Dear CCI Friends,
The loud and consistent narrative that underpins the Ukrainian/Western position on the war in Ukraine is that it is, and was from the beginning, a totally ‘unprovoked,’ naked act of aggression undertaken by a deranged dictator intent on subjugating all of Ukraine and, eventually, all of Europe. Point to the extensive historical record that exposes the simple-minded nonsense of that position and you will be cast out of polite society and labeled a ‘Putin puppet’ – or worse.
But longtime legacy news correspondent Stephen Kinzer has done just that in his book “BOILING POINT; How America Brought War to Ukraine.” After pointing out that maintaining insistence on the ‘unprovoked’ label means never negotiating a decent ending to this war – because how can anyone be expected to negotiate with a homicidal maniac? – he sets out the long list of provocations that led to this war and challenges us to acknowledge them. His research is backed up by extensive documentation and his conclusions difficult to refute. We hope you will find a copy of the book and keep it as a reference guide.
CCI board member Charles T. Heberle, III, Colonel, US Army, Ret., was at NATO headquarters in 1992 and observed with dismay how, subsequently, the West’s willingness to renege on promises made then were among the earliest ‘provocations’ that have brought us to the tragedy playing out in Ukraine today: “As a person with first hand knowledge of the agreement about NATO (not to move ‘one inch’ eastward) that got them to fold the USSR without firing a shot, something unprecedented in world history that they get no credit for . . . (I believe) Abraham Lincoln and George C. Marshall were right. If you want to defeat your enemy, make him your friend. We should have done that in 1992. It’s not too late to give it another try.”
Stephen Kinzer – Review of “Boiling Point”
https://glenndiesen.substack.com/p/stephen-kinzer-how-america-brought
For more on the deadly consequences of promoting grotesque lies please see:
Glenn Diesen – “When Reporting On Ukrainian Victims Becomes ‘Russian Propaganda'”
“The argument being made is that the popular will and suffering of Ukrainians is denounced as “Russian propaganda” if it undermines the narratives required to continue the war.”
https://glenndiesen.substack.com/p/when-reporting-on-ukrainian-victims
As always, we look forward to your comments.
The Center for Citizen Initiatives