Propaganda Techniques to Justify Putin’s War on Ukraine

114 Comments Post your own or leave a trackback: Trackback URL

1. Roy Turrentine says:

   March 21, 2022 at 11:11 am

   Retro poster? This looks like something out of the fifties.

   Reply
   • Daedalus says:

     March 21, 2022 at 11:18 am

     Yep….. McCarthyism redux.

     Reply
   • Bob Shepherd says:

     March 21, 2022 at 12:36 pm

     Yeah, the 1950s retro design choice was a terrible one. Someone clearly did not think this through.

     Reply
2. caplee68 says:

   March 21, 2022 at 11:11 am

   The same techniques used by Trump.

   Reply
   • Bob Shepherd says:

     March 21, 2022 at 12:36 pm

     Yup. Trump is Putin’s dog.

     Reply
3. dienne77 says:

   March 21, 2022 at 11:15 am

   This graphic itself is propaganda. The idea that anyone who dares to question the lock-step U.S. media narrative is the one suffering from propaganda. I have spent hours reading everything I can get my hands on from any and all sides and evaluating the evidence for all of them. The facts simply don’t support everything our media is telling us, any more than the facts supported our invasion of Iraq 19 years ago

   But when you close your mind to any other sources of information besides the approved western narrative, you foreclose on the possibility of learning anything and realizing your mistakes, which, incidentally, Diane, is what I so admired about you in the first place and what brought me to your blog.

   I still challenge all of you to watch Ukraine on Fire, spend time reading articles on Consortium News and otherwise seeking out opposing viewpoints. If the facts in those sources are so obviously wrong, it should be easy to refute them, right? So what are you afraid of?

   Those of us who went against the U.S. narrative 19 years ago have been vindicated and proven to be on the right side of history. Do you want to take the risk of falling for it all again?

   Reply
   • Bob Shepherd says:

     March 21, 2022 at 3:06 pm

     HAAAAAAA! OMG. Hilarious, Dienne! You really should take this routine on the road. Maybe an HBO special. Hey, maybe Oliver Stone would direct it!

     Reply
     • NYC public school parent says:

       March 21, 2022 at 7:37 pm

       You don’t believe that dienne77 has read everything she can get her hands on and STILL has come to her intelligent conclusion that Putin has done nothing wrong and that is why she can’t say anything negative about a man who doesn’t deserve her criticism?

       Really, you don’t think that could possibly be true that she has found nothing to convince her that Putin deserves any criticism and remains the real victim?

   • Bob Shepherd says:

     March 21, 2022 at 3:14 pm

     Here’s the thing about reading Consortium News and other such apologists for Putinism. There is only so much ideological idiocy that one can stomach at a time. So, for example, I dutifully listened to Trump’s bloviations at his rallies because I wanted to know what The Idiot was up to, but being a rational and sane person, I had to take this stuff in small doses–his toddler English, his breathtaking unreality and ignorance, his inability to think at all clearly about anything, his constant display of his malignant pathological narcissism, his utter lack of a moral compass, his transparent manipulation of morons via racist dogwhistles and scapegoating. Meanwhile, this is the 24th day of Putin’s murdering of babies, children, grandmothers, etc. Shame on you be acting as the murderer’s apologist.

     Reply
     • threebecca (@threebecca1) says:

       March 21, 2022 at 4:46 pm

       Robert Parry was an apologist to NO ONE. And he was right. He outed the Iran-Contra affair. Critical thinking, fact-based evidence and history matters. Shame on you for censoring every thinker and expert except the “Putinologists.” Truly a laughable “field of study” pushed by neocon/neolibs and pro-nuke warriors.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 5:24 pm

       Putinology hardly qualifies as a field of academic study. The qualities/characteristics of the strongman thug are too readily apparent to require profound analysis.

       On Romance Literature | Commentary

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 5:25 pm

       And yes, Iran-Contra was truly evil. And it is truly sickening that those who carried out this evil didn’t end up in prison.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 5:41 pm

       It is to our great national shame that Ronald Reagan, for example, who played such a central role in the Iran-Contra evil, is honored today by having airports named after him. That kind of thing is just sickening.

     • dianeravitch says:

       March 21, 2022 at 6:07 pm

       What is your authority for name-calling? I am neither a neocon nor pro-nuke. The only person I know who threatens to use nukes is Putin.

     • threebecca (@threebecca1) says:

       March 21, 2022 at 6:03 pm

       I have no idea what Trump has to do with anything I’ve discussed. Trump has nothing to do with Consortium News or Robert Parry. (I am no supporter of Trump.)

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 6:08 pm

       Putin has been and is a supporter of Trump because they are in the same mold. Trump is a wannabe Putin, but without the power that Putin has been able to exert to suppress dissent and freedom of speech and the press. And I was not passing judgment on the entire career of Robert Parry.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 6:12 pm

       And yes, threebecca, it is to our shame as a country that having been instrumental in creating the Rome Statute, we have not ratified it. And neither have we ratified all the treaties that have codified, to date, the UN Declaration of Human Rights. That’s shameful and wrong, and the current crisis should be a wakeup call to us about supporting and abiding by international law ourselves.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 6:22 pm

       An Existentialist Perspective on Russia v. the West

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 6:23 pm

       A Middle Way: Socialism, Capitalism, and Social Democracy 

   • Bob Shepherd says:

     March 21, 2022 at 3:28 pm

     And Dienne, stop, just stop pretending that there are two sides, one of which opposes the war against Ukraine but supported the Second Iraq War. I suspect that almost all of the people who post here opposed BOTH wars FOR THE SAME REASONS, because they were crimes of aggression, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

     Reply
     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 3:30 pm

       It is you, Dienne, who are being shamelessly inconsistent by saying that you opposed the Iraq War but are just fine with THE SAME KIND OF AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE BY RUSSIA.

       Both were/are evil. Utterly evil.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 3:32 pm

       BOTH were/are crimes of aggression, crimes against humanity, and war crimes under international law, based on utterly fabricated pretexts

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 3:57 pm

       I am referring, ofc, to the Second Iraq War. The first had a justification under international law. Hussein had invaded another sovereign UN nation, Kuwait. That’s a complicated matter, but the first did have this legal justification, and the UN Security Council, in 1990, voted overwhelmingly to condemn the invasion, as the General Assembly just voted overwhelmingly to condemn the Russian aggression against Ukraine.

     • NYC public school parent says:

       March 21, 2022 at 7:51 pm

       wrong, Bob.

       Any war conducted by Putin is fine. that is what my “sources” (dienne77 and the two new trolls on here) tell me.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 8:51 pm

       LOL! Well, if Dienne says it, it must be true. Same with Putin.

   • Bob Shepherd says:

     March 21, 2022 at 5:21 pm

     Ukraine on Fire, btw, is nothing but assertion of the Russian line containing precisely zero evidence for the assertions. There are many tells in this, such as the key ascription of the murderous attack on the Maidan protestors to unnamed “Western officials.” It’s propaganda. What is unquestionable is that in the days preceding the massacre, President Yanukovych’s police engaged violently with the protestors. So, the murders of the protestors were an escalation of that violence. It is also unquestionable that the Ukrainian Rada voted overwhelmingly, 328 to 0, to remove Yanukovych from power. We have a word for that: democracy.

     Reply
   • Bob Shepherd says:

     March 21, 2022 at 5:37 pm

     Dienne, but their fruits people are known. Putin promoted and foisted on the United States in what must be considered the most astonishing foreign intelligence success in history his puppet Mini-Me authoritarian wannbe Donald Trump–the guy who screamed at his Secretary of Homeland Security because she would not order Border Patrol officers to SHOOT TO KILL unarmed, innocent asylum seekers, the guy who wanted to use the US military to attack protestors against systemic racism in the United States, something that was stopped only because Secretary Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Milley refused to go along. In other words, Don the Con was a wannabe Putin, for that kind of violence is Putin’s way.

     Do I suspect that the US CIA played some role in assisting the various color revolutions? Of course, I do. One would have to be breathtakingly naive to think otherwise. Sometimes we get it right. Supporting to democratic aspirations of the peoples of Europe who were formerly under the iron hand of the Soviet Union was and is the right thing to do. But there is no evidence whatsoever that the murder of protestors in Maidan was some sort of US or NATO operation. NONE. But there is every reason to believe, as the Ukrainian people did, that these murders were carried out by Yanukovych’s brutal police, these being but a continuation and escalation of the violence they had committed against protestors for days preceding the massacre–violence watched by the world on television and undeniable.

