{"id":1512,"date":"2025-02-26T10:11:36","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T10:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geopoliticsamongstates.gr\/?p=1512"},"modified":"2025-02-26T10:11:37","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T10:11:37","slug":"case-study-how-the-strategy-of-fighting-to-the-last-ukrainian-was-sold-to-the-public-as-morally-righteous-prof-glenn-diesen%c2%b9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geopoliticsamongstates.gr\/?p=1512","title":{"rendered":"Case study: How the Strategy of Fighting to the Last Ukrainian Was Sold to the Public as Morally Righteous, Prof. Glenn Diesen\u00b9"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For almost three years, NATO countries have boycotted diplomatic contacts with Russia, even as hundreds of thousands of men have died on the battlefield. The decision by diplomats to reject diplomacy is morally repugnant as diplomacy could have reduced the excess of violence, prevented escalation, and even resulted in a path to peace. However, the political-media elites skilfully sold the rejection of diplomacy to the public as evidence of their moral righteousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article will first outline how NATO planned for a long war to exhaust Russia and knock it out from the ranks of great powers. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, this article will demonstrate how the political-media elites communicated that diplomacy is treasonous and war is virtuous.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO\u2019s Long War<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To exhaust Russia in a long war, the goal was to ensure that the Russians and Ukrainians kill each other for as long as possible. The US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin outlined the US objective in the Ukraine War as weakening its strategic adversary: \u201cWe want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine\u201d\u30101\u3011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late March 2022, Zelensky revealed in an interview with the Economist: \u201cThere are those in the West who don\u2019t mind a long war because it would mean exhausting Russia, even if this means the demise of Ukraine and comes at the cost of Ukrainian lives\u201d\u30102\u3011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Israeli and Turkish mediators confirmed that Russia and Ukraine agreed to the terms of a peaceful settlement in Istanbul, in which Russia would withdraw its forces and Ukraine would restore its neutrality. However, why would the US and its allies accept that Ukraine return to neutrality, when the alternative was to use the powerful proxy army they had built in Ukraine to bleed and weaken<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Russia\u30103\u3011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Turkish Foreign Minister acknowledged that there are \u201cNATO member states that want the war to continue\u2014let the war continue and Russia gets weaker. They don\u2019t care much about the situation in <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine\u201d\u30104\u3011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former Israeli Prime Minister also confirmed that the US and UK \u201cblocked\u201d the peace agreement as there was a \u201cdecision by the West to keep striking Putin\u201d to destroy a strategic rival<\/strong>\u30105\u3011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The retired German General, Harald Kujat, a former head of the German Bundeswehr and former chairman of the NATO Military Committee, also argued that this was a war deliberately provoked by NATO, while the US and UK sabotaged all paths to peace \u201cto weaken Russia politically, economically and militarily\u201d.\u30106\u3011<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interviews with American and British leaders in March 2022, revealed that a decision had been made for \u201cthe conflict to be extended and thereby bleed Putin\u201d as \u201cthe only end game now is the end of Putin regime\u201d.<\/strong>\u30107\u3011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chas Freeman, the former US Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs and Director for Chinese Affairs at the US State Department criticised Washington for the objective to prolong the fighting to \u201cfight to the last Ukrainian\u201d.\u30108\u3011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham argued that the US was in a favourable position as it could fight Russia to the last Ukrainian: \u201cI like the structural path we\u2019re on here. As long as we help Ukraine with the weapons they need and the economic support, they will fight to the last person\u201d\u30109\u3011<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republican leader Mitch McConnell was similarly explicit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cthe most basic reasons for continuing to help Ukraine degrade and defeat the Russian invaders are cold, hard, practical American interests. Helping equip our friends in Eastern Europe to win this war is also a direct investment in reducing Vladimir Putin\u2019s future capabilities to menace America, threaten our allies, and contest our core interests\u201d\u301010\u3011<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senator Mitt Romney argued that financing the war was \u201cthe best national defense spending I think we\u2019ve ever done\u201d as \u201cWe\u2019re diminishing and devastating the Russian military for a very small amount of money\u201d and \u201cwe\u2019re losing no lives in Ukraine\u201d<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

