Truth Is The First Casualty In Ukraine

The War On Truth In Ukraine -- Keith A. Darden, New York Times

WASHINGTON — For a moment last week, war seemed imminent. A day after Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, warned Ukraine’s leaders against using force in the crisis there, the Ukrainian military attacked a checkpoint outside the separatist-held town of Slovyansk. Russian forces across the border responded with maneuvers labeled “exercises,” coupled with statements from the Kremlin that amounted to “you were warned.” Russian television made Slovyansk look like Guernica; Ukrainian news media reported that separatist militants were using kindergartners as human shields.

As each side revved up its propaganda, the world got another taste of the confusion, uncertainty and distortion of information that have brought this conflict to the brink. An absence of legitimate authority in eastern Ukraine has left an absence of transparent, agreed-upon facts — a breeding ground for suspicion and manipulative diplomatic games on the margins of the truth that may yet carry the region to war.

Read more ....

My Comment: The people that I know in Russia and in Ukraine .... my family, friends, contacts, acquaintances .... for the past two months they have all been asking me the same thing .... why has the U.S. adopted the stance that it has adopted on the crisis in Ukraine. I always tell them to be patient .... Americans have a long history of always doing and saying the wrong thing .... but with time they always get it right. Whether it is war, politics, or economics .... the history of the U.S. is that of a country that screws-up in the beginning .... but in the end the U.S. has always worked it out or .... and this is the strength of the U.S. .... they try their best to make amends. But before this happens .... a discussion has to first start .... and this is where publications like the New York Times play an important role. I disagree with about 75% of what the New York Times philosophically believes in .... but I have always respected their opinions and their willingness to have a conversation .... and it is in this arena of having a talk that I have noticed that news outlets like the New York Times do have a tremendous impact on the decision makers in Washington .... especially on foreign policy. The above article and analysis by Keith A. Darden is a case in point. His analysis on the Ukraine crisis is spot on .... he says what I have been saying in this blog for the past two months on what is happening in Ukraine (but he does it better) ..... and he is probably the first to nail it in a major U.S. news outlet that has an influence on U.S. policy makers. I can hear the conversation now starting .... and as a result it would not surprise me if U.S. policy will start to shift ever so slightly in the weeks and months to come. Unless of course Ukraine implodes, civil war breaks out, and Russia invades .... thereby insuring that all bets are off.

Update: The above video from PBS provides an excellent summary on the history of Russian - Ukraine relations. It is a must see .... and it is 100% accurate.