U.S. should tread lightly with Russia, Ukraine situation

Beginning in 2002 the mainstream media promoted the Bush administration's agenda to invade Iraq. At the time, some citizens, using other information sources, knew the weapons of mass destruction argument was probably a pretense for war. Easy as it would have been, the media failed to challenge the administration's propaganda.

In retrospect, the invasion was an unmitigated disaster. Thousands of Americans were killed or injured, and government debt soared. Iraq descended into chaos.

There are three lessons we should take from Iraq: Never blindly trust the government, always look beyond the mainstream media, and be aware that military adventures are prone to unpredictable results.

Currently, I see similar media complicity in Ukraine situation. For instance, credible sources say that last year the U.S. participated in fomenting the overthrow of Ukraine's democratically elected president, an event that ushered in the current instability. Apparently, Ukraine was moving away from the west toward stronger ties with Russia, and our government responded with support for pro-western militants. Note the absence of this sort of information from our media.

As with Bush and Iraq, we will never fully know Obama's ulterior motives. There's probably a larger, hidden agenda to marginalize Russia by bringing Ukraine into NATO. In any case, there is definitely more going on than we're being told.

Rather than informing the public, the media appear to be once again preparing people for war, this time with Russia. They seldom present alternative views or seriously challenge Obama's hawkish perspective. Just as with Bush, they have become a virtual mouthpiece for the government. By contrast, western European media present more information and differing views.

The situation in Ukraine has been escalating. Putin is arming the rebels and likely has significant Russian troops on the ground. Intense fighting has resumed, and there is talk of the U.S. openly arming the Ukrainian military. We are perilously close to a proxy war between the U.S. and Russia, a situation that could easily escalate into full-blown conflict between the previous cold-war superpowers. It's a slippery slope, and we should all be deeply concerned.

There is much that we should be discussing. What are the U.S. interests? Is the U.S. under threat? Can we afford this? Why are we even involved in this situation? Ukraine is, after all, a distant, eastern European country, and we are under no legal obligation to assist it. Why not let the Europeans work out their own problems? NATO notwithstanding, I currently see nothing that would justify risking war with Russia. Responsible media would provide a serious debate of such issues.

The risks associated with U.S. escalation could not be higher, and, as with Iraq in 2003, there is a great need to question our government at this time.

Although I have suggested similarities between the lead-up to the Iraq War and the current Ukraine situation, the political conditions are actually quite different. For instance, unlike Saddam Hussein, Putin really does have weapons of mass destruction, and lots of them, too.

Robert Polack is a retired professor from Southeast Missouri State University who lives in Cape Girardeau. His interests include monitoring world events.