19 Months in, Chicago Tribune Continues Support of Perpetual War in Ukraine

 

by Walt Zlotow 

Posted onSeptember 1, 2023

Retired Army Col. Matt Dimmick’s op-ed: “Ukraine’s counteroffensive is working. With continued support, its forces will defeat Russia” (Chicago Tribune, August 31) is a masterful piece of propaganda to continue the Russo Ukraine war in perpetuity.

It appears to have been selected for publication to counter two incontrovertible facts.

First, as Col. Dimmick acknowledges in his opening sentence, the Ukraine counteroffensive is failing. Then he immediately pivots to say its “going slower than anticipated – but for good reason.” That reason is preposterous… “slow and steady wins the race.” The “slow and steady” he compares Ukraine’s counteroffensive to, the US invasion of Normandy in WWII, is an analogy as offensive as it is wrong.

Col. Dimmick spends nearly a thousand words trying to convince us that Russia’s military is falling apart while Ukraine is just getting revved up with US/NATO weapons. He completely omits any mention of the unfolding catastrophe in Ukraine being systematically worsened by America’s refusal to negotiate a war that the US could have ended with negotiations in the first 2 months. He implies support for Ukraine is worldwide. That support is limited to NATO and a couple others, less than a fifth of all countries.

Second, Dimmick likely penned his imaginary winning Ukraine scenario aware that a majority (55%) of Americans now want an end to weaponizing another US perpetual war. That is unimaginable to folks like Dimmick who has spent his military career and now retirement championing US exceptionalism worldwide.

It’s also unimaginable to the Chicago Tribune, which never once has promoted negotiations to end a war that will either end in negotiations serving the interests of both combatants…. or will end in nuclear confrontation between the US and Russia.

Walt Zlotow became involved in antiwar activities upon entering University of Chicago in 1963. He is current president of the West Suburban Peace Coalition based in the Chicago western suburbs. He blogs daily on antiwar and other issues at www.heartlandprogressive.blogspot.com.

https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2023/09/01/19-months-in-chicago-tribune-continues-support-of-perpetual-war-in-ukraine/