US Congressman Dan Crenshaw also celebrated the proxy war as \u201cinvesting in the destruction of our adversary\u2019s military, without losing a single American troop, strikes me as a good idea\u201d \u3010<\/strong>11\u3011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retired US General Keith Kellogg similarly called for extending the war in Ukraine as knocking out Russia would allow the US to focus on China<\/strong>: \u201cif you can defeat a strategic adversary not using any US troops, you are at the acme of professionalism\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg shared this logic as he argued defeating Russia on the battlefield will make it easier for the US to focus on China. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stoltenberg also noted that \u201cif Ukraine wins, then you will have the second biggest army in Europe, the Ukrainian army, battle-hardened, on our side, and we’ll have a weakened Russian army\u201d \u301012\u3011<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diplomacy as Treason and War as Virtue<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the decision had been made for a long war, the politicians and media began to construct narratives and a moral case for a long war, which would convince the public that diplomacy is treasonous, and war is virtuous.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenting the world as a struggle of good versus evil lays the foundation for effective war propaganda, as perpetual peace can be achieved by defeating the evil opponent while negotiations entail sacrificing indispensable values and principles. To this end, the Hitler analogy is very effective as diplomacy becomes dangerous appeasement while peace requires military victory. Reminiscent of George Orwell\u2019s \u201cwar is peace\u201d, Stoltenberg argues that weapons are the path to peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Western public was reassured that fuelling the war was required to push Putin to the negotiation table, however, during almost three years of war the West never proposed negotiations. Reading the Western media, one gets the impression that Russia would not negotiate. However, Russia never opposed diplomacy or negotiations, it was the West that shut the door. So-called \u201cpeace summits\u201d were held to give the public the impression that governments pursued peace, although Russia was not invited and the stated purpose was to mobilise public opinion and resources against Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 2022, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley argued for starting negotiations with Russia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine had just captured large swaths of territory in Kherson and Kharkov, and General Milley argued Ukraine would not be in a better position to negotiate a peace deal. General Milley was correct in this assessment, yet he neglected that the principal objective of the war was to keep it going to bleed Russia. General Milley had to walk back his statements that threatened to end the war\u301013\u3011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU almost always advocates for immediate diplomacy and negotiations in conflicts around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In Ukraine, the EU\u2019s foreign policy chief at the beginning of the war, Josep Borrell, argued that the war would be won on the battlefield\u301014\u3011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incoming foreign policy chief of the EU, Kaja Kallas, rejected any need for diplomacy during the war: \u201cWhy talk to him [Putin], he is a war criminal\u201d\u301015\u3011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diplomacy now entails sitting in a room with people who agree with you, and pat each other on the shoulder for having isolated the adversary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU has completed its transition from a peace project to a geopolitical project.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone suggesting to restore diplomacy or start negotiations is immediately smeared as a far-left or far-right pro-Russian stooge.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 It is hardly original to present the opposition to war as taking the side of the adversary, yet the accusation of treason is a powerful instrument to crush dissent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban travelled to Ukraine, Russia, China, and the US (to meet with Trump) to explore the possibility of charting a path to peace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU responded by punishing Hungary and the political-media elites sought to delegitimise him as a puppet of Putin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same script is applied to anyone suggesting to end the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arguing against the dangerous precedent of \u201crewarding\u201d Putin\u2019s aggression with territory has been another seemingly moral argument against peace negotiations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this argument is based on the false premise that the war began as a territorial dispute. As we learned from the Istanbul peace agreement, Russia agreed to pull back its troops in return for Ukraine restoring its neutrality<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the proxy war has been lost and Ukraine will only lose more men and territory with each passing day.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO\u2019s continued insistence that Ukraine will become a member state after the war is presented to the public as a moral sign of support for Ukraine, although in reality, it has the effect of obstructing a political settlement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ending NATO expansionism must be the cornerstone of any lasting peace agreement as this was the source of the war.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Coming Backlash<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Ukrainian frontlines collapse and their causalities subsequently intensify, the Americans are pushing Ukraine to lower its conscription age as sacrificing the youth could keep the war going for a bit longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ukrainian public no longer wants to fight, desertions increase <\/strong>drastically, and \u201crecruitment\u201d consists of grabbing civilians off the streets and throwing them into vans that take them almost directly to the front lines. A recent Gallup poll found that there is not a single oblast in Ukraine where the majority support continuing the war \u301016\u3011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oleksyi Arestovych, the former advisor to President Zelensky, predicted in 2019 that the threat of NATO expansion would \u201cprovoke Russia to launch a large-scale military operation against Ukraine\u201d. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO would then use the Ukrainian army to defeat Russia: \u201cIn this conflict, we will be very actively supported by the West\u2014with weapons, equipment, assistance, new sanctions against Russia and the quite possible introduction of a NATO contingent, a no-fly zone etc. We won\u2019t lose, and that\u2019s good\u2019 \u301017\u3011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The war did not go as planned and Ukraine is being destroyed, and Arestovych recognises the folly of continuing the war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a growing realisation in Ukrainian society that NATO sabotaged the peace to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainians will resent Russia for decades to come, although there will also be hatred against the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The war propagandists in the Western media will then surely act bewildered and blame Russian propaganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

