Unless the truth about US provocations is exposed, there will be continued opposition to a peace deal for Ukraine, in both the US and the EU.

Why It’s Crucial to Expose
US Provocations in Ukraine
Donald A. Smith / LA Progressive

(February 24, 2025) — If you believe that Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked, you will likely compare Putin to Hitler and will likely oppose President Trump’s peace negotiations with Russia. After all, if Putin’s invasion was unprovoked, a settlement would reward naked aggression and would be akin to Neville Chamberlain’s 1938 appeasement with Hitler in Munich.

This is why it’s crucial that people who know the truth about US provocations in Ukraine — and about America’s extreme hypocrisy, given its numerous overseas invasions, bombings, and regime change operations — to be fearlessly outspoken in proclaiming: the US intentionally provoked the war, to weaken Russia, to wean Europe from Russian energy, and to make Europe more dependent on the US.

The US would never allow Russia to do to the US what the US did to Russia: launch regime change operations, arm militias, and station missiles and bases in countries along its borders.

Unless the truth about US provocations is exposed, there will be continued opposition to a peace deal for Ukraine, in both the US and the EU. There is a chance that hawks in D.C. will force Trump to back down from negotiating a peace deal and that the US will send US troops, as Vice President Vance has threatened. And there is a chance that EU countries will try to extend the war without help from the US.

Another, perhaps more important, reason to expose US provocations in Ukraine is to undermine public support in the US for the MICIMATT in general, and for the planned war with China, in particular. Many Republicans who want to stop the war in Ukraine are eager to prepare for war with China.

So far, EU nations have been willing to sacrifice their economies and social democratic safety nets for the sake of conflict with Russia. Moreover, there is pressure now from Trump for EU nations to increase their military budgets, to up to 5% of nations’ GDP. If people in Europe knew the cynical truth about US provocations, they’d likely change their hawkish policies, which enrich US military contractors.

So far, Trump’s actions have belied his sometimes antiwar words. In his first term in office, he surrounded himself with pro-war advisers such as John Bolton and Mike Pompeo. He increased the Pentagon budget. He withdrew from nuclear treaties with Russia and Iran and promoted tactical nukes. He encouraged Israeli aggression against Palestinians. He tightened sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela. He brought the US to the brink of war with Iran. He armed Ukraine beyond what President Biden was willing to do.

Ukraine’s right-wing Azov Battalion.

So, it will be ironic if Donald Trump, who is a conman and a quasi-fascist, is the one who makes peace with Russia and negotiates disarmament with Russia and China, as Trump has suggested. Richard Nixon was the president who opened up with China, and Ronald Reagan made peace with Gorbachev. So there is precedence, and Trump may succeed. If he does, he will deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, for sure.

Biden’s administration refused to negotiate with Vladimir Putin, both before the 2022 invasion and afterwards; the Biden Administration stymied a peace deal that was in the works in March of 2022. Democrats are now the bigger war party, at least with regard to continuing hostilities towards Russia.

Partly, this is a consequence of Russiagate: Russia’s alleged interference in US elections and Trump’s alleged cooperation with Russia. But evidence for Russiagate was greatly exaggerated. Contrast the tiny amount that Russia spent interfering in our elections — they set up a few dozen social media accounts — with the $3 billion that USAID spent in just Ukraine, according to the US Embassy in Kiev, largely on anti-Russia media organizations.

Alan McLeod reports: “In total, USAID spends over a quarter of a billion dollars yearly training and funding a vast, sprawling network of more than 6,200 reporters at nearly 1,000 news outlets or journalism organizations, all under the rubric of promoting ‘independent media’”; that includes almost 90% of Ukraine’s media outlets.

A higher proportion of Democrats than Republicans think Putin should not be trusted, according to recent polling.

An example of recent pro-war rhetoric from the Democratic side is from Thom Hartmann, who calls Putin a “butcher” and “a murderous thug.” Hartmann added “Let’s be clear: Russia invaded Ukraine. Just like Hitler invaded Poland. And Japan invaded China.” Hartmann condemns Trump’s efforts at making peace with Russia. Similarly, liberal commentator Simon Rosenberg writes in Hopium Chronicles: “The United States now appears to be working with, not against, Putin, a genocidal war criminal who is intent on destroying the West and America.” Rosenberg also reiterated exaggerated allegations about Russiagate.

In contrast, Tucker Carlson says, in a recent email blast:
Why did the US government spend three decades lying about Ukraine?

