By Patrick Dele Cole

In trying to solve the Ukraine problem, some including Ukrainians have suggested that the West give fighter planes to Ukraine, give more sophisticated weapons- long range missiles, more sophisticated killer drones etc. The Ukrainians have long advocated for cut off on Russian gas and oil exports to Europe.

What are the likely results of these measures? Will they weaken Russia or merely inflame them to greater and more desperate war? Is the West ready to go to World War with Russia over Ukraine? Stiff opposition to Russia- will they be able to face an escalated fight? Will fighting for freedom and democracy- principles the West had espoused by the U.S in South Vietnam vs. North Vietnam; In favour of the Kurds in Iraq and Turkey. In Afghanistan the implanting of democracy against the Taliban was a principal objective.

Earlier reports in Vietnam suggests that the belief in freedom and democracy will overcome N. Vietnam, they did same postulates in Afghanistan instituted democratic government, open schools, universities, education of women, etc. The United States trained a fully equipped army, navy and air force, with massive support supplies for these military institutions. Yet the fall of the U.S. in Afghanistan was the most ignominious.

Ukraine should buy U.S. planes, tanks and other war materials from Afghanistan. The lesson of Afghanistan was the ease of the fall of the government and the belief that Americans were foreigners and would get out of the kitchen when it gets too hot. (Compare U.S. support in Libya and the murder of Gadhafi. Results- instability.

Egypt, Chile left wing governments- overthrown by U.S.) In a short space of under 10 years, Ukraine has moved from the most corrupt country in the world to the bastion of western democracy.

Let’s suppose Ukraine lay its hands on Russian built- 20 fighter aircraft from Poland, planes which Poland acquired or given to Poland during the Soviet era when Poland and most of Eastern Europe was in Warsaw Part. One irony of Russian Planes being used to fight Russia!!

Consider the proposition that Afghanistan was to sell, give, and equip- any word of fill super fighter jets to Venezuela and Cuba, would the U.S. stand for that?

Can Ukraine just go over to Poland and steal these Russian built jets in order to fight for its freedom? Ukraine is asking for defensive weapons? How elastic is the word defend? If Ukraine had their jets equipped with air to ground missile and they had the opportunity of flying over Russia and destroying Russia aircrafts and other infrastructure in the name of defense?

When the U.S. decided to defend democracy in Vietnam against the autocracy of the Vietcong in the North, they made similar noises as they are now making In Ukraine. They portrayed the Vietcong as haters of freedom, using brutal force to subdue a people yearning for freedom. Their initial coverage was about the coverage of the South Vietnamese and the corresponding meanness and brutality of the Vietcong. This was the narrative of US service men started to be brought back in even more and more bags. The US need more soldiers and embarked on a natural service for US citizens of about it. People like Mohammed Ali refused to be conscripted on the grounds that the Vietnamese were not his enemies; no Vietnamese had put black people in chains. As the war went from bad to worse, so the propaganda of the Vietnam press went from one absurdity to another.

Secret files of how the war was actually going were hidden. A few brave souls leaked details of how badly the war was going for the US; major protest movements in the universities and among the young gathered steam causing the birth of the peace movement. As the reality of the war dawned the presidency of Johnson became impossible. He left in utter disgrace. The eventual humiliating departure of the US from Vietnam was comparable to the same shameless flight from Afghanistan.

The coverage on Ukraine and Russia is reminiscent of the same attitude/coverage of Vietnam and the Afghanistan wars. In the case of 9/11 the US deliberately misled the world in accusing Saddam Hussein of having weapons of mass Destruction- the same accusation levelled against Assad of Syria and Gadhafi of Libya.

In Afghanistan the government of Kaisi was the democratic government. The people love democracy, all you had to do was to show them how it was to be denied and the hated Taliban will dissolve before the superior ideology of freedom and democracy.

They repeated this: their war chant in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria etc. today none of these countries is a democracy. I have already referred to Egypt and Chile where the people followed the democratic rule. The result did not please the West and those regimes fell to War crimes investigations.

Does the US accept the jurisdiction of the international criminal court? Abu Gheri water boarding and other atrocities against Arabs clearly show that the U.S. regards itself and its soldiers incapable of war crimes.

How does US explain Guantanamo Bay which still holds prisoners from the Syria? The US does not accept the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court why should Russia?

More advanced arms to Ukraine to shoot Russians; and oil embargo against Russia are likely to escalate the war. Is it possible for Russia to lose this war and remain a world power? If not, would Russia not be encouraged to use nuclear weapons only to reaffirm its dwindling position as a world power? Those who have seen the present predicament of Russia as a golden opportunity to further weaken Russia and remove it from the exclusive power club in the world. Russia response may well herald a Third World War. The West may want to humiliate Russia which might strike out to hold its position in the world. The alternative cannot be acceptable or palatable to the principal participants. Concluded Dr. Cole (OFR) is a former Nigerian Ambassador to Brazil.