     Slava Ukraini

     Reply
     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 5:45 pm

       cx: by their fruits

   • Duane E Swacker says:

     March 22, 2022 at 4:33 pm

     Yes, they will fall again on the wrong side of history. Americans seem to have a peculiar ability to forget that they have been bamboozled by the “America First” propaganda. Fool me once. . . . or a sucker is born every minute. Take your pick.

     Reply
4. Joe Jersey says:

   March 21, 2022 at 11:16 am

   We’ve got several examples of Putin propaganda from the usual suspects, the troll-bots who post whataboutism screeds on the Diane Ravitch blog. You know, the trolls who say what about Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chile, Iran, etc. These trolls never criticize what Putin is doing in Ukraine, his massive crimes against humanity there. What about Putin, an evil monster who daily kills innocent civilians, babies, pregnant women, the elderly, the sick and infirm. What about that you duplicitous troll-bots? What about the Russian invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, his crimes in Chechnya and Syria; what about the Soviet Union’s brutal occupation of the countries of eastern Europe for many decades. Crickets.

   Reply
   • peskyvera says:

     March 21, 2022 at 11:25 am

     How so very conveniently you seem to ‘forget’ all the atrocities committed by the US in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, etc. etc. etc. Oh, and not forgetting Nagasaki and Hiroshima…

     Reply
     • murray robertson says:

       March 21, 2022 at 12:01 pm

       Sad. Very sad. How can you try to change the topic? The conversation is about the here and now. Your propaganda is evil. Stop doing it.

     • Joe Jersey says:

       March 21, 2022 at 12:01 pm

       What about the Katyn massacres, a series of mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish military officers and intelligentsia carried out by the Soviet Union, specifically the NKVD in April and May 1940. The USSR (AKA Russia) invaded Poland along with Nazi Germany, what about that?

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 12:14 pm

       We are not forgetting these, Vera. It is the right-wing creeps in the United States supported by Putin and his assets and agents who insist on this America Right or Wrong bs. We who oppose authoritarianism and war crimes by any country, including our own, are actually the majority in the US now, but we are in a cold civil war against those forces, supported by your boss Putin, who want to fix our elections by suppressing voting rights so that they can then institute nationalist curricula and control over the media and political repression in the Putin mode. The right, led by Putin’s dog, Trump, are Putinists in action and belief even when not avowedly so. And it is those people here who adhere to the might is right, our country right or wrong, belief system. The rest of us vehemently oppose that and stand for the rule of law at home and abroad.

     • speduktr says:

       March 21, 2022 at 12:44 pm

       Thank you for the real time example of Russian propaganda.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 12:48 pm

       We must all–the United States, Russia, China, and the rest of the world–go forward as lawful actors. We must recognize this unlawful incursion on the sovereign integrity of any UN state as war upon the world. If we don’t do this, we, the human race, will not survive. We must throw off this strongman stuff of the past and go forward as lawful, mutually respectful co-actors economically, culturally, and, importantly, in facing the major threats that we face–climate change, nuclear destruction, biological warfare, the weaponization of space, autonomous war machines, the weaponization of nanotechnology, and so on. If we do not break from the strongman modi operandi of the past, perfectly encapsulated in Putinism and Trumpism and in Kissenger-era unreal “realpoltik,” and work together respectfully and lawfully, we will not survive. There will literally be no future for our grandchildren.

5. peskyvera says:

   March 21, 2022 at 11:23 am

   War propaganda against Putin… But no war propaganda against the US…a country that never ceases to meddle in other nations’ affairs. A propaganda aimed at distracting the West from what the West is up to under the ‘leadership’ of war mongering Yanx. One side lying just as much as the other…no use pretending anything else.

   Reply
   • Roy Turrentine says:

     March 21, 2022 at 11:32 am

     Can you defend the Russian invasion? Or do we just hear #3 from you? Perhaps the suggestion that the UN become involved?

     I will wait.

     Reply
     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 22, 2022 at 12:27 am

       LOL. Well said, Roy.

   • Bob Shepherd says:

     March 21, 2022 at 12:17 pm

     141 to 5. That was the United Nations General Assembly vote against the Russian WAR (no, it’s not a “special military operation”) against Ukraine. This is NOT a US matter. It’s a world matter, and your murderous, creepy little strongman boss is close to dragging the world into World War III.

     Reply
   • Bob Shepherd says:

     March 21, 2022 at 12:22 pm

     And it is precisely this atavism, this view of the world as strongman against strongman, so clearly evidenced in your comments, Vera, that is the enemy of peace in the world. It is time to awaken from that nightmare and for Russia to throw off Putinism and behave as a lawful actor in the world and equal partner with the nations in commerce, culturally, in all respects. And this is FOUNDED on respect for the sovereign integrity of all UN member states.

     Reply
   • Bob Shepherd says:

     March 21, 2022 at 12:28 pm

     Can you not see, Vera, that Putin and Putinism has dragged Russia into the very barbarism that you decry? Putin has violently eliminated freedom of speech and of the media and of political parties in Russia. He has made of your great country an international scofflaw and pariah. He has ruined your economy (and this will get worse and worse until he is gone). And right now, thousands of hapless teenage Russian conscripts are dying for nothing but this one man’s megalomania. It is time for all countries to become internationally lawful actors. And this is the test case. Right here. Right now. Not in the past.

     Reply
   • Bob Shepherd says:

     March 21, 2022 at 12:33 pm

     There is but one way in which the backward authoritarianism of Putin and his dog Trump ends: with our annihilation. There is another way forward. And this begins with all nations insisting upon respect for international law founded upon the principles of respect for the sovereign integrity of UN member states and for the protections accorded all persons by the UN Declaration of Human Rights and its codifying treaties and for the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. All of which Putin is grossly, criminally violating right now because he is a reptilian creature of the past. An atavism. A relic. And HE IS RUINING YOUR COUNTRY. HE IS BRINGING RUIN UPON YOU. And he might well bring ruin upon the entire world. It doesn’t have to be this way. It can stop. Now.

     Reply
     • speduktr says:

       March 21, 2022 at 12:46 pm

       I really don’t think “she” cares. I’m sure she is being well paid.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 12:52 pm

       Who knows? One of the ways in which repressive regimes work is that those who serve them operate from fear. It’s the old “you can’t get a divorce from the Mafia” bit. And, ofc, Russia under Putin is a Mafia state.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 12:50 pm

       When you make a deal with the devil, you always lose, personally, in the end. This is a recurring theme in Russian and American folklore.

   • dianeravitch says:

     March 21, 2022 at 6:17 pm

     Both sides are not lying.
     Putin invaded a sovereign nation.
     He said he wouldn’t.
     He did.
     That’s a lie.
     His spokesman said that Russia doesn’t attack civilian targets, yet Russia is bombsrding hospitals, homes, theaters, and reducing the entire city of Mariopul to rubble.
     Another lie.
     The General Assembly of the UN condemned Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
     That’s not propaganda. Those are facts.

     Reply
     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 6:28 pm

       exactly

   • Callisto says:

     March 22, 2022 at 6:17 am

     You are an apologist/troll for a mass murderer. Nothing more – nothing less.

     Reply
6. dienne77 says:

   March 21, 2022 at 11:25 am

   BTW, the specific propaganda technique being used here is called inoculation. “They’re going to tell you [XYZ]. Here’s the talking point you can respond with.” It primes you to believe that anything anyone tells you contradictory to what you’ve been told to believe is automatically false and that your group alone has the truth. It’s used a lot by xtian cults.

   Reply
   • dianeravitch says:

     March 21, 2022 at 5:55 pm

     Anything that comes from a mass murderer is not to be taken as truth. I recall, Dienne, that you assured the readers of this blog that Putin had no intention of invading Ukraine. How did you know? Putin said so. Don’t you feel the least bit embarrassed that you believed what he said? He lied, as he lies today, saying that “Russia did not invade Ukraine,” “Russia does not target civilians,” “anyone who protests the ‘special military operation’”, or calls it a war risks 15 years in prison. None of this bothers you. Nor are you bothered by atrocities. Your admiration of Putin puzzles me. Baffles me.

     Reply
     • Joel says:

       March 21, 2022 at 8:02 pm

       Perhaps after 6 years of same nonsense out of dienne77 we should not be baffled.

