitored by American satellite coordinates, one should easily conclude that the US is indeed at direct war with Russia. This argument is strengthened by the fact that the US is utilizing all its expertise in economic warfare, used against Iraq, Cuba and others, to devastate the Russian economy.
Much of the US
involvement can be understood through common sense. Consider Politico’s report
on August 29, alleging that “since the early days of the war, Kyiv has seized
the initiative as missile strikes and mysterious explosions have wreaked havoc
on the Russian fleet, sinking several vessels … and devastating its
Crimea-based air wing in a dramatic attack this month.”
If these details
are accurate, it is hard to imagine that such success would have been carried
out by, as described by Politico itself, a “small Ukrainian navy”.
When American
weapons are provided and operated by American military experts, and when the
movement of Russian forces is monitored by American satellite coordinates, one
should easily conclude that the US is indeed at direct war with Russia. This
argument is strengthened by the fact that the US is utilizing all its expertise
in economic warfare, used against Iraq, Cuba, and others, to devastate the
Russian economy.
But why does the US
refuse to accept that it is engaged in direct war against Russia?
Successive US
administrations have perfected the art of engaging in military conflicts
without making such a declaration. As the US fought its protracted war in
Vietnam starting in the mid-1950s, it engaged in many other military conflicts
that were mostly kept secret. These undeclared wars included the Nixon
administration’s secret bombing campaigns of Cambodia, which resulted in the
estimated death of 100,000 people.
Call it leading from behind, proxy war or hybrid war, Washington is very much a party in the devastating war in Ukraine, which is paying a heavy price for Washington’s desire to remain the world’s only superpower.
To curtail the
power of the president to conduct war without notifying Congress, the US
Congress passed the War Powers Resolution of 1973, also known as the War Powers
Act. Despite a presidential veto, a two-third majority in Congress managed to
make the resolution into law. Still, successive administrations found ways around
the law, including the US involvement in the bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 and
again, the US war on Libya in 2011.
In fact, it was in
Libya that the phrase “leading from behind” was used in abundance. Americans
seemed to have found a brilliant way of engaging in war while avoiding its
costly political consequences. This way, Obama could be involved in several
wars all at once, without being called an interventionist or a war-mongering
president.
To understand the
extent of America’s ongoing, undeclared wars, marvel at this July 1 report by
The Intercept, which obtained the data using the Freedom of Information Act.
This was “the first official confirmation that at least 14” military operations
— known as 127e programs — were active in the Middle East and the Asia Pacific
region in 2020, and that between 2017 and 2020, US commandos carried out 23
separate operations.
So, even if the US
engages in direct combat against Russia, chances of war being declared are
almost nil. Therefore, the extent of the US involvement can only be gleaned
from evidence on the ground.
Call it leading
from behind, a proxy war or hybrid war, Washington is very much a party in the
devastating war in Ukraine, which is paying a heavy price for Washington’s
desire to remain the world’s only superpower.
Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the editor of The
Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited
with Ilan Pappé, is ‘Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and
Intellectuals Speak out’. His other books include ‘My Father was a Freedom
Fighter’ and ‘The Last Earth’. Baroud is a non-resident senior research fellow
at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA).
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