Orthodox Reflections

The Ukraine War was the single most important event happening in the world. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, among many other powerful luminaries, said so frequently. Freedom itself was at stake. If Russia won, those pesky Ivans could take the Baltic States and threaten the rest of Europe. Russian power had to be degraded through Ukrainian force of arms, as Putin’s hordes represented an existential threat to our very way of life. Pundits, politicians, reporters, academics all endlessly lectured tired, beleaguered American tax payers that, while Ukraine would eventually emerge victorious, we had to do our part with unlimited military and financial support.

All eyes were on Kiev.

Until Hamas managed to break out of the world’s largest open air prison and attack Israeli civilians.

Suddenly, the Ukraine War has gone missing. The most strategically significant conflict since WWII, or so they told us, is getting less media attention than run-of-the-mill celebrity gossip. Taylor Swift dating a football player is more important than a shooting war in the heart of Europe. Ukraine is being thoroughly ignored, even by those who recently were the country’s bestest friends. Things are so bad for President Zelenskyy, that he is the only Jew in the whole world who is not allowed to visit Israel.

What on Earth is happening? Why has the Ukraine War gone MIA? Two reasons really – competition for Western resources and sheer embarrassment.

Americans have never really been invested in the Ukraine War. Most Americans can’t find Ukraine on a map, even if they were motivated to try. Almost no one lives in terror of the Russkies any more, nor could most Americans tell a difference between Ukrainians and Russians if you held a gun to their heads. Quite a few Americans had no opinion on the conflict at all. A large number of Americans seriously begrudged the billions we sent Kiev while our own nation is falling apart.  Some Americans really supported Ukraine, but offline these people were hard to find and they seem small in number.

On the other hand, tens of millions of Americans consider Israel to practically be our 51st State. Many of these Americans love Israel with a burning passion. Some are pro-Israel for religious reasons (Zionist Jews, Christian Zionists). Other Americans for historical reasons such as concern over another Holocaust or sympathy over previous terror attacks. A good number of Americans are terrified of Muslim Jihadists getting loose in the world, and prefer to “fight them over there”. In addition, Americans perceive the Middle East as both more familiar and more important than remote, cold, unknown Central Europe.

Americans are now on to their new “current thing”, leaving Ukraine as not even an afterthought. Of course, the US National Security State is still fully committed to keeping the Ukraine War going. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said we can easily afford two wars, despite our historic levels of debt:

Asked during an interview on Sky News whether the U.S. can afford to provide military aid to Israel and to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia given the current debt-to-GDP ratio of 122%, Yellen said, “I think the answer is absolutely.”

In an interview on 60 Minutes, President Biden said the same thing:

As the U.S. national debt continues its climb beyond $33 trillion, President Joe Biden made assurances on Sunday night that the United States is capable of funding war efforts in both Israel and Ukraine.

 

“We’re the United States of America, for God’s sake, the most powerful nation in the history — not in the world, in the history of the world,” Biden told CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”

It is one thing to talk confidently about America’s financial position. It is quite another to actually deliver for both Ukraine and Israel now that the multi-billion dollar requests are coming in on four different fronts:
When something can’t continue, it won’t. Printing billions of increasingly worthless dollars to send overseas is not a viable long-term financial strategy for the US. Israel knows this. Israel also knows that Western stockpiles of weapons and supplies have been dangerously depleted through transfers to Ukraine. For many munitions and weapons systems, the NATO cupboard is practically bare. Israel has already dropped more than 6,000 bombs on Gaza, and the campaign is just getting started. Facing possible threats from all sides, Israel is going to want money and arms by the ton. In a face-off with Ukraine over resources, Israel is going to win. Public pressure alone will guarantee that. Still, supporters of Israel are unlikely to take any chances on having to split their aid with Zelenskyy. So, don’t expect a lot of sympathetic coverage of Ukraine any time soon. Or any coverage at all for that matter.

Ukraine, already drained of manpower and soon to be bereft of the foreign aid keeping it afloat, is going to end up suing for peace. Hopefully President Zelenskyy has a solid retirement strategy, as his exit from office will certainly be one of the major conditions of a negotiated settlement with Russia. I hear he has some nice houses and quite a bit of money outside Ukraine.  He and other corrupt senior officials will surely be just fine. The poor inhabitants of his impoverished homeland, not so much. Let’s just hope that Blackrock takes it easy on the Ukrainians during the reconstruction process, rather than totally stripping whatever is left in the country.

The other reason Ukraine is off the frontpages is sheer, utter, total embarrassment. Western Elites don’t mind being hypocrites. In fact, they sort of revel in it. The whole world can see their hypocritical actions, such as flying around in private jets to talk about how everyone else has to eat bugs to stop Climate Change. While everyone sees, no one does anything about it, except to meekly comply with the Elites’ increasingly illogical demands. Rules for thee, but not for me – in your face Peasant! What a rush that kind of power is for the sociopaths who run Western Civilization at the moment.

However, comparing Ukraine with Gaza exposes a level of hypocrisy so elevated as to actually be dangerous for the Powers-that-be. Why? Because everything that Western propaganda accused Russia of doing in Ukraine, Israel is actually doing in Gaza. And Israel will completely get away with it. 

Russia has been repeatedly accused of intentionally targeting civilians in Ukraine. Russia forces have been accused of murder, rape, and carrying out summary executions of non-combatants and surrendered Ukrainian soldiers. The word “genocidal” has been frequently applied to the war. Russians were likened to Mongol hordes, pillaging poor Ukraine just for the sake of their evil hatred of freedom and democracy. Every wayward missile or off target bomb that did any civilian damage was endlessly covered by the mainstream media, who always blamed Russian barbarism until proven otherwise.

