Demonstration and Protest Against War with Russia over Ukraine
Saturday afternoon at 1:00, February 26, 2022, at the intersection of Geist Road and University Avenue. Bring a sign if you can, but mostly bring yourself! Dress warmly!!
The Biden administration continues to issue alarming and inflammatory statements, and seems to be assuming that there will be a war. We have been flooding Ukraine with weapons and building tensions to higher and higher levels. There are many different factions within Ukraine itself. If there is any spark to set things off it will undoubtedly be blamed on Russia and used as an excuse for a massive military effort.. We can’t let ourselves get drawn into another iteration of our “forever” war. There are half a dozen or more of our other wars simmering all over the world. All are abject tragedies for the people anywhere near them, and are costing us lives, money, and respect around the world. We need genuine diplomacy with a recognition that Russia has legitimate concerns for its security.
This protest is part of a nationwide effort to call attention to the reckless and inflammatory approach that the Biden administration has been pursuing.
As citizens of the United States, we have a special responsibility to call upon the U.S. government to:
- Stop the war with Russia
- Stop NATO expansion
- Stop sending weapons to Ukraine and the European Union
- Obey international laws and the UN Charter
- Resolve the current conflict within the United Nations Security Council
- De-escalate the threat of nuclear war
There is a long history behind the present crisis. The administration’s denunciations that lay all the blame on Russia do not mention that we broke our promise to Russia made during the 1990 negotiations over the reunification of Germany that we would not expand NATO eastward beyond Germany. Twelve eastern European nations have joined NATO since them, effectively surrounding Russia on two sides. Most if not all of them now have American bases. Many of them have missiles. Military war exercises are regularly conducted a few miles from Russia’s borders. The administration also does not mention the CIA involvement in the 2014 Maidan coup (in which the CIA supported neo-nazi groups) that installed an anti-Russian government in Kyiv. This was a key factor in Russia annexing the Crimean Peninsula, which has been Russia’s access to the Black Sea for 2 1/2 centuries. Most people in the area speak Russian as their primary language. A strong majority supported annexation in a referendum.
For further reading:
Community Perspective submitted to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Feb 3
CodePink: Peace with Russia Day of Action: February 5, 2022
Popular Resistance: Call to Action: No War with Russia over Ukraine
America is Reaping What it Sowed in Ukraine
Press Stunned as Ukraine Leader Points Finger at West
Details of 2014 coup: Cheering a “Democratic” Coup in Ukraine
Thorough examination of the NATO issue: Tangled Tale of NATO Expansion at the Heart of Ukraine Crisis
National Security Archive on 1990 documenting promises regarding NATO (with a remarkable photo that Alaskan will appreciate)
Analysis of recent UN Security Council meeting: Perilous Gulf Widens between Russia & US at the UN
More analysis on Ukraine situation: Checkmate in Ukraine
Analysis of U.S. foreign policy woes: Matt Taibbi: Let’s Not Have a War
Ann Wright reviews the history: For God’s Sake Boys, STOP THIS WAR S**T!!!
CodePink: Diplomacy for Ukraine is spelled M-I-N-S-K
CodePink: Discussion between Medea Benjamin and Larry Wilkerson (video)–Wilkerson was Chief of Staff to Colin Powell during the G. W. Bush administration. He has publicly criticized the Iraq War, including his own role in it. He is now a professor at the College of William and Mary and a staunch critic of U.S. Foreign Policy.
Why are the loudest voices about war in Ukraine the ones farthest from where the shooting would be?
Video of a discussion with Ray McGovern–Lots of insight into the situation in Ukraine as well as our policy towrd nuclear weapons. Ray is a former CIA analyst, the co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) and an Advisory Board member of Veterans For Peace.
Here’s a musical diversion, a bit off topic but a very nice rock video in support of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: Nuclear Blues (with a nod to Bob Dylan‘s Subterranean Homesick Blues)
Alaska Peace Center 