     • NYC public school parent says:

       March 21, 2022 at 9:38 pm

       Joel,

       Bingo!

   • NYC public school parent says:

     March 21, 2022 at 7:42 pm

     Putin bombs a mall, and dienne77 STILL can’t say one word against him.

     That isn’t being propagandized. That is pure trolldom.

     This is not a real person. No person could be this enamored of Putin, even if they were also very critical of the US.

     What did Ukraine do to make dienne77 approve and condone of the murder of its families?

     Reply
7. Joe Jersey says:

   March 21, 2022 at 1:11 pm

   Peskyvera-Putin-Troll-bot is just wasting her time here. Nobody is buying her nonsense and obvious Russian propaganda and talking points. I probably should just ignore her at this point but it is so enraging considering what is going on in Ukraine, the continuing destruction of that country and the indiscriminate killing of the civilian population. I keep hoping that a miracle will happen and there will be meaningful talks between the Russians and Ukrainians but it’s not looking good. Putin is determined to replace the current Ukrainian government with a puppet regime, there’s no negotiating with that mindset.

   Reply
   • Bob Shepherd says:

     March 21, 2022 at 1:28 pm

     it is so enraging considering what is going on in Ukraine

     yup. All this is happening as children are being murdered. Right now.

     Reply
8. dienne77 says:

   March 21, 2022 at 1:21 pm

   I know no one will read this, but this is how America is increasingly appearing to nearly everyone outside our borders: https://consortiumnews.com/2022/03/21/patrick-lawrence-on-american-infantilism/?unapproved=430320&moderation-hash=a67f90cfb776a2a42cc3e0bde12167bd#comment-430320

   Reply
   • Joe Jersey says:

     March 21, 2022 at 3:28 pm

     Thank you for assuming that the commenters here are a bunch of illiterate dumb dumb boob moronic cheese heads. Excuse me, but most of the commenters at Diane Ravitch’s blog are quite brilliant, intellectual, up on events and readers of a whole spectrum of political and philosophical opinions. I admit to occasional chowder-headism but to pretend there is not a humanitarian crisis of major proportions in Ukraine borders on the criminal.
     I do occasionally read Consortium news, it’s a decent web site but I disagree with that article by Patrick Lawrence. He spends the whole article criticizing the US, Biden, Hillary but no mention of what is going on in Ukraine. Oh poor Putin, he’s so delicate and weak, we must not call him a thug or murderer, that might cause him to invade another country?! Putin invades Ukraine and that’s our fault?! That is crazy, nuts.

     Reply
     • Joe Jersey says:

       March 21, 2022 at 9:28 pm

       I goofed, Consortium News is not a decent web site. It is the I hate The USA web site. Article after article on the great satan, the USA, how horrible and terrible the USA is non stop. It is an unbalanced narrative. It’s crazy that the writers seem to hate the USA so much that they can’t bring themselves to condemn Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s too much of a bad thing. I don’t think Consortium News was this bad a few years ago but I could be mistaken.

     • NYC public school parent says:

       March 21, 2022 at 10:16 pm

       Joe Jersey,

       I think you are probably right about Consortium News.

       Robert Parry died in 2018. there is no way that he would be approving of the perspective that the warmongers like dienne77 and the other pro-Putin trolls have.

       Robert Parry would be turning over in his grave hearing folks who are not bothered by Putin’s bombing of civilians and his massively laying waste to Ukraine invoking his name. Robert Perry would be sickened by those nasty pro-Putin trolls daring to invoke the name of someone who believed in peace to justify their warmongering and their approval of Putin’s annihilation of Ukraine.

       The people who took over from Perry are probably funded by Putin and value their bank accounts over Ukraine lives, just like the trolls on here. If you want a “left” view of this, go to the Nation, which also criticizes Putin the way anyone who doesn’t lack a moral center would.

       The fact these trolls still don’t criticize Putin would make Robert Parry disown them in a second. What chutzpah they have invoking his name. I would not be surprised if he is cursing them from his grave.

   • Bob Shepherd says:

     March 21, 2022 at 5:58 pm

     Dienne, this fellow Lawrence, considers it “infantile” to call Putin a war criminal. But that is PRECISELY what he is. I refer you to the following:

     Yesterday, the United Nations International Court of Justice ordered Russia to stop its military activities in Ukraine. Russia is continuing to act illegally, in violation of the order of the court.

     Right now, Russia has committed and is continuing to commit Crimes against Humanity as defined in the Rome Statute of the International Court of Justice, which was overwhelmingly adopted by the United Nations. In particular, it is violating the provision against The Crime of Aggression, Article 5(1)(d) and the following provisions of Article 7, which outlines Crimes against Humanity:

     (1)(a) Murder;
     (1)(b) Extermination;
     (1)(c) Enslavement; [Russian soldiers are holding employees of captured facilities at gunpoint and forcing them to work under this duress.]
     (1)(d) Deportation or forcible transfer of population; [See the report from the city government of Mariupol, above.]
     (1)(e) Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law; [Russians have been kidnapping and holding imprisoned the elected officials of Ukrainian cities.]
     (1) (g) Rape; [Yes, there have been numerous reports of Russian soldiers in Ukraine bursting into homes and committing rape.]
     (1)(k) Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.

     It is also violating a great many provisions of the War Crimes provision, Article 8(2)(a): (i) Willfull killing; (iii) Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health; (iv) Extensive destruction and appropriation of property; (vii) Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement; (viii) Taking of hostages and many provisions

     of Article 8(2) (b), including (i) and (ii) attacks on civilian persons and object and (v) attacking and bombarding towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives

     and of Article 8(2)(e), including (iii) Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in humanitarian assistance, (iv) Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science, or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, (v) Pillaging a town or place; and (vi) Committing rape.

     So, Russia has committed and is continuing to commit the Crime of Aggression, Crimes against Humanity, and War Crimes in Ukraine. In addition, it has used banned weapons against civilian targets (cluster bombs) and has fielded other banned weapons (thermobaric bombs). Those responsible for this–in particular WAR CRIMINAL VLADIMIR PUTIN–must be indicted by and tried in the International Court.

     Reply
     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 6:01 pm

       Yikes, a couple errors in that. Here is the corrected version:

       Dienne, this fellow Lawrence, considers it “infantile” to call Putin a war criminal. But that is PRECISELY what he is. I refer you to the following:

       Yesterday, the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Russia to stop its military activities in Ukraine. Russia is continuing to act illegally, in violation of the order of the court.

       Right now, Russia has committed and is continuing to commit Crimes against Humanity as defined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which was overwhelmingly adopted by the United Nations. In particular, it is violating the provision against The Crime of Aggression, Article 5(1)(d) and the following provisions of Article 7, which outlines Crimes against Humanity:

       (1)(a) Murder;
       (1)(b) Extermination;
       (1)(c) Enslavement; [Russian soldiers are holding employees of captured facilities at gunpoint and forcing them to work under this duress.]
       (1)(d) Deportation or forcible transfer of population; [See the report from the city government of Mariupol, above.]
       (1)(e) Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law; [Russians have been kidnapping and holding imprisoned the elected officials of Ukrainian cities.]
       (1) (g) Rape; [Yes, there have been numerous reports of Russian soldiers in Ukraine bursting into homes and committing rape.]
       (1)(k) Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.

       It is also violating a great many provisions of the War Crimes provision of the Rome Statute, Article 8(2)(a): (i) Willfull killing; (iii) Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health; (iv) Extensive destruction and appropriation of property; (vii) Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement; (viii) Taking of hostages and many provisions

       of RS Article 8(2) (b), including (i) and (ii) attacks on civilian persons and object and (v) attacking and bombarding towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives

       and of RS Article 8(2)(e), including (iii) Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in humanitarian assistance, (iv) Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science, or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, (v) Pillaging a town or place; and (vi) Committing rape.

       So, Russia has committed and is continuing to commit the Crime of Aggression, Crimes against Humanity, and War Crimes in Ukraine. In addition, it has used banned weapons against civilian targets (cluster bombs) and has fielded other banned weapons (thermobaric bombs). Those responsible for this–in particular WAR CRIMINAL VLADIMIR PUTIN–must be indicted by and tried in the International Court.

       Diane, if you could remove the uncorrected version, above, I would be most obliged.

   • speduktr says:

     March 21, 2022 at 6:19 pm

     And we should pay attention to someone who asserts we are “… now arming a Nazi-infested regime.”

