It was a routine day in the heat of southern Kuwait in 2004 during my first military deployment. I went into the Post Exchange on Camp Arifjan and found a clothes rack sporting war-themed apparel, among the basics like socks, laundry soap, greeting cards, and the like. One set of t-shirts stood out, printed with “Give war a chance” graphics. It seemed humorous at the time as a newly-minted soldier in the U.S. Army. But I have since come to recognize the moment as my first encounter with the death cult of modern American war hawks, who champion endless international fighting under the guise of moral righteousness. That memory returned in recent days through an encounter on Facebook, in which a classmate from my time at the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College questioned the wisdom of my hopes that the U.S. might be able to broker an end to Russia’s immoral war in Ukraine.
For those new to the debate over this tragic conflict, I offer two facts up front. First, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should not have happened. That said, the history of humanity is replete with examples of immoral invasions between nations. Second, the Biden Administration green-lighted Russia’s actions of aggression, and America’s response has served only to escalate hostilities and increase risk of the war expanding beyond its current boundaries. As Putin massed forces at the border in 2022, I hoped that the Biden administration would make it clear that an invasion was not worth the risk. That was our opportunity to potentially prevent the current tragedy, an opportunity met with progressive weakness.
This brutal, armed conflict is now in its third full year and has killed or wounded an estimated one million people. Those are one million fellow human beings, one million fellow image bearers of the Imago Dei, a number that is larger than the entire population of some U.S. states. Roughly one-quarter of the Ukrainian population fled their homeland, and an already poor economy continues a rapid descent that will plague that region for generations to come. In a break from the 21st-century tradition of a U.S. economic model that relies on sustained conditions of warfare around the world, the Trump Administration recently began exploring options to end the Russian campaign of aggression against Ukrainians. Possibilities include potential peace negotiations and efforts to strike a mineral deal that would strengthen the Ukrainian economy and allow the country to begin repaying much of what U.S. taxpayers have spent there. Attempting to find a solution that stops the body count and allows those involved to again seek a basic semblance of good in life is morally responsible. But there are critics who demand no end to fighting until Russia is defeated. They believe a war of attrition can still successfully send the invaders into retreat and deliver an appropriate punishment to the Russian people.