By Lisa McCormick
More than 90,000 warriors from 31 member states and Sweden have begun Steadfast Defender 24, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s largest exercise in decades designed to demonstrate rapid trans-Atlantic deployment of NATO forces to reinforce the defense of Europe.
At the same time, we tread the perilous path of engagement in the Middle East with the harsh reality that our interventions may fan the flames of religious fervor and politicians like corrupt US Senator Bob Menendez are instigating the prospect of a direct military conflict between the U.S. and China over Taiwan.
My heart compels me to address the pressing issues that plague our world, issues that threaten not only the soul of America but the very fabric of humanity itself.
As I contemplate the largest NATO exercise since the end of the Cold War, I am left with an urgent sense of responsibility to speak truth to power, for my conscience leaves me no other choice.
Steadfast Defender 24 is a multi-domain exercise, incorporating land, air, sea, cyber, and space operations, but with 90,000 troops, more than 50 naval assets, 80 air platforms, and more than 1,100 combat vehicles it probably looks exactly like a NATO attack on Russia would appear, if one was watching from Vladimir Putin’s standpoint.
In the annals of history, we have witnessed the devastating consequences of heedless militarism. Today, we stand at the precipice of another perilous chapter, as the drums of war beat louder, drowning out the cries of reason and compassion.
The very essence of humanity should tremble as the prospect of an escalation of conflict in Ukraine looms large. How can we, in good conscience, embark on an exercise of such magnitude without acknowledging the potential folly it entails?
The lessons of Vietnam echo through the corridors of time, reminding us of the profound moral imperative to question the wisdom of our actions.
In the name of peace, we must ask ourselves: Is it not the height of stupidity to provoke a conflict that may engulf nations and sacrifice the lives of the innocent? Have we not learned from the past, from the scars etched on the hearts of the poor and the voiceless?
Inflaming the passions of jihadists engaged in a war among brothers, between Shia and Sunni Muslims, is not a road to righteousness. It is a path fraught with peril, where the very essence of our shared humanity becomes obscured in the smoke of conflict.
Hamas does not represent all the Palestinian people any more than the KKK represents all Americans. Killing 10,000 children in retaliation for a terrorist attack is simply not self-defense and it is something that can be justified.
And let us not be blind to the ominous clouds gathering over the delicate situation in Taiwan, a beacon of democracy caught in the crosshairs of geopolitical tension.
There are probably thousands of courses of action that make more sense than instigating the chances of a direct conflict between the U.S. and China, but included in the bloated National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY23 was a bipartisan amendment Menendez proposed, called the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act (TERA).
The Menendez amendment was called a deliberate and dangerous provocation by the People’s Republic of China.
The specter of a direct conflict between the United States and China looms, threatening to plunge the world into an abyss from which there may be no return. How foolish it is to play with the embers of potential destruction, risking the lives of countless souls for the whims of political expediency.
As we gather here, my brothers and sisters, let us embrace the wisdom of peace, for in the face of adversity, our greatest strength lies not in the might of arms but in the courage of our convictions.
Let us declare, as one united voice, that we will not be complicit in the folly of war. Our collective conscience demands that we take radical steps, not in pursuit of dominance, but in the pursuit of justice, compassion, and the protection of life.
The echoes of our collective call for peace must be made to reverberate through the corridors of power, shaking the foundations of warmongering and paving the way for a world where the swords are beaten into plowshares, and justice flows like a mighty river.
There are several repressive regimes with very few allies facing sanctions that are now collaborating militarily in response to international pressure, but the United States and Europe must resist the temptation to be drawn into violence. The world is too fragile for war no matter which weapons we use.
Staring directly into the light of escalating violence during the Vietnam War and recognizing America’s aggression against peasants as moral savagery, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. declared the United States to be “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.”
We never heeded the lessons that we should have learned from Vietnam. Non-state actors must be treated as criminals and governments must be held to account with tools that are not going to cause more harm than good.
The time for moral courage is now, for our conscience leaves us no other choice.
Lisa McCormick is a progressive peace activist who challenged US Senator Bob Menendez in the 2018 Democratic primary and called for citizens to fight back in the class war that she claims has been destroying the American way of life since 1980.