     Reply
   • bethree5 says:

     March 21, 2022 at 7:51 pm

     dienne– Lawrence makes a good point I agree with: name-calling undermines diplomatic efforts. He cites verifiable examples by Biden and HRC, and includes an absurd statement by GWB that undermined diplomacy. And adds that this has apparently become acceptable since 9/11; I agree. He could have stopped right there. Unfortunately he throws in statements that undermine his credibility:

     “the coup the U.S. had just engineered in Kiev [2014]”—no links, no evidence
     “NATO is now arming a Nazi-infested regime”—numbers, please & maybe I’ll believe that a Nazi-infested regime runs a govt headed by an elected Jew
     “power obviates the need for serious statecraft”— describes Putin’s position.
     “The rest follows naturally: Anthony Blinken is not a serious diplomat.” Nope, does not follow. Tautology.

     Reply
     • NYC public school parent says:

       March 21, 2022 at 10:38 pm

       bethree5,

       I never understand why anyone goes to the trouble to legitimize folks whose intention is to deceive folks from what is true, using any falsehoods that serve that purpose. Why even do that with Lawrence?

       Imagine if I started out by telling someone that “Sen. Josh Hawley made a good point during the confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson that I agree with about pedophiles being very bad. I wish he would have stopped right there, but he made some other statements that undermine his credibility”.

       I don’t even know why it is important to cite something inane that no one would argue with as a “truth” that a person who should have no credibility says as if their repeating an inane “truth” that no one would argue with is relevant. I would prefer the reporting on Josh Hawley just made it clear in the opening sentence that anyone who offers up lots of falsehoods is not credible, period. Who cares if he offered up an inane truth about pedophiles that no one disagrees with on his way to offering up many dishonest attacks?

       Josh Hawley isn’t credible. Neither is Lawrence. It doesn’t matter what obvious inane statement they happen to say that is true. Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Green and Jim Jordan say things that are true in their most reprehensibly misleading speeches. The fact they have some truths among their lies is not worth mentioning since the issue is not that a liar sometimes tells some truths — it is that a liar is a liar and should never be trusted.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 22, 2022 at 12:36 am

       It is not name calling to call someone who commits murder and murderer. It is not name calling to call someone who commits robbery a thief. The Lawrence article is idiotic for this reason. Putin is, precisely, exactly, without hyperbole or loaded language, a war criminal. He has committed in Ukraine innumerable War Crimes under international law, as I outlined above. And yes, he has committed these crimes. His word is law in Russia. If he decided tomorrow to call of the dogs, this would all end, as it started when he sicced them on his neighbor. He has also committed the criminal act of aggression and innumerable crimes against humanity in Ukraine. There is every reason for him to be arrested, should he ever set foot outside Russia again, and to be tried and convicted for these acts by the International Criminal Court. The court, btw, has observers on the ground in Ukraine right now documenting these. Should they survive shelling by Russia, the evidence will be ABUNDANTLY clear.

9. threebecca (@threebecca1) says:

   March 21, 2022 at 3:29 pm

   This “propaganda technique” guide is a joke. One can easily read the “Putinologists” (Anne Applebaum, Fiona Hill, etc.) in it (yet more propaganda).

   ALL countries are wielding propaganda. Question it all from ALL sides, especially that of your own country. Especially during war, wherein the first truth is casualty.

   Currently the “Putinologists,” of the fairly recent “field of study” that blames one person for everything, is erasing history and all other factually-based perspectives. Why is that? Aren’t all views to be in debate? Why blacklist and ban everything but the “Putinologists.” Red flags should be going up.

   Putinology rejects all diplomatic solutions in favor of more of the same behavior that led to this, war (mass arms sales, nukes) and mere demonization versus understanding. After all, like Saddam, Putin is “worse than Hitler” and, despite a declining economy, is trying to “take over the world.” Remember? There were. no. weapons. of. mass. destruction. But, funny, the leading “Putinologists” are Iraq War intelligence failures who sold us lies then and now.

   Why are so many other experts missing from the debate — especially the ones referencing history, NATO, and Putin’s very clear threats and actions regarding this for decades (i.e. Georgia 2008, Ukraine 2014, etc.), (who have been proven right again and again to no avail). That should scare the hell out of any thinking citizen.

   “Putinologists” are no better than those trying to ban CRT and the history of race in the United States — as they ban important histories of Eastern Europe, Ukraine, and Russia. What are they hiding? See M. Sarotte’s excellent 2021 NOT ONE INCH: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate. To exclude this history would be like trying to understand the US War in Iraq without being able to include and discuss 9/11.

   History will laugh at “Putinology” just as it laughs at the idiots currently trying to ban CRT and fact-based discussions of race throughout US history.

   As for the ridiculous IQ-lowering meme, just like every “Western” citizen, you are a prime target for propaganda coming from US, NATO, Ukraine, and the Kremlin all “demonizing” their opponents. The critical thinker sees through this.

   Yes, have doubts. (Remember, there were. no. weapons. of. mass. destruction. –fabricated lies to justify one of the last wars) This is blaming victims? I wasn’t aware NATO was the victim here? I thought Ukraine was the victim. How is understanding the history of the situation — beyond the false killer dichotomies of white hats and black hats — blaming victims? Blame NATO and the US, and the West who are NOT victims. As Sarotte documents (with receipts), their actions led to this warning after warning after warning.
   Indeed, the conflict IS complex. Question anyone who tells you otherwise. A fact-based study of history proves this. But facts and the study of histories are off the table with the “Putinologists.”

   “Some neo-Nazis are fighting alongside the Ukrainian army.” My IQ just dropped reading that “guilt by association” fallacy.

   Google search the range of dates 1/1/2013 – 2015 and you will see US mainstream media documenting the rise of Azov Battallion, the concerns Congress had about arming them, and the Pentagon’s protecting their status to receive training and arms. Note: ALL of this is being scrubbed and erased for some reason by the very MSM that heavily reported on it in 2014. Why? In 2019 the Azov movement totalled 19,000 (doubling its size in a year). It’s larger now.

   Imagine the US having a “special” regiment in our military comprised of of 25,000+ overt neo-Nazis, in their own uniforms with their own flags, waving swastikas, receiving arms and training? It wouldn’t happen, right? BTW why were “white nationalists” protected by the US Senate who removed them from a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) aimed explicitly at keeping white nationalists out of the U.S. military (which the military had deemed a growing problem).

   Whereas all the Ukraine, its government, and military are NOT NAZIS – as Russian propaganda exagerates, it is not true that there are just “some neo-Nazis fighting…” – as US/West/Ukraine propaganda claims. Both are not entirely “true.” The truth is more complicated — something that should concern citizens during a time when white nationalism and neo-Nazis are on the rise in the US and across Europe. Even Yelenskyy had problems “controlling” Azov Regiment in 2014, growing faster than ISIS. When calling for disarmament in 2014, he had to remind them he was president and “not a loser” (his own words).

   Competitive Victimhood. My god, who wrote this? LOL This isn’t about victimhood, it’s about integrity and authority. The US has no credibility judging and punishing Russia for war crimes it has casually committed around the world — with impunity. Similarly, the US has no credibility dismissing Russia’s claims of national security on the border with NATOs increasing advancement. We don’t even let anyone in the entire Western Hemisphere (the Monroe Doctrine 1826) and will go to war on the other side of the world in the name of our “national security.” We would never allow China, for example, to ally with Canada or Mexico and put military installations on the border aimed at Washington DC. Alas, “Putinology” has dumbed down common sense in masses who just can’t fathom this.

   Shame on Ravitch for exclusively pushing “Putinology” while silencing EVERY OTHER perspective so needed now. Why not share the other “experts”? That is what democracy includes, correct?

   Reply
   • Roy Turrentine says:

     March 21, 2022 at 3:40 pm

     And how are we to react to the invasion of a sovereign nation? How are we to interpret Syria?

     This is a long list of things that have bothered almost every person who posts here. But where is there a suggestion of what should be done about the violation of international law?

     Shame on you for offering no solution. No shame on Ravitch. She let you have your say

     Reply
     • threebecca (@threebecca1) says:

       March 21, 2022 at 4:52 pm

       (Mearsheimer, Kissinger, Chomsky, Hedges, etc. LOTS OF SOLUTIONS):

       JOHN MEARSHEIMER: What should be done? My view is we should create a neutral Ukraine which is a buffer state between NATO and Russia. Basically, what I’m talking about is going back to the status quo before we got this foolish idea in our head that we could peel Ukraine away from Russia and make it part of NATO, make it part of the EU, make it more generally part of the West. We should work to create a situation where Ukraine is neutral and it’s a buffer state….