They never really thought admitting that country into the anti-Russia NATO alliance would lead to peace. How could it? America threatened extinction-level violence when the USSR put nukes on its border. Why would the Putin government act differently if Washington did the same?

Tucker Carlson and Judge Andrew Napolitano regularly interview Jeffrey Sachs and other progressive antiwar activists, such as Max Blumenthal and Aaron Maté, who expose the rot at the core of the national security state. Carlson and Napolitano are not mainstream but they reach a lot of people, certainly more than are reached by the antiwar left.

The transpartisan Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft recently interviewed Scott Horton, director of the Libertarian Institute. Horton’s opinions on US foreign policy and militarism sound almost identical to comments that progressive antiwar commentators such as Jeffrey Sachs, Medea Benjamin, and David Swanson would make. There is a left-right convergence on the need to rein in US militarized foreign policy.

The antiwar message needs to be amplified. Avoidable disastrous wars need to be stopped. The bloated Pentagon budget needs to be cut. The empire of overseas bases need to be unraveled. Regime change operations need to be curtailed. The culture of secrecy needs to be ended. As argued above, an important way to do that is to expose US lies about the war in Ukraine. Hence:

If you are a diplomat, academic, or foreign policy specialist, please consider signing this letter:Letter by Concerned Diplomats, Academics and Foreign Policy Professionals about the War in Ukraine I heard from multiple speakers at webinars that a large proportion of US foreign policy experts and diplomats secretly agree with the contention that the US provoked Russia in Ukraine. But they are afraid to step forward and state the truth, for fear of condemnation and possible retaliation. If people step forward and sign the letter, more will be willing to do so, and the effect can snowball.

A higher proportion of Democrats than Republicans think Putin should not be trusted, according to recent polling.

An example of recent pro-war rhetoric from the Democratic side is from Thom Hartmann, who calls Putin a “butcher” and “a murderous thug.” Hartmann added “Let’s be clear: Russia invaded Ukraine. Just like Hitler invaded Poland. And Japan invaded China.” Hartmann condemns Trump’s efforts at making peace with Russia. Similarly, liberal commentator Simon Rosenberg writes in Hopium Chronicles: “The United States now appears to be working with, not against, Putin, a genocidal war criminal who is intent on destroying the West and America.” Rosenberg also reiterated exaggerated allegations about Russiagate.

In contrast, Tucker Carlson says, in a recent email blast:

Why did the US government spend three decades lying about Ukraine?

They never really thought admitting that country into the anti-Russia NATO alliance would lead to peace. How could it? America threatened extinction-level violence when the USSR put nukes on its border. Why would the Putin government act differently if Washington did the same?

Tucker Carlson and Judge Andrew Napolitano regularly interview Jeffrey Sachs and other progressive antiwar activists, such as Max Blumenthal and Aaron Maté, who expose the rot at the core of the national security state. Carlson and Napolitano are not mainstream but they reach a lot of people, certainly more than are reached by the antiwar left.

The transpartisan Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft recently interviewed Scott Horton, director of the Libertarian Institute. Horton’s opinions on US foreign policy and militarism sound almost identical to comments that progressive antiwar commentators such as Jeffrey Sachs, Medea Benjamin, and David Swanson would make. There is a left-right convergence on the need to rein in US militarized foreign policy.

The antiwar message needs to be amplified. Avoidable disastrous wars need to be stopped. The bloated Pentagon budget needs to be cut. The empire of overseas bases need to be unraveled. Regime change operations need to be curtailed. The culture of secrecy needs to be ended. As argued above, an important way to do that is to expose US lies about the war in Ukraine. Hence:

If you are a diplomat, academic, or foreign policy specialist, please consider signing this letter:Letter by Concerned Diplomats, Academics and Foreign Policy Professionals about the War in Ukraine I heard from multiple speakers at webinars that a large proportion of US foreign policy experts and diplomats secretly agree with the contention that the US provoked Russia in Ukraine. But they are afraid to step forward and state the truth, for fear of condemnation and possible retaliation. If people step forward and sign the letter, more will be willing to do so, and the effect can snowball.

A higher proportion of Democrats than Republicans think Putin should not be trusted, according to recent polling.

An example of recent pro-war rhetoric from the Democratic side is from Thom Hartmann, who calls Putin a “butcher” and “a murderous thug.” Hartmann added “Let’s be clear: Russia invaded Ukraine. Just like Hitler invaded Poland. And Japan invaded China.” Hartmann condemns Trump’s efforts at making peace with Russia. Similarly, liberal commentator Simon Rosenberg writes in Hopium Chronicles: “The United States now appears to be working with, not against, Putin, a genocidal war criminal who is intent on destroying the West and America.” Rosenberg also reiterated exaggerated allegations about Russiagate.