However, despite the breathless Western narrative of wanton destruction, all the major cities of Ukraine are still standing. Putin has not leveled Kiev or Lwów or Odessa or any other city to punish Ukrainian civilians for the war. Multiple Ukrainian cities are secure enough, that young Ukrainians post Instagram videos of themselves partying at clubs. Foreign celebrities and politicians, even President Biden, can safely pop into Kiev for a photo op and safely pop out again. Ukrainian government officials freely travel abroad. Zelenskyy walks in the streets, even though his movements are surely tracked by the Russians, who have not attempted to target him personally. Ukrainian soldiers are encouraged by the Russians to surrender, and are well treated when they do. Ukraine has regular bus and rail service throughout the country, even connecting to foreign destinations.
What kind of “genocide” features regularly scheduled civilian mass transportation, celebrity visits to intact major cities, and good treatment extended to surrendering enemies? Not much of one, to be honest. However, the facts on the ground seemingly could be covered up as long as Western propaganda continued unabated, and there was no real genocide going on elsewhere with which to compare the Ukrainian War.

Well, now there is one in Gaza which is shaping up so bad, it makes the Russian war efforts in Ukraine look really benign by comparison. Gaza is an open air prison home to 2.3 million people, half of whom are children. It is the most densely populated area on Earth. It is blockaded on all four sides. Only two crossings allow entrance or exit. Both of them are closed. So far, Israel has dropped over 6,000 bombs on Gaza. Deployed munitions seem to include white phosphorus which creates flames that burn as hot as 1499°F. Deploying white phosphorous in civilian areas is a war crime due to the horrific deaths and injuries caused. More than 2,800 people, including some 1,000 children, have died so far. Thousands have been wounded. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced. Gaza’s residents are without power, food, and clean water. Israel has bombed schools, homes, hospitals, ambulances and civilian convoys.

The bombing is just getting started. A ground war could be coming soon as well.

A city full of children undergoing a justifiable military response to terrorism committed by a small number of adults

Capitol city of a nation undergoing a “genocide” at the hands of evil Russians

This is all likely to get much, much worse for the inhabitants of Gaza, and quite soon at that. There is simply no end to politicians, pundits, and government officials calling for a “final solution” in Gaza. Remember when any belligerent comment by any Russian official concerning the war in Ukraine was offered up as “proof” that mass slaughter of Ukrainians was either happening, or at least was imminent? Can you imagine if a Russian official had openly invoked such previous mass murders as the bombing of Dresden in WWII as a precedent for completely annihilating Kiev? Only, that didn’t happen. On the other hand, Israeli officials are citing such historic, Western war crimes as justification for liquidating Gaza and all its people.

Israeli ambassador to the UK cites the firebombing of Dresden in 1945 (deliberate aerial incineration of civilian population centers by US and UK) as precedent for what Israel is about to do in Gaza pic.twitter.com/GFXuv5T2Lq

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) October 16, 2023

Almost 65% of the population of Gaza is under 25. Half the population is under 18. That is of no consequence to the many of the supporters of Palestinian genocide. They know that large numbers of kids are there, but in their minds, no Palestinian of any age is innocent enough to back off the bombing.

An all too common sentiment being expressed across multiple media platforms

Sub-humans who will only grow up to be terrorists if not stopped by Israeli bombs

Curiously, the Israelis are not just bombing Palestinians. Supposedly over 100 Israeli hostages are being held in Gaza, in unknown locations, subject to the same bombing campaign as their captors.

Gaza is not the only theater of action in this war. In the West Bank, also occupied Palestinian territory where half the Israeli Army is currently located, mass arrests are underway. Israel has also been bombing Hezbollah in Lebanon, and airports in Syria. Remember when Russia was accused of wanting to widen the war in Europe? That didn’t happen, but Israel seems intent on provoking a regional conflagration. No one seems concerned with stopping that from happening.

Remember when Western politicians kept saying that the Ukraine War was a good investment, because it allowed us to “degrade” Russian military capabilities, while not risking any of our own troops? Biden has sent two carrier strike groups to the Middle East already, and appears ready to commit ground troops. A proxy war using Ukrainian blood was fine for Central Europe, but Israel evidently deserves American skin in the game. After all, isn’t Israel our Greatest Ally? An ally that has curiously never actually fought for us, but one we never seem to tire of fighting for?

Also embarrassing for the West, after years of lecturing the world, particularly Russia and China, about freedom of speech and human rights, Western Governments are actually banning pro-Palestinian protests. Even anti-Zionist Jews have been arrested to keep them from speaking out. In the US, so-called conservatives and libertarians are among those calling the loudest for a clampdown on any speech supporting Palestinians and/or criticizing Israel. Fundamental human rights don’t apply when Israel is involved. From a hypocrisy standpoint, that seems a bit too far, even by Western standards.

Western rhetoric describing the war in Ukraine has now been exposed as so overblown as to be indefensible. Everyone with eyes has either seen that already, or shortly will. So don’t expect much discussion of Ukraine anytime soon. The US National Security State will try to keep funneling arms and money to Ukraine for now. Don’t expect that to last, especially if we end up neck deep in a regional war in the Middle East.

Poor Zelensky. He should have learned from history that it is usually way more dangerous to be America’s ally than America’s enemy.

Unless you are Israel. Then 5 Star Service is guaranteed.

Nicholas – member of the Western Rite Vicariate, a part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America

While the world may have moved on from Ukraine, we certainly haven’t. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is still under severe and mounting persecution. If you have not signed our latest petition supporting the UOC, and holding the Patriarch of Constantinople accountable for his role in persecuting the Church of Christ, please click here to sign.