       This is how I think about European security. This is what you want [Fig. 1 below]. You want NATO to include France, Germany, and Poland. You want Ukraine as a buffer state and then you want Russia on the eastern flank of that border state. And this is not what you want [Fig. 2]. You do not want a divided Ukraine where western Ukraine is in NATO, eastern Ukrain is in Russia. And the Russians and the Americans, who hate each other, at that point, are eyeball to eyeball on the Nepa river. Not a good idea.

       How do you get to this end? Very simply. Explicitly abandon NATO expansion. By the way, NATO expansion is dead. I’ve talked to countless policy makers who say this. It’s dead. But what we have to do is explicitly abandon it. Say it is not happening. We have to fashion an economic rescue plan for Ukrain that includes Russia, the IMF, and the EU. This, is what Putin wanted to do in 2013, and the EU said no foolishly.

       We want to go to great lengths to guarantee minority rights, especially language rights in Ukraine. This gets back to those maps that I was putting up that show that this is in very important ways of cividl war and what we have to do is dampen down the conflict inside Ukraine. We have to give the people in eastern Ukraine a lot of autonomy, and we definitely have to protect minority rights.

       Are we going to do any of this? No….

       (continues)

       from “The Causes and Consequences of the Ukraine Crisis” (2015)
       

     • dianeravitch says:

       March 21, 2022 at 6:05 pm

       NATO did not “expand” East. Former Soviet satellites like Hungary and Poland and Romania asked to be admitted because they wanted protection from Putin.

       If Ukraine remains neutral, Putin still is “encircled” by NATO. Is he also allowed to take control of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania? Poland? Hungary? Romania? Slovakia?

       Do the people in these nations have no right to decide who governs them?

       Putin’s brutal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine should not be rewarded.

       Why was he unwilling to allow Russia to become a normal nation, with normal relations with the rest of Europe and the world?

       Must we pander to his lust to restore the USSR?

     • threebecca (@threebecca1) says:

       March 21, 2022 at 4:59 pm

       “International law” – one might start by following it and holding oneself accountable:

       “Vladimir Putin and the Russian officials responsible for this invasion of Ukraine should face justice. Once the evidence has been gathered, every war crime should be investigated, indictments issued, and prosecutions undertaken. The obvious venue for this would be before the International Criminal Court. Yet here is an inconvenient fact: The U.S. has refused to ratify the Rome Statute, which established the ICC. In 2002, Bush signed legislation that authorizes the U.S. to literally conduct military operations in The Hague to liberate any American personnel brought to trial for war crimes. It is indefensible that the U.S. has established a precedent that powerful nations need not be held accountable for their crimes. It is a precedent that Russia knows well, exploits regularly, and will certainly use again and again.”

       –Jeremy Scahill.

       Here’s another solution:

       HENRY KISSINGER: The test of policy is how it ends, not how it begins. Far too often the Ukrainian issue is posed as a showdown: whether Ukraine joins the East or the West. But if Ukraine is to survive and thrive, it must not be either side’s outpost against the other — it should function as a bridge between them.

       The West must understand that, to Russia, Ukraine can never be just a foreign country. Russian history began in what was called Kievan-Rus. The Russian religion spread from there. Ukraine has been part of Russia for centuries, and their histories were intertwined before then. [This is the history Putin referenced in his February 21, 2022 statement] Some of the most important battles for Russian freedom, starting with the Battle of Poltava in 1709 , were fought on Ukrainian soil. The Black Sea Fleet — Russia’s means of projecting power in the Mediterranean — is based by long-term lease in Sevastopol, in Crimea. Even such famed dissidents as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Joseph Brodsky insisted that Ukraine was an integral part of Russian history and, indeed, of Russia.

       The European Union must recognize that its bureaucratic dilatoriness and subordination of the strategic element to domestic politics in negotiating Ukraine’s relationship to Europe contributed to turning a negotiation into a crisis. Foreign policy is the art of establishing priorities.

       The Ukrainians are the decisive element. They live in a country with a complex history and a polyglot composition. The Western part was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1939 , when Stalin and Hitler divided up the spoils. Crimea, 60 percent of whose population is Russian , became part of Ukraine only in 1954 , when Nikita Khrushchev, a Ukrainian by birth, awarded it as part of the 300th-year celebration of a Russian agreement with the Cossacks. The west is largely Catholic; the east largely Russian Orthodox. The west speaks Ukrainian; the east speaks mostly Russian. Any attempt by one wing of Ukraine to dominate the other — as has been the pattern — would lead eventually to civil war or break up. To treat Ukraine as part of an East-West confrontation would scuttle for decades any prospect to bring Russia and the West — especially Russia and Europe — into a cooperative international system.

       Ukraine has been independent for only 23 years; it had previously been under some kind of foreign rule since the 14th century. Not surprisingly, its leaders have not learned the art of compromise, even less of historical perspective. The politics of post-independence Ukraine clearly demonstrates that the root of the problem lies in efforts by Ukrainian politicians to impose their will on recalcitrant parts of the country, first by one faction, then by the other. That is the essence of the conflict between Viktor Yanu­kovych and his principal political rival, Yulia Tymo­shenko. They represent the two wings of Ukraine and have not been willing to share power. A wise U.S. policy toward Ukraine would seek a way for the two parts of the country to cooperate with each other. We should seek reconciliation, not the domination of a faction.

       Russia and the West, and least of all the various factions in Ukraine, have not acted on this principle. Each has made the situation worse. Russia would not be able to impose a military solution without isolating itself at a time when many of its borders are already precarious. For the West, the demonization of Vladimir Putin is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence of one.

       Putin should come to realize that, whatever his grievances, a policy of military impositions would produce another Cold War. For its part, the United States needs to avoid treating Russia as an aberrant to be patiently taught rules of conduct established by Washington. Putin is a serious strategist — on the premises of Russian history. Understanding U.S. values and psychology are not his strong suits. Nor has understanding Russian history and psychology been a strong point of U.S. policymakers.

       Leaders of all sides should return to examining outcomes, not compete in posturing. Here is my notion of an outcome compatible with the values and security interests of all sides:

       … Ukraine should not join NATO, a position I took seven years ago, when it last came up… [see complete list in full article]

       These are principles, not prescriptions. People familiar with the region will know that not all of them will be palatable to all parties. The test is not absolute satisfaction but balanced dissatisfaction. If some solution based on these or comparable elements is not achieved, the drift toward confrontation will accelerate. The time for that will come soon enough.

       from “To settle the Ukraine crisis, start at the end” (2014) https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/henry-kissinger-to-settle-the-ukraine-crisis-start-at-the-end/2014/03/05/46dad868-a496-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 7:41 pm

       Seriously, threebecca, you are going to quote Kissinger–the man who gave the world Pinochet and “peace with [dis]honor in Vietnam? And he’s wrong, wrong, wrong. The people of Ukraine have the right to decide on the future and associations of the people of Ukraine. Period.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 22, 2022 at 12:39 am

       NATO did not “expand” East. Former Soviet satellites like Hungary and Poland and Romania asked to be admitted because they wanted protection from Putin.

       Perfectly said, definitively argued, Diane!

   • Joe Jersey says:

     March 21, 2022 at 3:44 pm

     So what would be your solution to the slaughter and destruction going on in Ukraine as we “speak?” Or maybe you think Ukraine and it’s population should be punished for some arcane reason?

     Reply
     • threebecca (@threebecca1) says:

       March 21, 2022 at 4:55 pm

       Here’s another RATIONAL solution: HENRY KISSINGER: The test of policy is how it ends, not how it begins. Far too often the Ukrainian issue is posed as a showdown: whether Ukraine joins the East or the West. But if Ukraine is to survive and thrive, it must not be either side’s outpost against the other — it should function as a bridge between them.

