The coming days will mark three weeks since Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a campaign of brutal military aggression on the neighboring country of Ukraine. As civilian deaths approach 3,000 and injuries far exceed that number, estimates of Russian military dead have grown to 5,500 and 3,800 Ukrainian. 2.5 million people have been forced to leave their homes with only shoulder bags to carry their possessions, and still Putin appears to have no interest in meaningful negotiations for a peaceful solution. Most analysts agree that it is only a matter of days until Russian forces completely circle the capital city of Kyiv and batter the civilian population into submission with indiscriminate artillery and missile attacks. In scenes that shockingly remind us of World War II, mass graves are being filled with the bodies of Ukrainian families, cities are reduced to concrete rubble, and homeless people, including children, wander through frozen streets desperately looking for food or water. There is even speculation that Russia will use chemical and biological weapons, once again violating international treaties and all norms of morality. And as most of the civilized nations of the world watch, the question is Why?
Why attack a peaceful, prosperous neighbor? Why do Russian citizens tolerate their government’s repeated takeovers of other sovereign countries? Why is NATO and the United States incapable of formulating policy in the face of a cold war Soviet bully? The short answer to these questions lies in the intimidation and ruthlessness of dark power in a socialist autocracy and the lack of strong, unified resolve by freedom-loving democracies to confront it. Recent national polls say that most Americans don’t want to risk a shooting war with Russia. But in the very next poll most Americans strongly say that Biden should do more to help a democratic Ukraine fighting for its life. Meanwhile, the days of a senseless war of aggression continue. What is the answer? Let’s just hope and pray that somewhere on Pennsylvania Avenue or at some long conference table in the Pentagon, there is someone or some group working on a plan worthy of the mercy and power of this great nation to put Mr. Putin in his place. And the sooner that happens, the better, because right now, the face of true evil in this world is Russian.
