Give Peace a Chance - Scott Ritter goes to WashingtonArchived Message
Posted by sashimi on February 26, 2023, 1:57 pm
25 February 2023
(quote) A week ago this Sunday thousands of people gathered together at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to collectively "rage against the war machine." History will judge if this event measured up to what its organizers had envisioned, and if the words spoken there will continue to resonate going forward.
From my own personal perspective, it doesn't matter if the rally is seen as a success, or the speeches delivered there deemed memorable. And while I applaud the organizers (yes, even the Libertarian Party) for making this event possible, as far as I am concerned their role is done. They got us to the starting line and helped fire the starter pistol.
But now it is up to those running the race to finish the race. And, based upon conversations I had with many of the participants afterwards, there is collective agreement that not only is this a race that should be run, but more importantly, must be won.
The interesting thing about the "Rage Against the War Machine" rally isn't so much that the organizers managed to bring together such a politically diverse group of speakers, but rather that the speakers spoke a common language that cut across political lines. For those who participated, this process was cathartic. For those who opted out, you are weaker for it.
A race, like a journey, is run one step at a time. The "Rage Against the War Machine" rally was the first step of this race. To some, this start may have appeared like a stumble. To others, a tentative stride forward. But for most, the race represented the reality that the participants weren't running a sprint, but rather a marathon, and the important thing wasn't how that first step was characterized, but the fact that it took place at all.
Now that the race has started, however, we must decide who and what it is we are racing against. The "war machine" is a massive, nebulous entity that can be defined in many ways by many people, and I for one support all definitions so long as, in the end, they lead to a fair, just and equitable world where the interests of humanity trump the greed of the warmongers.
I have opted to define my race in stark terms - literally, a race against time. In February 2026, the last remaining arms control treaty limiting the strategic nuclear forces of both the United States and Russia, the New START treaty, expires. And on February 21 of this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended Russia's participation in the New START treaty. The reasons for this suspension are not important at this juncture - Russia has its position, the US has theirs. What is important is that arms control is no longer an active part of the diplomatic dialogue, or what passes as such today, between the US and Russia. And, unless a way is found to resuscitate arms control as a major policy objective, the risk of an unconstrained nuclear arms race post-February 2026 becomes real, and the potential - even probable - outcome manifests as a nightmare for all humanity.
The race to get arms control back on the US policy objective has a finish line - the November 2024 elections. If Americans can elect enough like-minded people - representatives, senators, and the president - to office who share this same vision, and agree on its absolute priority, then there remains hope that a new arms control treaty can be negotiated and ratified to forestall a potentially humanity-ending nuclear apocalypse.
But my race is more than just a 21-month marathon. It is an obstacle course, with numerous challenges that must be overcome in addition to the daunting task of staying the course. One of the greatest challenges I will face on this race is that of Russophobia. In what I've termed "the best speech I never gave" (my abortive presentation penned for the occasion of the "Rage Against the War Machine" rally), I spoke of the "disease of Russophobia," warned about the "hate-filled rhetoric of Russophobia," and cautioned against "systemic Russophobia" as the greatest impediment to our collective ability to "open our minds and our hearts to accept the Russian people as fellow human beings deserving of the same compassion and consideration as our fellow Americans - as all humankind... allow the love we have for ourselves to manifest itself into love and respect for our fellow man... work with our fellow human beings in Russia to create communities of compassion that, when united, make a world filled with nuclear weapons undesirable, and policies built on the principles of mutually beneficial arms control second nature." (/quote) -- Cont'd at https://www.scottritterextra.com/p/give-peace-a-chance