On Thursday June 23 people will gather outside Rep Barbara Lee’s office in Oakland at 11:30 am to protest her recent vote for $40 billion for the war in Ukraine. The demonstration is called in conjunction with the International Day of Action for Peace in Ukraine called by the Peace in Ukraine Coalition. There will be a companion demonstration on the same day in at the Northampton, MA, office of Rep. Jimmy McGovern who also voted for the murderous $40 billion, and along with Lee accompanied Pelosi in her recent visit to Ukraine to promote the fighting.
By John V. Walsh
This massive funding package represents a clear escalation of the war in Ukraine by the government of the United States using the Ukrainian people as cannon fodder in a proxy war with Russia. The funding pours fuel on the flames of that war. It will prolong the war, resulting in thousands more Ukrainian and Russian deaths, at the very least.
And this funding is one more step in escalating and widening the scope of the war – up to and including nuclear war.
WHAT: Protest of Barbara Lee’s vote for $40 Billion for the War in Ukraine. This protest is in conjunction with a global day of action against the war, preceding the NATO summit in Madrid, called by the Peace in Ukraine Coalition.
WHERE: 1 Kaiser Plaza, Oakland, California. (Barbara Lee’s Oakland Office)
WHEN: Thursday, June 23rd at 11:30 am.
WHO: Community & AntiWar activists and organizations including Code Pink, Democratic Socialists of American (DSA), East Bay Vets for Peace, Peace in Ukraine Coalition, United Against War & Militarism.
Despite promising just two months ago to “work relentlessly toward de-escalation” of the war in Ukraine, California Congresswoman Barbara Lee voted in lockstep with every Democrat in Congress behind President Biden’s war policy. This includes not only Barbara Lee but all the other self-styled progressives in Congress, including Bernie Sanders, AOC and the rest of the “Squad.”
Barbara Lee because of her lone vote in opposing the two decade war in Afghanistan is held up as an icon proving that there are progressive Democratic politicians who will vote for peace. The promise held out by Lee and her Democratic colleagues that they could be a force for peace now lies in ruins.
Why U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine must be opposed.
One can look at the war in several ways.
If it is a war between the Russia and Ukraine, then it is no business of the United States.\
If one believes that it is a war by an idealistic to US to defend sovereignty and national borders, ask the people of Iraq if the US respects sovereignty – or the people of Afghanistan or Libya or Vietnam or Venezuela … the list goes on and on.
If one believes that this is a war to defend democracy, then ask the Palestinians suffering under Apartheid imposed by Israel which is supported by the US government or the people of Saudi Arabia or the many other dictatorships around the world that the US has supported.
No, this is a proxy war of the US against Russia being waged to the last Ukrainian. If that has not been evident since the role of the US in backing the violent coup in 2014 against a duly elected Ukrainian President, then it is beyond doubt now with the declaration of Defense Secretary Austin that the goal of the US is to “weaken” Russia, the declaration of Joe Biden that Putin must not be allowed to govern and the declaration of Nancy Pelosi that the US must have total “victory” over Russia. The Biden administration has chosen to confront another major nuclear weapons power, Russia – and that confrontation constitutes an existential threat to all of humanity.
Ukraine now wages war only to improve its bargaining power at the inevitable negotiations which will end the conflict admitted David Arakhamia, who leads Ukraine’s negotiations with Russia and is one of Volodymyr Zelensky’s closest advisers. 200-500 Ukrainian soldiers dying each day with a total of 1000 dead or wounded daily, the latest numbers given by Ukraine, simply to improve a negotiating position is a highly immoral exercise. Ukraine has now become essentially a puppet state at the mercy of the US for arms and aid. It is naïve beyond belief to believe that Ukraine proceeds in this immoral fashion without approval of the US – or even perhaps coercion by the US to fight on so as to save face for its patron Biden.
The Biden administration can stop the proxy war. And we have the power to influence the Biden administration and the pols who support it. It is our right and responsibility to exercise that power and stop this war.
Who benefits from the war and who is damaged?
Cui bono? Billions in funding for the war serves the interests of weapons manufacturers, military contractors, who pocket untold profits from the war in Ukraine. Some of these dollars go to funding the endless proliferation of hawkish think tanks whose well paid employees show up as talking heads or op-ed writers in the mainstream media doing all in their power to convince us that “the other” is evil and that war is the answer. These media manikins and are ideologues driven by a desire for US world domination and therefore very dangerous
At the same time funding cannot be found for the many problems we face in the US – homelessness, inadequately funded schools, crumbling infrastructure, failure to deal adequately with climate change and now even shortages of baby formula! Inflation in the U.S. was already running at over 7% before the conflict began due to the tragically inadequate response to Covid-19 and out of control “quantitative easing,” i.e. printing money with abandon. But the war and sanctions have worsened the inflation which is now running at over 8%. The average American sees this daily at the gas station and supermarket where soaring prices are now the rule.
Beyond that we must look to the entire world and especially the Global South both of which are suffering beyond belief from inflation and food shortages due to the US sanctions and the continuation of the war. Led by India, China and nations representing the overwhelming majority of humanity, the world has refused to respect the illegal sanctions. That leaves only the US and its European allies, former colonial powers, in supporting the US proxy war. It is not Russia but the US that is isolated.
- No weapons for war in Ukraine
- No Proxy War with Russia
- No to Nuclear War
John V. Walsh, until recently a Professor of Physiology and Neuroscience at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, has written on issues of peace and health care for Dissident Voice, Asia Times, San Francisco Chronicle, EastBayTimes/San Jose Mercury News, LA Progressive, Antiwar.com, CounterPunch and others. Read other articles by John V..
