Russia's action jeopardize the world peace

By WAHAB RAOFI 

In the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union was bleeding from wounds sustained as a result of invading Afghanistan and could no longer maintain a large army to repress its people at home and assert its influence internationally.

Former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev had no choice but to let East Europe go. This policy was jokingly referred to as the “I did it my way” doctrine, after Frank Sinatra’s classic song. Russia’s decision was more from the head than from the heart.

Three decades later, however, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the style of the feudal policy of expansionism of the Soviet era, is determined to reverse the decision to free the former Soviet states. He demands that they to do it his way. Since becoming president of Russia, Putin has been poking the U.S. in the eye with a mix of thorny Cold War mentality – tactics which have included supporting Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and granting asylum to National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden – and now ignoring international law by sending troops to its small neighbors even though Russia signed a treaty that it would honor the Ukrainian borders in return for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons. However, the Russian violation of international law will entail dire consequences and jeopardize world peace.

First, Russia’s flaunting of existing bilateral agreements with its neighbors and other nations, and its ignoring of international law, will certainly encourage other states like Iran, North Korea and Syria to do the same.

Second, a minority of Tatar Muslims live in Crimea and they are caught in the middle of the conflict. Suppression of Muslims in Russian territory will not only dampen world sympathy for Russia fighting Chechen Islamist separatists, but it will also embolden Muslim extremists to garner support for their cause and spread their “jihad” inside Europe.

To calm public fears and hide Russia’s colonialist ambitions, in commentary on CNN’s website, Alexander Nekrassov, a former adviser to the Russian president, writes that Russia went into Ukraine to prevent a Ukrainian civil war. However, Russia has failed to remember lessons learned from Afghanistan.

After ten years of Russian occupation, Afghanistan still suffers from the post-Russia syndrome – civil war and the rise of the Taliban. The Muslim extremists not only defeated the Russians, they emerged stronger than ever, posing a major threat to global security.

Third, while the United States and Europe have been cutting their defense budgets, the Ukraine issue will likely put a halt to any further cuts. In the U.S. and Europe, the nostalgic Cold War worriers may call for more military spending, putting more strain on the world economy that is calling for governments to cut spending. Small countries bordering Russia may need to build stronger militaries to avoid becoming the next Ukraine.

The Western response so far has been mixed. The British have ruled out the possibility of military intervention. However, defending freedom is not only an America job. It is incumbent on all European countries to rally behind the U.S. and to safeguard international law.

The Russian bear has taken a piece of Ukraine in its jaws while the whole world watches. As the Ukrainian interim Prime Minister Arsenly Yatsenyuk puts it, this is not just a Ukrainian issue, it is a European issue.

The U.S. warning of a “red line” in Syria did not stop Russia from backing Assad and it will not stop Russia from invading the sovereign state of Ukraine, especially when the West is reluctant to stand up to Putin.

President Barack Obama is trying to build a prosperous middle class at home, but this should not be an excuse for the U.S. government to avoid taking a firm stand.

Watching Russia swallow Ukraine will not only hurt America’s credibility, it will embolden other countries to flaunt international law. History will blame not only Putin, but also the leaders of the free world for letting it happen.

Wahab Raofi works as linguist and culture adviser for NATO in Afghanistan. The opinions expressed in this piece are his alone and do not necessarily represent those of NATO