       The West must understand that, to Russia, Ukraine can never be just a foreign country. Russian history began in what was called Kievan-Rus. The Russian religion spread from there. Ukraine has been part of Russia for centuries, and their histories were intertwined before then. [This is the history Putin referenced in his February 21, 2022 statement] Some of the most important battles for Russian freedom, starting with the Battle of Poltava in 1709 , were fought on Ukrainian soil. The Black Sea Fleet — Russia’s means of projecting power in the Mediterranean — is based by long-term lease in Sevastopol, in Crimea. Even such famed dissidents as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Joseph Brodsky insisted that Ukraine was an integral part of Russian history and, indeed, of Russia.

       The European Union must recognize that its bureaucratic dilatoriness and subordination of the strategic element to domestic politics in negotiating Ukraine’s relationship to Europe contributed to turning a negotiation into a crisis. Foreign policy is the art of establishing priorities.

       The Ukrainians are the decisive element. They live in a country with a complex history and a polyglot composition. The Western part was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1939 , when Stalin and Hitler divided up the spoils. Crimea, 60 percent of whose population is Russian , became part of Ukraine only in 1954 , when Nikita Khrushchev, a Ukrainian by birth, awarded it as part of the 300th-year celebration of a Russian agreement with the Cossacks. The west is largely Catholic; the east largely Russian Orthodox. The west speaks Ukrainian; the east speaks mostly Russian. Any attempt by one wing of Ukraine to dominate the other — as has been the pattern — would lead eventually to civil war or break up. To treat Ukraine as part of an East-West confrontation would scuttle for decades any prospect to bring Russia and the West — especially Russia and Europe — into a cooperative international system.

       Ukraine has been independent for only 23 years; it had previously been under some kind of foreign rule since the 14th century. Not surprisingly, its leaders have not learned the art of compromise, even less of historical perspective. The politics of post-independence Ukraine clearly demonstrates that the root of the problem lies in efforts by Ukrainian politicians to impose their will on recalcitrant parts of the country, first by one faction, then by the other. That is the essence of the conflict between Viktor Yanu­kovych and his principal political rival, Yulia Tymo­shenko. They represent the two wings of Ukraine and have not been willing to share power. A wise U.S. policy toward Ukraine would seek a way for the two parts of the country to cooperate with each other. We should seek reconciliation, not the domination of a faction.

       Russia and the West, and least of all the various factions in Ukraine, have not acted on this principle. Each has made the situation worse. Russia would not be able to impose a military solution without isolating itself at a time when many of its borders are already precarious. For the West, the demonization of Vladimir Putin is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence of one.

       Putin should come to realize that, whatever his grievances, a policy of military impositions would produce another Cold War. For its part, the United States needs to avoid treating Russia as an aberrant to be patiently taught rules of conduct established by Washington. Putin is a serious strategist — on the premises of Russian history. Understanding U.S. values and psychology are not his strong suits. Nor has understanding Russian history and psychology been a strong point of U.S. policymakers.

       Leaders of all sides should return to examining outcomes, not compete in posturing. Here is my notion of an outcome compatible with the values and security interests of all sides:

       … Ukraine should not join NATO, a position I took seven years ago, when it last came up… [see complete list in full article]

       These are principles, not prescriptions. People familiar with the region will know that not all of them will be palatable to all parties. The test is not absolute satisfaction but balanced dissatisfaction. If some solution based on these or comparable elements is not achieved, the drift toward confrontation will accelerate. The time for that will come soon enough.

       from “To settle the Ukraine crisis, start at the end” (2014) https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/henry-kissinger-to-settle-the-ukraine-crisis-start-at-the-end/2014/03/05/46dad868-a496-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html

   • dianeravitch says:

     March 21, 2022 at 6:10 pm

     So people with deep knowledge who disagree with Putin’s unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine are “Putinologists.”

     If you don’t like the views expressed on the blog, tough.

     Reply
     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 7:55 pm

       I was particularly taken, Diane, with how wisely and completely you obliterated the “Putin had to do this because he can’t have Ukraine in NATO” argument. Of course. If he annexes Ukraine against its will, Tsar Vlad’s new, family-sized Russia will be surrounded by NATO countries. So, his same illogic would apply. Is he going to invade all of them? Insane. It’s an insane argument.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 21, 2022 at 8:03 pm

       So who’s next? Will he obliterate the homes and kill the children of Moldova? Poland? Romania? Slovakia? Hungary? By his same argument, he would “have” to.

   • bethree5 says:

     March 21, 2022 at 8:44 pm

     Threebecca– I think what you may be saying is that you are hearing the same sorts of pro-war boosterism that dominated MSM prior to the invasion of Iraq, while more thoughtful analyses were buried in later pages or marginalized altogether. NYT was criticized for this. Once it was shown there were no WMD in Iraq, the Times agreed—admitted its pre-invasion coverage was not up to its usual rigorous standards, and apologized.

     I’m not sure I’m actually finding “Putinologists” dominating the current MSM coverage, but I agree with the general thesis that you can’t forge policy with a sole focus on who you think the leader is, and what that analysis predicts he might or might not do. It’s an important piece of the puzzle, but demands full historical & international political context to even explain how he became/ maintains leadership, let alone why he has such huge backing among his people. Without such context, stupid decisions can be made. It is like putting a black hat on Trump, considering him a fluke rather than examining what forces led to that presidency, and basing Dem campaign policy on that narrow premise.

     I find it curious you place Fiona Hill among key Putinologists. Certainly does not fit the description of “rejects all diplomatic solutions in favor of more of the same behavior that led to this, war (mass arms sales, nukes) and mere demonization versus understanding.” This article gives more in-depth examination of her background, positions, and influence within the Trump admin: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/09/30/fiona-hill-russia-trump-adviser-228758/

     Reply
     • dianeravitch says:

       March 21, 2022 at 11:22 pm

       Biden has been very clear that we will not send troops to Ukraine, nor support a transfer of jets so they can defend themselves from Russia’s brutal air atttacks. Biden didn’t start this war. He’s not seeking regime change. Biden did not cause Putin to invade Ukraine. Putin invaded because he thought he could get away with it, as he did in Crimea, Georgia and the Donbas region. Russia invaded a sovereign nation. Russia is flattening Ukraine. Russia is targeting civilians. This is not my opinion. These are facts. If telling “the other side” means lying, I can’t do it.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 22, 2022 at 12:42 am

       “you are hearing the same sorts of pro-war boosterism that dominated MSM prior to the invasion of Iraq”

       No one here is doing “war boosterism” except the Putin apologists. Exactly the opposite. People are calling for an end to this criminal aggression, an end to the war, and for those responsible for it to be brought to justice.

       And I don’t know how much more thoughtful the analysis can be than that which Diane Ravitch and the sources she has cited have brought to bear on this.

     • Bob Shepherd says:

       March 22, 2022 at 12:43 am

       It is like putting a black hat on Trump, considering him a fluke rather than examining what forces led to that presidency

       I agree. It is extremely important to understand what made the abominations of Trump and January 6 possible.

     • bethree5 says:

       March 22, 2022 at 11:37 am

       Agree, Bob, I hear no pro-war-boosterism here. I was responding to threebecca’s ‘kick-off’ up top [3/21 3:29pm], which I gathered was a criticism of MSM coverage of the “debate.” I am doing that shrink thing “I think I hear you saying,” and trying to counter it.

       Her criticism of this blog, OTOH, is absurd on the face of it. Diane posts a viewpoint she supports, and we discuss it. Is Diane supposed to post 360degs of POV? Is Diane posting “Putinology” and “stifling” every other POV? Is anyone here maintaining that the historical and political context of Ukraine’s relationship with Russia is irrelevant? Look at all the room threebecca has gotten here to post her fave viewpoints and writers! Threebecca is doing that thing nycpsp often does: if you think that, then you are the kind of person who also thinks x,y,z, shame on you! The big difference with nycpsp: it’s just her way of spurring a debate; she welcomes further input and often modifies or clarifies her position. I’m not seeing that from threebecca.

10. threebecca (@threebecca1) says:

    March 21, 2022 at 6:11 pm

    It’s post-9/11 shadow-ridden redux. America seems to have learned nothing.

    Those who forget good and evil and seek only to know the facts are more likely to achieve good than those who view the world through the distorting medium of their own desires.

    –Bertrand Russell

    Reply
    • Bob Shepherd says:

      March 21, 2022 at 7:02 pm

      So, if someone is a serial murderer, threebecca, should we “forget good and evil”?

      I don’t know why the Putin apologists who show up here keep assuming that those of us who are horrified by the incursion into Ukraine are not also horrified by Vietnam, by the Second Iraq War, by our failure to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and so on. We are horrified by all such things and for the same reasons.

