Update on the Criminal Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Peter McLaren

We must be cautious in our cheerleading as the invasion of Ukraine proceeds with its cold-blooded assault on innocent civilians.  The Russian attacks are inexcusable.  They cannot be justified but they can be explained.  Such explanations do not make these war crimes less repugnant and cruel.  Here in North America and throughout most of Europe, it does seem to many observers of the conflict that the US is wearing the white hat and Putin the black hat.  And yes, images of the war crimes committed by Putin’s shock troops are seared into our imaginations each night, sparking feelings of righteous indignation towards Russia.   But as we rightly condemn the Russian invasion, let us not  forget the imperialist history of the US, a country which is judged by many to be the most dangerous terrorist state in the world, guilty of a long list of war crimes that would take pages just to innumerate.  I have spent many years condemning these very war crimes.  Clearly, the US is not a benign hegemon.  Just look at the invasion of Vietnam, the US involvement in Chile, Nicaragua and Cuba, the bombing of Serbia, the invasion of Iraq and the invasion of Afghanistan, all accomplished under the US banner of promoting democracy.  The US cannot in any way be conceived as a benign hegemon, not because of the character of its leaders, although this does play a factor, but because of the imperatives of the military industrial complex and its geostrategic imperatives involving natural resources (water, minerals, and fossil fuels) and the policy adhered to by the US that it will never allow any country to supersede it as the world’s greatest and most dominant military power.  Neither can Russia be trusted, as it has made clear in its own imperialist history.  Rogue states understand only too well other rogue states.  And Putin’s nuclear brinksmanship does not exactly bode well for the world-at-large. Ukraine is stuck between two imperialist powers.  Recent NATO expansion and European Union expansion into the Baltic states and democracy-promotion on the part of the US is, understandably,  not received well in Russia.  It is looked upon as a direct threat to Russian security.  Security and strategic interests are at stake here.  What would happen if Russia entered into a military alliance with Canada and Mexico?   The Monroe Doctrine stipulates that this can never be allowed to happen.  Remember the Cuban Missile Crisis?  Certainly the weapons manufacturers don’t want a peaceful solution.  And those industries producing and supplying fossil fuels are celebrating the war behind closed doors, and this can only place the world at greater risk from environmental destruction.  The slim chances of saving the environment are now put on hold.  We should indeed support Ukraine in this bloody and murderous invasion by Putin. But at the same time we should  try to bring this conflict to a peaceful conclusion, not by playing into the hands of NATO, or Russia,  but by supporting the idea of Ukraine as a neutral buffer state, much like Finland, between NATO and Russia; this would be one step to resolving the conflict.  And NATO expansion should be abandoned.  Having NATO in Western Ukraine and Russia in Eastern Ukraine would lead to a disastrous ongoing civil war.  Neutrality for Ukraine  is not an ideal solution, but it could prevent World War III.  In the meantime, Russian troops must leave Ukraine immediately.  Any peace settlement needs to ensure the protection of Ukraine’s language rights  and  sovereignty.  And NATO needs to put an end to any expansionist dreams it might still harbor in its inglorious triumphalist imagination.

—

Professor Peter McLaren, B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed., Ph.D., F.R.S.A., Ed.D (honoris causa), Dip Tchg

Distinguished Professor in Critical Studies,

The Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies, Chapman University

Co-Director and International Ambassador for Global Ethics and Social Justice,

The Paulo Freire Democratic Project

Co-Founder, Instituto McLaren de Pedagogía Crítica, Ensenada

Chair Professor, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China (2015-20)

Professor Emeritus, University of California, Los Angeles

Most Recent Books:

He Walks Among Us: Christian Fascism Ushering in the End of Times.

Breaking Free: The Life and Times of Peter McLaren (with Miles Wilson)

Post-Digital Dialogues on Critical Pedagogy, Liberation Theology and Information Technology (with Petar Jandrić)

Tracks to Infinity: The Long Road to Justice, The Peter McLaren Reader, Volume 2.

Pedagogy of Insurrection: From Resurrection to Revolution