Because of colonialism and indoctrination, the relative wellness with which the USA and Europeans have run their societies and the obvious dominance of these peoples in world affairs, many of us have come to perceive the White Man as superior in reasoning over other peoples of the world.
But the on-going Russia-Ukraine war has left me confused and uncertain about my opinion of the White Man. Is he really superior in his reasoning power? Is he more civilised and less barbaric than other people? Or has he merely become a victim of his well horned hypocrisy, double speak, lies, hubris, greed and first rate propaganda?
If my understanding of the Russia-Ukraine war is correct, and I think I am correct, Russia invaded Ukraine because that country agreed, after being pressured by the USA, to join NATO so it (USA) can easily get at Russia and vanquish a power that has consistently rebuffed its goal of becoming the only power in the world. That is basically the issue at the root of the war. Any other contradictory explanation of it is a mere expression of opinion and the success of American propaganda.
Now, it was recently revealed that this war is reckoned to cost Ukraine about a trillion dollars in reconstruction, rehabilitation and restoration. And with the most recent military action undertaken by Russia against poor Ukraine, the estimated one trillion dollars repairs bill of quantity must one day be updated. If this senseless war lasts many more months, it will most likely cost Ukraine and her backers several trillions of dollars to repair the damage done to Ukraine’s infrastructure.
Some of what have made me begin to doubt if the White Man is really wiser and more reasonable than others is that the White Man has failed to realise, namely that they are dealing with a powerful country obviously blessed by God to withstand any sort of aggression and intimidation against her. Moreover, that same country has a wise, steady and courageous leader in the person of Vladimir Putin. Apart from its energy resources and its soil that has made her one the generous breadbaskets of the world, Putin’s Russia has the nuclear bomb. He can decide to behave like the Biblical Samson by bringing down the whole world building on all of us so that there will be no winners and losers in the on-going war.
Everyday, it seems, the Foolish White Man is baiting Russia to go the way of the nuke. They will impose one sanction and realise later that that sanction hurts them more than it does Russia. Last Monday, another kind of sanction, the capping of Russian crude at 60 dollar a barrel, came into force. Since no weapon fashioned against Russia seems to prosper, they will soon meet again to device another trap against Russia.
Since the start of the war, the USA and his European quislings, not allies, have been openly backing Ukraine with arms and ammunitions and other things necessary for fighting Russia. They say they are doing so, assisting Ukraine, because they want to challenge ”Russian aggression”. No one remembers to ask what motivated this ”Russian aggression”? Is Russia just aggressive by nature and without any cause? She does not require anyone to provoke her; she is just simply aggressive like that?
This war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed by the West, the Whte Man, against Russia are the reason for the economic and food crises afflicting the world today including the same countries of the West who think they can do anything supposedly against Russia and they will not suffer from the consequences of their action. And the White Man is not thinking about this unintended consequence of the power play against Russia and seeking a quick end to this disastrous war. Does the Devil have a hand in what is going on? Has sense departed from the brain of the West, the White Man?
The West has become a major casualty of their sophisticated propaganda. They have used their media to socialise the whole world to believe that Russia is the aggressor in its war against her neighbour and Ukraine is just an innocent, helpless victim.
A few days ago, Russia complained that Ukraine used drones to penetrate deep into her territory, hitting some important targets such as airfields. Some of us fear that this Russian complaint may be a threat, a hint that if Ukraine, which has a comedian as its leader, is not careful, she will be compelled to use nuclear bomb to put an end to this mischief going on. I may not be right but the provocation against Russia is getting out of hand.
If you ask my opinion, the only person who is behaving reasonably in this war are Putin and his country Russia who seem to regard the war against Ukraine as largely a brotherly war to bring Ukraine to her senses, to bring Ukraine to realize she is being used against her interest. But because of the urgings and instigations of the USA and her quislings, this war does not seem to be coming to an end any time soon. The rational world should tell Ukraine to concede.
I must confess that Russian has been so restrained or else it would have, long ago, rightly interpreted what the USA and her not so naive European collaborators are doing as an act of aggression against her. Yes, anyone who openly, unapologetically joins forces with your enemy with whom you are engaged in a war has automatically aligned to do you evil and the logical consequence is that you wage the war against them as well. That is, rightly, the law of interpretation of warfare and acts leaning towards war.
We people of the world are living dangerously and we are doing so because we never seem to find our voice to come out to rebuke the West for her many acts of impunity. Which countries of the world that have affinity with, or affections for the ways of Moscow, that the USA has lightly tolerated in her backyard? Why, then, should it become an act of aggression if Russia expresses a genuine fear of hostile action if her next door neighbor, Ukraine, is bent on becoming a cozy ally of the USA? Venezuela, which ought to be one of the well- off nations of the world because of her massive oil reserves, is one of the most miserable today because he leans not towards America but towards Moscow.
If Ukraine cannot back down in her aggression towards Moscow, the rest of us the non-White world should not be rail-roaded into suffering from her folly. Real, continued aggression towards Russia will leave that country with no option but to adopt the nuke and put an end to the many misbehaviors of America and those who think they own the world. I am tired of the injustices, the braggadocio and the complete impunity of the USA and her quislings.
Me, I do not understand the meaning of a war that has turned the whole wide world upside down. All people of the world are suffering directly or indirectly from this war and those I used to think are wise and civilised are not relenting in their support for a little country with a comedian as president who wants to poke his tiny finger in the eyes of a giant and determined neighbour.
Idang Alibi is a journalist and farmer.