In contrast, Tucker Carlson says, in a recent email blast:

Why did the US government spend three decades lying about Ukraine?

They never really thought admitting that country into the anti-Russia NATO alliance would lead to peace. How could it? America threatened extinction-level violence when the USSR put nukes on its border. Why would the Putin government act differently if Washington did the same?

Tucker Carlson and Judge Andrew Napolitano regularly interview Jeffrey Sachs and other progressive antiwar activists, such as Max Blumenthal and Aaron Maté, who expose the rot at the core of the national security state. Carlson and Napolitano are not mainstream but they reach a lot of people, certainly more than are reached by the antiwar left.

The transpartisan Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft recently interviewed Scott Horton, director of the Libertarian Institute. Horton’s opinions on US foreign policy and militarism sound almost identical to comments that progressive antiwar commentators such as Jeffrey Sachs, Medea Benjamin, and David Swanson would make. There is a left-right convergence on the need to rein in US militarized foreign policy.

The antiwar message needs to be amplified. Avoidable disastrous wars need to be stopped. The bloated Pentagon budget needs to be cut. The empire of overseas bases need to be unraveled. Regime change operations need to be curtailed. The culture of secrecy needs to be ended. As argued above, an important way to do that is to expose US lies about the war in Ukraine. Hence:

If you are a diplomat, academic, or foreign policy specialist, please consider signing this letter:Letter by Concerned Diplomats, Academics and Foreign Policy Professionals about the War in Ukraine I heard from multiple speakers at webinars that a large proportion of US foreign policy experts and diplomats secretly agree with the contention that the US provoked Russia in Ukraine. But they are afraid to step forward and state the truth, for fear of condemnation and possible retaliation. If people step forward and sign the letter, more will be willing to do so, and the effect can snowball.

A higher proportion of Democrats than Republicans think Putin should not be trusted, according to recent polling.

An example of recent pro-war rhetoric from the Democratic side is from Thom Hartmann, who calls Putin a “butcher” and “a murderous thug.” Hartmann added “Let’s be clear: Russia invaded Ukraine. Just like Hitler invaded Poland. And Japan invaded China.” Hartmann condemns Trump’s efforts at making peace with Russia. Similarly, liberal commentator Simon Rosenberg writes in Hopium Chronicles: “The United States now appears to be working with, not against, Putin, a genocidal war criminal who is intent on destroying the West and America.” Rosenberg also reiterated exaggerated allegations about Russiagate.

In contrast, Tucker Carlson says, in a recent email blast:

Why did the US government spend three decades lying about Ukraine?

They never really thought admitting that country into the anti-Russia NATO alliance would lead to peace. How could it? America threatened extinction-level violence when the USSR put nukes on its border. Why would the Putin government act differently if Washington did the same?

Tucker Carlson and Judge Andrew Napolitano regularly interview Jeffrey Sachs and other progressive antiwar activists, such as Max Blumenthal and Aaron Maté, who expose the rot at the core of the national security state. Carlson and Napolitano are not mainstream but they reach a lot of people, certainly more than are reached by the antiwar left.

The transpartisan Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft recently interviewed Scott Horton, director of the Libertarian Institute. Horton’s opinions on US foreign policy and militarism sound almost identical to comments that progressive antiwar commentators such as Jeffrey Sachs, Medea Benjamin, and David Swanson would make. There is a left-right convergence on the need to rein in US militarized foreign policy.

The antiwar message needs to be amplified. Avoidable disastrous wars need to be stopped. The bloated Pentagon budget needs to be cut. The empire of overseas bases need to be unraveled. Regime change operations need to be curtailed. The culture of secrecy needs to be ended. As argued above, an important way to do that is to expose US lies about the war in Ukraine. Hence:

If you are a diplomat, academic, or foreign policy specialist, please consider signing this letter:Letter by Concerned Diplomats, Academics and Foreign Policy Professionals about the War in Ukraine I heard from multiple speakers at webinars that a large proportion of US foreign policy experts and diplomats secretly agree with the contention that the US provoked Russia in Ukraine. But they are afraid to step forward and state the truth, for fear of condemnation and possible retaliation. If people step forward and sign the letter, more will be willing to do so, and the effect can snowball.