Ukraine Rally Raises Big Issues

March 9, 2023, 1:45 am 19.7k Views 100 Comments

By Robert Bernstein

February 24 marked the one year anniversary of the start of Putin’s brutal invasion and war against the people of Ukraine. Santa Barbara had multiple events for the occasion. I briefly attended the February 25 event at the Courthouse, after my morning visit to the snow. I left when it began to rain fairly hard and I needed to get to another commitment. Here are my photos.

When I arrived, Tatyana Taruta was speaking about the situation in Ukraine.

The crowd was very attentive and concerned.

A number of elected officials were present. Notably, Congress member Adam Schiff spoke about what the US was doing to support the people of Ukraine militarily and with humanitarian supplies.

Here is my video of his complete speech.

He emphasized that the people of Ukraine are not just fighting for their freedom, but for the freedom of Europe and, ultimately, the entire world. They are paying a very high price in terms of civilians and soldiers being killed as well as the destruction of much of their housing and power systems in the middle of winter. The US and Europe are just giving them a hand.

Following his speech, Supervisor Das Williams introduced our new District Attorney John Savrnoch. Here is my video of his entire speech.

Dasha Lobko is from Ukraine and attends UC Santa Barbara. She kindly posed with the famed long-time UCSB Arts and Lectures events organizer Roman Baratiak, who is also of Ukrainian ancestry. Full disclosure, so am I. My father’s grandfather Jacob came from Ukraine to New York all alone at age 16. When I learned a year ago that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was also a Russian-speaking Jew, I realized we may even be related.

My friend Wesley Roe wanted to emphasize that peace has to be the goal for Ukraine.

Some of my other friends skipped this rally and instead held a rally at the office of Congress member Salud Carbajal emphasizing the need for negotiations and a reduction in the flow of weapons.

For my entire life I have pushed for an end to US meddling in other countries and a reduction in the military budget. But each time an intervention was on the horizon I looked at the facts on their merit.

I watched the US send troops to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, killing millions of innocent people. In Cambodia, the US even supported the mass murderer Pol Pot, until the Vietnamese military stopped him. How often the US seemed to be on the wrong side.

I watched the US send weapons and support to death squads in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. The US sent military support to Indonesia as it brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of utterly innocent civilians in the nation of East Timor.

I watched the US support Muslim terrorists in Afghanistan, which not only destroyed that country, but led to the spread of Muslim terrorism, including 9/11. The US twice invaded Iraq. The result being a strengthening of the Islamist government in Iran. Not to mention that the US overthrew the democratically elected liberal government of Iran in the 1950s, installing the hated Shah. Leading to the inevitable takeover by the brutal Islamists still in power.

The list goes on in Angola and elsewhere in Africa. The pattern is so solid that one can be forgiven for just saying NO to any US intervention or supply of weapons.

But I see the case of Ukraine as more like the case of the start of World War II. After the utterly pointless loss of tens of millions in World War I, most Americans wanted nothing to do with intervention in Europe. Totally understandable, but the result was horrific.

The US did nothing as fascism rose in Spain. The US could have helped the Republican elected government of Spain hold power, but it just let Franco fight his revolution and take over. The rise of the fascists in Italy and the Nazis in Germany also brought no action from the US. It took a direct attack on the US base at Pearl Harbor for the US to take action.

In my ideal world, there would be an international government that would have the power to rein in brutal dictators. The UN was created after World War II with that intention. But it is held hostage to the Security Council, where the worst violators get to veto any action. At times, that has been the US. More often, it is China or Russia.

I watched this short but valuable debate on Democracy Now about the situation in Ukraine.

It was between CODEPINK leader Medea Benjamin and former Senator Bernie Sanders policy advisor Matt Duss. Both make important points worth listening to, in my view. Medea Benjamin makes the case for prioritizing peace and negotiation.

But, in the end, I side with the points made by Matt Duss. The only way to have meaningful negotiation is from a position of strength. If not for continued US support, Ukraine would have been overrun. The dictators of the world need to know that the world will fight back to contain them, if not defeat them. For the first time in my life, I am proud that the US is arming people who are fighting for their right to be free.

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Written by sbrobert

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  1. Over $100 BILLION of OUR U.S. taxpayers funds going to this war with more checks being written weekly with ZERO accountability. The U.S. refused to organize a peace negotiation to end this last year… This is a serious cluster and only getting worse. Many of these Ukrainians are culturally tied to Russia, but the Western Powers refuse to recognize this or arrange any settlement… Let’s all join hands and celebrate the coming of WWIII

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  2. Mr Bernstein, where do you think we’d be today if a 18-24 months ago the US and NATO committed to Russia that it would not allow Ukraine to join NATO, and would cease NATO’s further expansion east? (commence Putin lover comments now from the typical EdScolds but this is a serious question). I’ll watch the debate you linked later this evening.