G. Carbonaro, \u2018U.S. Wants Russia ‘Weakened’ So It Can Never Invade Again\u2019, Newsweek, 25 April 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Economist. \u2018Volodymyr Zelensky on why Ukraine must defeat Putin\u2019 The Economist, 27 March 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minsk Peace Agreement was never intended to be implemented but used as an opportunity to build a large Ukrainian military, which both German and France have admitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R. Semonsen, \u2018Former Israeli PM: West Blocked Russo-Ukraine Peace Deal\u2019, The European Conservative, 7 February 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

N. Bennett, \u2018Bennett speaks out\u2019, YouTube Channel of Naftali Bennett, 4 February 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emma, \u2018Russland will verhandeln!\u2019 [Russia wants to negotiate!], Emma, 4 March 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

N. Ferguson, \u2018Putin Misunderstands History. So, Unfortunately, Does the U.S.\u2019, Bloomberg, 22 March 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A. Mat\u00e9, \u2018US fighting Russia \u2018to the last Ukrainian\u2019: veteran US diplomat\u2019, The Grayzone, 24 March 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A. Mat\u00e9, \u2018US, UK sabotaged peace deal because they \u2018don\u2019t care about Ukraine\u2019: fmr. NATO adviser\u2019, The Grayzone, 27 September 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M. McConnell, \u2018McConnell on Zelenskyy Visit: Helping Ukraine Directly Serves Core American Interests\u2019, Mitch McConnell official website, 21 December 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

L. Lonas, \u2018Crenshaw, Greene clash on Twitter: \u2018Still going after that slot on Russia Today\u2019\u2019, The Hill, 11 May 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[12]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

T. O\u2019Conner, \u2018So, if the United States is concerned about China and wants to pivot towards Asia, then you have to ensure that Putin doesn’t win in in Ukraine\u2019, Newsweek, 21 September 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[13]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K. Demirjian, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milley tries to clarify his case for a negotiated end to Ukraine war, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Washington Post<\/p>\n\n\n\n

, 16 November 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[14]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foreign Affairs Council: Remarks by High Representative Josep Borrell upon arrival | EEAS,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.eeas.europa.eu\/eeas\/foreign-affairs-council-remarks-high-representative-josep-borrell-upon-arrival-1_en\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

[15]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Why talk to Putin? He’s a war criminal” Estonian PM Kaja Kallas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[16]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B. Vigers, Half of Ukrainians Want Quick, Negotiated End to War, Gallup, 19 November 2024, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Half of Ukrainians Want Quick, Negotiated End to War<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[17]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A. Arestovich, \u2018Voennoe Obozrenie\u2019 [Military Review], Apostrof TV, 18 February 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"🦔\"__________________\"🦉\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Professor and Editor: Russian Foreign Policy, Greater Eurasia & Geoeconomics <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Abstract For almost three years, NATO countries have boycotted diplomatic contacts with Russia, even as hundreds of thousands of men have died on the battlefield. The decision by diplomats to reject diplomacy is morally repugnant as diplomacy could have reduced the excess of violence, prevented escalation, and even resulted in a path to peace. However, the political-media elites skilfully sold the rejection of diplomacy to the public as evidence of their moral righteousness. This article will first outline how NATO planned for a long war to exhaust Russia and knock…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":335,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-studies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geopoliticsamongstates.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geopoliticsamongstates.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geopoliticsamongstates.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geopoliticsamongstates.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geopoliticsamongstates.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1512"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/geopoliticsamongstates.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1513,"href":"https:\/\/geopoliticsamongstates.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1512\/revisions\/1513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geopoliticsamongstates.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geopoliticsamongstates.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geopoliticsamongstates.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geopoliticsamongstates.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}