      The “fact” of a baby blown to bits by Russian artillery is pretty compelling. Like the fact of Iraqi children born with birth defects because of our use in that war of artillery coated with depleted uranium that aerosolized upon impact and has a half-life of 1.5 billion years. Radiologic weapons. A war crime.

      Reply
      • speduktr says:

        March 21, 2022 at 11:30 pm

        “…that war of artillery coated with depleted uranium that aerosolized upon impact and has a half-life of 1.5 billion years. Radiologic weapons. A war crime.” I missed that one. where is it documented?

      • speduktr says:

        March 21, 2022 at 11:33 pm

        Never mind. I researched it myself. Disgusting.

    • Bob Shepherd says:

      March 21, 2022 at 7:17 pm

      A much more desirable way of securing world peace would be by a voluntary agreement among nations to pool their armed forces and submit to an agreed International Authority. –Bertrand Russell

      This is why the United Nations General Assembly should invoke UN Resolution 377 A, “Uniting for Peace,” which empowers it to override the Security Council when the SC fails to act to secure the peace and send an overwhelming international peacekeeping force to Ukraine to stop the murderous attack on that country by Russia, which is in egregious violation of international law.

      Reply
11. threebecca (@threebecca1) says:

    March 21, 2022 at 6:23 pm

    ((From 2021) I want to know the background of these new “experts” on the scene controlling the narrative and pushing us into WWIII. (All of whom pushed the war in Iraq — i.e. ‘intelligence’ failures. Especially since everyone else is being silenced and not included in the discussions over what to do (and how we got here). Mearsheimer, Chomsky, Kissinger, Nader, etc are all on the same page –and have been proven right over and over. That’s a diverse range of thinkers all in agreement. All being dismissed and called Putin “puppets” and apologists. SMH.

    Neoliberal, center-right, Iraq war proponent and leading pusher of “Putinology,” Anne Applebaum ‘may not be the best judge of which intellectuals carry latent fascist tendencies today, let alone a trustworthy critic when it comes to understanding the ties between her center-right politics and those of the far right’

    ⚫ “[S]he mounts a defense of Atlanticism—or at least the version of it championed by her husband at the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute, which sought to build ties between the United States and Europe by embroiling both in endless wars in the Middle East….

    “All of this is to say that if Applebaum was blindsided by the turn that some of her friends have made to the far right over the past decade, she may not be the best judge of which intellectuals carry latent fascist tendencies today, let alone a trustworthy critic when it comes to understanding the ties between her center-right politics and those of the far right.”

    ⚫ “Applebaum’s blind faith in the center-right strains of neoliberalism and meritocratic mobility also conveniently absolves her and her remaining friends of any responsibility for the present crisis… It never seems to cross Applebaum’s mind that having had so many erstwhile friends who ended up on the far right might say something unflattering about her own judgment—and more generally about the center-right political tradition to which she belongs….

    “[S]he is dismissive and simplistic toward political figures of the past who are still identified with radicalism today. At one point, she goes on a diatribe against Emma Goldman for her anarchist criticisms of American patriotism a century ago, a tradition that Applebaum then traces through to the Weather Underground, Howard Zinn, and parts of the contemporary left.

    Applebaum uses these more abstractly political digressions to reaffirm her long-established center-right priors, relying on Cold War–era talking points in an attempt to locate salvageable elements of conservatism amid the current wreckage.

    ….As the author of multiple books about the horrors of 20th-century communism and as a defender of the conservative intellectual tradition, she has a stake in holding the left to account while diagnosing the right’s slide into illiberalism: It means she doesn’t have to hold the center, and her center-right flank of it, accountable.

    ….Applebaum is convinced there is a growing “authoritarian left,” which includes many factions that in reality are often fiercely at odds with one another. It’s a left that encompasses Chavismo in Venezuela, Jeremy Corbyn in Britain, the “openly radical, far-left” Podemos party in Spain, “a generation of far-left campus agitators who seek to dictate how professors can teach and what students can say,” and “the instigators of Twitter mobs who seek to take down public figures as well as ordinary people for violating unwritten speech codes.” (Disclosure: Applebaum has blocked me on Twitter.)

    “Applebaum’s distaste for the left isn’t just a matter of petty campus and Internet feuds. By drawing parallels between the left and the far right, she is attempting to absolve the center of any blame for its role in the current crisis, even though it has held a virtual monopoly on political power in the post–Cold War period. Applebaum is eager to psychoanalyze anyone she regards as politically extreme in either direction, but she is far less willing to interrogate her own unconscious assumptions or those of her remaining friends in the center—let alone the material results of their preferred policies….

    “To the common charge that the neoliberal economic order hollowed out the Western working and middle classes via deindustrialization, paving the way for Brexit and Trump, Applebaum writes, ‘In the Western world, the vast majority of people are not starving. They have food and shelter. They are literate. If we describe them as “poor” or “deprived,” it is sometimes because they lack things that human beings couldn’t dream of a century ago, like air-conditioning or Wi-Fi.’

    “This line of argument would have been risible even before Covid-19, but Twilight of Democracy went to print recently enough that Applebaum was able to include her account of the frantic international border closings last March—which is to say, recently enough that she could have registered that food and shelter may be out of reach for tens of millions of Americans right now and that austerity and neoliberalism bear as much responsibility for this calamity as Trump. Even to the extent that she is right about minimal material needs being met, it’s frankly astonishing that she doesn’t understand how ordinary people—as opposed to her well-connected friends—could be experiencing a crisis of meaning and dignity in a political order that expects them to be satisfied with cheap consumer goods and privatized essential services.

    “Then there’s the matter of foreign policy, something Applebaum cares about a lot more. If she rejects the argument that globalization and inequality led to the far-right revival, she doesn’t even glancingly acknowledge the argument that the post-9/11 wars and crackdowns on civil liberties might also have played a role. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, which Applebaum supported, is discussed at any length just once, when she mounts a defense of Atlanticism—or at least the version of it championed by her husband at the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute, which sought to build ties between the United States and Europe by embroiling both in endless wars in the Middle East. ‘There was a genuine coalition of the willing that wanted to fight Saddam Hussein, including [José María] Aznar in Spain, British prime minister Tony Blair, Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Polish president Alexander Kwasniewski, and a clutch of others,’ she writes approvingly, before noting briskly that the war has haunted politicians like Blair ever since.

    “For Applebaum, the main significance of Iraq seems to be that it drew the US and Polish governments closer together. Whatever impact it had on Iraqis themselves, on traumatized veterans returning home, and on an entire generation’s willingness to trust the very Atlanticist project to which she remains committed escapes her notice. So does the propagandistic disinformation campaign that the Bush and Blair governments deployed to whip up support for the war—essentially a conspiracy theory, and one significantly advanced by Applebaum’s current social circle.

    “I bring up Iraq in part because if Applebaum is going to write a book about the sins of her former friends, it’s also worth noting the sins of the friends she still has.”
    https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/anne-applebaum-twilight-democracy/

    Reply
    • dianeravitch says:

      March 21, 2022 at 6:27 pm

      I haven’t posted anything by Anne Applebaum. Are you crazy?

      Reply
      • threebecca (@threebecca1) says:

        March 21, 2022 at 6:40 pm

        Anne Applebaum, Michael McFaul, Fiona Hill are the leading Putinologists. Don’t you know this?

      • dianeravitch says:

        March 21, 2022 at 6:45 pm

        So you know more than former Ambassador to Russia McFaul, more than Fiona Hill (National Security Council), more than scholar Anne Applebaum, none of whom has ever appeared on this blog. This is my blog, and my blog is my space, where reasonable people agree and disagree. You are hysterical. Not funny. You need help. I can’t help you.

      • NYC public school parent says:

        March 21, 2022 at 7:48 pm

        Anyone who won’t say one bad word against Putin but says many bad words against Fiona Hill is a troll. Period. Or a sociopath who likes seeing Ukraine families dying.

      • bethree5 says:

        March 21, 2022 at 8:56 pm

        Well Diane, you did publish Politico’s interview with Fiona Hill on 3/9/22. I found it very cogent, and think that threebecca’s pigeonholing her, or anyone, as a “Putinologist” in order to damn them all as misled neoliberals is incredibly reductive. I posted above a link to a thorough Politico piece on her background, positions, influence on the Trump admin: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/09/30/fiona-hill-russia-trump-adviser-228758/

      • dianeravitch says:

        March 21, 2022 at 11:16 pm

        You are right. I thought it was an excellent and informative interview. My error. I apologize for the error but not for posting the interview. Ms. Hill is very well informed.