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  5. Good write up and report on the Ukraine local matters. Part reporting and part opinion, well thought out and very relevant. I was surprised to see Sen. Schiff here in support of Ukraine in our community. This kind of local reporting is where EdHat shines, and in the absence of a local newspaper, ensures that we have some good journalism.

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  6. Please do watch that Democracy Now debate at https://www.democracynow.org/2023/2/20/biden_kyiv_visit_russia_ukraine_war
    This is the most thoughtful debate I have seen on how to achieve peace and justice for the people of Ukraine. The actual debate starts about two minutes into the video.
    My favorite sign at the rally was “Iranians Stand With Ukrainians”. People who are oppressed and/or under attack need to feel solidarity with each other and know that in the long run justice and freedom will prevail.
    RED CREEK and others thank you for the kind words of support. We are fortunate to have this forum.
    Regarding Congress member Schiff, I will add that he is one of three major Democratic candidates running for the US Senate seat being vacated by Senator Feinstein. The other two candidates are Congress member Barbara Lee and Congress member Katie Porter.

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    • Thanks for your usual “man about town” photos/videos Robert. My rainy-day homework assignment was to watch the video you cited. I’ve listened to Amy Goodman on the radio but not watched via podcast.
      IMO, Matt Duss had a much more realistic assessment than Medea Benjamin. To consider Putin, Xi Jinping, and Erdogan rational players in this war who can help negotiate a just peace is wishful thinking and naive.
      If Russia had ruthlessly invaded the U.S. for no good reason and murdered countless civilians, I wonder if Benjamin would be thinking the same way. But since Russia invaded Ukraine and not the US, I think she needs to realize sometimes the world gets really nasty and pacifism only allows the aggressor a victory and comfort for those on the sidelines like Benjamin.
      Disclaimer – Ukraine is a complicated situation for those not in Ukraine (and for those in Ukraine, it is a matter of survival and protecting their country). There are so many considerations to superimpose it’s not possible to succinctly summarize here. But I do agree with the last paragraph of your post.

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  7. It is terrible what is happening to the Ukrainian people. But a lot of people read further into this, and the extent of the US Government’s involvement of into escalating this situation. The military industrial complex is still very strong. Not a lot of calls for peace or compromise. Going head to head with Russia and now China has and will continue to lead to a lot of suffering, and possibly a larger scale conflict. Think deeper on the issue and if you or your kids had to be drafted to go into a larger war one day. War is not good for anyone. Would like to have seen more calls and strategic positioning for peace. Not what has happened today, which is the worst case scenario.

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  11. Putin’s stated aim is to rebuild the Soviet Union. If he is successful in Ukraine his next targets will likely be the Baltics, NATO countries all. The US will then send troops to fight directly against the Soviet Union, a scary prospect.
    Avoiding this scenario is why we are spending billions to arm Ukraine.

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  14. Slava Ukraine. We should have helped them shut down the airspace of Ukraine a long time ago. Biden was slow to act on Ukraine and now some on the far right and far left are starting to more loudly question our support of Ukraine. Putin must be stopped in Ukraine and Moldova. That must include any/all missile and air defense systems.

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  15. surfacing to chime in here. I see a lot of really messed up comment, of course by the usual suspects (VOR). I will simply say this. I have been there twice and defended as a volunteer. I’ve trained people, dogs, myself. I’ve participated in combat missions (with no prior experience), i’ve saved people, i’ve not saved people (think about it….), i’ve been shot at and shot back. I’ve seen ukrainian friends obliterated by russians. i’ve seen dead kids and women. i saw terrible, awful things committed by the orcs. None of you know how it is until you are there and see the suffering, the conditions, the fear and paranoia, the heartache, the pain, the misery and sorrow. Have you? IDGAF what VOR or some of you think about the war and Putin. He’s a murderous thug, nothing less. There is no justification for what he’s done. This is a land grab under the guise of fear of NATO expansion. Nato isn’t going to expand into Russia, nor are they going to ignore applications of Russias neighbors to join when Russia is back to their usual game of killing and land grabs. This started in the 90s with Chechnya, then Georgia and South Ossentia, now 2014 and Ukraine, now 2023 and Ukraine, but we’re supposed to stand by and allow Russia to invade and capture a huge European nation? I think not and if you think so, you’re on the wrong side, flat out.

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