My email inbox contained a very interesting -- and in some ways, very disturbing -- article this morning. It contained a copy of an article by Justin Raimondo, entitled, "The Yuschenko Mythos"; it carries a November 29, 2004, dateline. As a result, I did a bit more exploring for news on this topic; and I recommend the following articles to you, if you're interested in knowing more about the subject:
- Kiev is Not Ukraine by C. J. Chivers of the New York Times.
- The West Closes Its Eyes to the Truth in Ukraine by John Laughland.
- Ukraine's Post-Modern Coup d'Etat by Jonathan Steele of the Guardian Unlimited.
- Putin Should Keep His Nose Out of Ukraine. So Should We. by Peter Unwin of the Independent.
- Could the Orange Revolution be Just a Mirage in the Snow?.
It is Raimondo's article that is the most troubling of the set. Granted, it is a column hosted at antiwar.com, so it is not exactly an unbiased source. His article is worth reading, I think, if only for the reason that we will be challenged to ponder what is going on; and to ask about the role our government is playing in the region; and why we are doing what Raimondo suggests we are doing.
OK, let me put a few slices of it on the table for you here; and maybe then you'll want to read the entire article. Raimondo's point includes the idea that we are being sold an image of one candidate as being the torchbearer for the western ideas of liberty, freedom, and capitalism; while his opponent, who has been declared the winner in the now-disputed, and much protested, election, is characterized as the candidate of the forces that would prefer a return to the style and practice of the Soviet Union, and its Communist rulers. Behind the smokescreen, Raimondo points to two less obvious aspects of the support by the U.S. for Candidate Yushchenko: The oil pipelines that cross the Ukraine from Russia, to bring Russian oil to the West; and a continuation of the Cold War policy of atempting to contain Russia, circling her with a "belt" of states tied to the West. The "up front" portrayal of the Ukrainian election as a battle between the forces of freedom and oppression is menat to divert our attention to extend capitalism, and the hegemony of the West, to the borders of Russia -- even to areas once part of Russia herself, and still very much tied to the success of both the Russian economy and the defense of the Russian state.
There's no reason -- yet -- to panic about the stance of our government. However, given our recent track record in Bosnia, Serbia, and Kosovo, I am not optimistic about what our attempt to dictate who should rule in sitautions such as the Ukraine means for the long-term peace and stability of the world. (If I could, I'd have this site set up to play a copy of Steppenwolf's "Monster" while you read this article...)
UPDATE:
I also found an interesting blog on this topic. See "Ukraine in the Membrane"; which I found by way of a link at the Politburo Diktat blogsite.
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