The courageous people of Ukraine and their impressive war-time, freedom-fighter President, have aroused a personal admiration and sense of connection, that is new.
I’ve served as a civilian advisor or team leader in five of the wars in which the US has been involved. Then, I was a small cog in a major US effort to help rebuild the lives of the civilian victims caught in the war zones. Possibly as EMT, or emergency room staff or police or fire fighters react, I felt deep concern and a powerful urgency to do my job and make things better. But, that was all.
But, Ukraine is different. I’m an American observer, not directly involved, so why the bonding sensation? After some reflection, I think I understand. I’ve been researching US political evolution from the Revolution to the present for the past 6 weeks. It’s highly likely, the Ukrainians reminded me of our own struggle for independence and a participatory democracy, rather than foreign despotic rule.
Great Britain was the powerful super power of the 18th Century. The 3 plus million Americans were subjects of the king. We belonged to and had been created by, the British, they said. We were a principal source of revenue to London and spoke the same language. But, we were not equals, we were colonists.
Initially, George III and his aristocratic government found it amusing that a flyspeck like America would think of challenging the might of the British Empire. The generals believed the early armed local resistance would soon be squashed. Does any of this sound familiar? It should.
Putin personally believes Ukraine belongs to Mother Russia and that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the worst calamity of the 20th Century. He embarked on a 20 plus year campaign to rebuild an approximation of Soviet or former imperial, power, by intimidating/invading former “constituent republics”, e.g. Georgia, Chechnya, Moldova, Armenia and now Ukraine. Belarus appears part of his restoration plan and seems on the brink of incorporation.
There are 44 million Ukrainian citizens and all of them under 60 have been reacting defiantly and very actively since 200,000 troops surrounded them and then attacked. Men, women and children are making Molotov cocktails, feeding their soldiers and fellow neighborhood fighters and helping top the Russian forces from entering their major cities. They have succeeded in blunting the assault, but Moscow has now escalated to a new level of death and destruction.
Remember the minute men, and the Valley Forge enlistees freezing at Valley Forge? The Ukrainians are facing no energy, no lights, no heat in their own snow filled winter and are being bombed every night. But, they are going to make this war very costly for the invaders. Groups of families are standing in front of tanks. Farmers are shooting down Russian helicopters and computer nerds, hackers are sending photos and narrative into Russia, including the names of Russian KIA and penetrating their cyber security.
They are doing this because none of them want to give up what they’ve fought so hard to get:in 2014: freedom, independence and their own Western oriented, democratic government.
It’s their faces on the TV, their posts on social media and the scenes of devastated houses and apartments and their enthusiasm and spirit, that struck me.
They are us, several centuries later.
Tom Timberman is an Army vet, lawyer, former senior Foreign Service officer, adjunct professor at GWU, and economic development team leader or foreign government advisor in war zones. He is the author of four books, lectures locally and at US and European universities. He and his wife are 24 year residents of Kent County.
Den Leventhal says
Okay, but would we have won our independence without the help of Rochambeau’s army and de Grasse’s creation of a “no sail” zone just before the Battle of Yorktown?
Bon Summers says
The Ukrainian region, mainly east and south of the Dnieper is a core historically Russian region. Russia won’t give up. Russian Ruling elite are a 19th century mind, with nuclear weapons. The vast majority of Russians want alignment with the West (though without open borders and refugees from other continents).
So, compromise for peace. The peaceful status quo was good. It’s better than devastation.
V.R says
I sent a text to my father about this very topic before looking it up online and coming across this article. the parallels are fairly amazing to take in.
Glenda Gustafson says
While reading ” The Revolutionary Samuel Adams” by Stacy Schiff, I could not help but make a similar comparison. The Ukraine citizens however are at massive disadvantage; the power and level of destruction of modern day weaponry.