12. threebecca (@threebecca1) says:

    March 21, 2022 at 6:26 pm

    M.A.D. Reminders (Mutually Assured Destruction)

    Science and Global Security, Princeton
    PLAN A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jy3JU-ORpo

    “SGS developed a new simulation for a plausible escalating war between the United States and Russia using realistic nuclear force postures, targets and fatality estimates. It is estimated that there would be more than 90 million people dead and injured within the first few hours of the conflict.

    “This project is motivated by the need to highlight the potentially catastrophic consequences of current US and Russian nuclear war plans. The risk of nuclear war has increased dramatically in the past two years as the United States and Russia have abandoned long-standing nuclear arms control treaties, started to develop new kinds of nuclear weapons and expanded the circumstances in which they might use nuclear weapons.”

    from
    https://sgs.princeton.edu/the-lab/plan-a

    Reply
    • dianeravitch says:

      March 21, 2022 at 6:31 pm

      Rebecca, this is a blog. It is not a major TV network or cable station. My views are formed by my experience and reading. The fact is that the megalomaniac Putin invaded Ukraine without provocation. He is now sacrificing thousands of Ukrainians and Russians to salve his ego and lust for power. If you think we should give Crazy Vlad whatever he wants, I disagree. You don’t have to like the blog. You could go elsewhere.

      Reply
      • Bob Shepherd says:

        March 21, 2022 at 7:36 pm

        It astonishes me, Diane, that there is any argument about this. The invasion of Ukraine and murder of civilians there are crimes under international law. 141 nations of the United Nations agree. This is obvious. And thank you for saying, for continuing to say, the clear, obvious truth of this. Putin is killing babies in Ukraine. Right now. And it’s not freaking OK.

      • Bob Shepherd says:

        March 21, 2022 at 8:52 pm

        I just cannot get over the fact that there are actually Americans who are defending Putin’s campaign of terror against the people of Ukraine. It’s unconscionable. And shameful. And sickening.

    • Bob Shepherd says:

      March 22, 2022 at 1:01 am

      The UN must move to add hypersonic missiles to the list of weapons systems made illegal by international law, a list that includes chemical and biological weapons and the cluster bombs that Russia has already used in Ukraine and the thermobaric bombs that it has fielded in Ukraine. Hypersonic missiles undermine the principle of mutually assured destruction upon which the current fragile nuclear peace depends. But it must go further and insist upon an international Open Skies treaty to verify that countries are not violating international law in their weapons development and UN inspections of weapons facilities for the same reasons. The madness has to stop, or it will eventually stop in the worst conceivable manner.

      Reply
      • Bob Shepherd says:

        March 22, 2022 at 1:23 am

        The boss of the Russian Mafia state, war criminal Vladimir Putin, is very proud of his hypersonic missiles (ones that travel at five times the speed of sound and hug the ground and so are undetectable by the missile defense systems that the world depends upon to secure the peace. And like the criminal he is, he threatens the world with these devices, which are game changers, certainly, like the stirrups of the Mongol Horde, the English longbows at the Battle of Crécy, the Blitzkrieg of tanks supported by infantry at the beginning of World War II in Europe–what people who study warfare call a technological RMA, or Revolution in Military Affairs. These hypersonic systems destabilize the world. They are extremely dangerous. They should be banned.

13. NYC public school parent says:

    March 21, 2022 at 7:46 pm

    I remind everyone that despite posting quite a few times here, our resident Putin-defender has said nothing at all critical of Putin. Not one word.

    I remind everyone that just this week our resident Putin-defender made harsh and angry attacks on the Squad and accused Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of secretly being in bed with right wing Republicans.

    She does her research, all right. The problem is that her “sources” either have her brainwashed or she was, is, and always will be a Putin troll.

    Reply
14. kathyirwin1 says:

    March 21, 2022 at 7:55 pm

    The mendacity and the fascism of the Russian assault upon the European Union and the United States, of which the Trump campaign was a part, was a natural story for the Left. However, few on the Left took it seriously in 2016. Perhaps this was because writers they trusted were not analysts of, but rather participants in the Russian campaign to undermine factuality. Ukraine was the warning that went unheeded.

    When a presidential candidate from a fictional world appeared in the United States, Ukrainians and Russians noted the familiar patterns, but few on the American Right or the American Left listened. When Moscow brought to bear in the United States the same techniques used in Ukraine, few on the American Right or the American Left noticed. And so the United States was defeated, Trump was elected, the Republican Party was blinded, and the Democratic Party was shocked. Russians supplied the political fiction, but Americans were asking for it.

    The Nation, Consortium News, TP Memo and many others had a hand in bringing us to where are today.

    Russia is Winning the Information War/ Timothy Snyder

    https://lithub.com/russia-is-winning-the-information-war/

    Reply
    • Bob Shepherd says:

      March 21, 2022 at 8:11 pm

      Perhaps this was because writers they trusted were not analysts of, but rather participants in the Russian campaign to undermine factuality.

      Yup

      But no, Russia is not winning the information war. Putin has outed himself clearly enough for any but the completely ideologically blinded to see. He made a colossal mistake. He and his country and the innocent people of Ukraine will all pay a heavy, heavy price. He will not win his dirty war.

      Reply
    • Bob Shepherd says:

      March 22, 2022 at 12:51 am

      And thanks for this article, Ms. Irwin! It’s magnificent. Extraordinarily well informed and well written.

      Reply
15. Bob Shepherd says:

    March 22, 2022 at 2:41 am

    So, yesterday Russia bombed an art school in Mariupol where women and children were sheltering. According to the mayor of Mariupol, “hundreds might be dead.”

    Reply
    • Bob Shepherd says:

      March 22, 2022 at 3:17 am

      And Russia is obliterating the city. Recent reports are saying that up to 90 percent of the housing in Mariupol has been destroyed. This is war on civilian targets. It’s a war crime, and Putin is precisely, exactly, what President Biden said he is, a war criminal. And yes, HE is responsible. He alone ordered this. He could stop it.

      Reply
    • Bob Shepherd says:

      March 22, 2022 at 9:54 am

      Here, Masha Gessen, theirself an immigrant to America, discusses the crisis of dissident refugees from Russia.

      Reply
16. Linda says:

    March 22, 2022 at 8:05 am

    Russia is ranked 11th economically among nations. Oil is 60% of its exports.
    To prevent madmen from Russia like Putin, there must be less demand for oil. Nations like the US should fully embrace and advance energy substitutes.

    The fossilized Republican party is the enemy of liberty, world wide.
    Charles Koch shows us the sham of his “liberty” propaganda by continuing operations in Russia.

    Reply
    • Bob Shepherd says:

      March 22, 2022 at 9:55 am

      Koch is a Libertarian. His feelings of loyalty extend to himself.

      Reply
      • Linda says:

        March 22, 2022 at 1:10 pm

        Agreed

17. All Lives Matter says:

    March 22, 2022 at 12:45 pm

    You realize Israel does all of those, right? While I’m glad a light is shining on Ukraine and their anguish, I wish such a light was shining on all “conflicts”: Palestine, Yemen, Rohingya, Uighers, etc.

    Ukrainian refugees are certainly treated differently. They’re welcomed with open arms. Africans and Middle Easterners not so much. Unaccompanied Ukrainian children are brave heroes. Unaccompanied Central American children are illegal sponges.

    How about the propaganda that exalts Ukrainians and ignores others, condemning them to continue living in their hell?

    Imagine if we had this same intense media coverage on everything. Imagine if we had this same media coverage attacking all warmongers.

    The thing is, I can’t imagine it.

    Reply
    • Bob Shepherd says:

      March 22, 2022 at 4:14 pm

      Ukrainian refugees applying at our borders are treated like anyone else, currently. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said a couple days that they were “looking into” possible methods of “fast tracking” those applications, given the current crisis.

      Reply
    • Bob Shepherd says:

      March 22, 2022 at 4:17 pm

      But I agree that the racism that one hears from one political party regarding asylum seekers from Central America, in particular, is disgusting and that our laws need dramatic reform (which cannot happen as long as the Republican troglodytes control the Senate).

      Reply