Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release: Monday, February 16, 2015
This release is online at http://www.gp.org/newsroom/press-releases/details/4/778

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-904-7614, [email protected]
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, [email protected]


Green Party opposes U.S. military aid for Ukraine

• Washington is using Ukraine to provoke a NATO vs. Russia face-off in a new Cold War, say Greens

• View and download Green Party responses to the 2015 State of the Union: http://tinyurl.com/greenplaylist-2015sotu


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Green Party opposes proposed plans to provide Ukraine's armed forces military aid to fight rebels who are allegedly receiving assistance from Russia and urges President Obama to reject the advice of warhawk advisors and Congress members.

"Washington has used the people of Ukraine as chess pieces in a bid to strengthen NATO and isolate Russia politically, militarily, and economically, taking advantage of Russia's vulnerability in the wake of sanctions and Saudi Arabia's reduction of oil prices. Instead of seeking peace, the U.S. is aggravating tensions, risking a face-off with Russia that could spark a proxy war or even a global conflict. This game isn't about self-defense for the U.S., it's about expanding the power of NATO and enforcing the U.S.'s superpower status," said Starlene Rankin, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

Green Party leaders strongly criticized comments by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R.-SC) and U.S. Air Force general Philip Breedlove directed at German Chancellor Angela Merkel during last week's Munich Conference (http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/02/07/munich-conference-us-hawks-press-military-escalation-towards-russia). Chancellor Merkel, who favors a diplomatic solution, was in Washington last week to meet with President Obama.

"The insistence on military escalation by Sen. Graham and other warhawks in Munich indicate that the neocon ideology that led the U.S. into a pointless invasion of Iraq has become permanent foreign policy. A more constructive policy would maintain diplomacy, emphasize cooperation with Russia, and avoid the kinds of threats that put President Putin on the defense," said Darryl! L.C. Moch, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

Greens said that Americans should be wary of "drumbeats for war" in the media: propagandistic news reports that uncritically repeat official statements, recreating the media's role in the months before President Bush ordered U.S. troops to invade Iraq ten years ago.

Supporters of arms shipments include the "liberal-centrist" Brooking Institution, which published a paper recommending that the U.S. send Ukraine $3 billion worth of anti-armor missiles, reconnaissance drones, armored vehicles, and radar systems (http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2015/02/ukraine-independence-russian-aggression).

Green Party leaders cited a report from Human Rights Watch that "Ukrainian government forces used cluster munitions in populated areas in Donetsk city in early October 2014" in violation of the laws of war (http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/10/20/ukraine-widespread-use-cluster-munitions) and noted the presence of extreme nationalist and Neo-Nazi groups among Ukraine's leadership. These factors suggest that U.S. arms shipped to Ukraine might be used against civilian populations, especially ethnic minorities and separatists in the eastern Donbass region of Ukraine.

Greens said Americans should take seriously former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's warning that "The U.S. has already dragged us into a new Cold War, trying to openly implement its idea of triumphalism." (http://rt.com/news/227423-us-russia-cold-war/)

See also:

Freedom Rider: War is Peace in Ukraine
By Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report, February 11, 2015
http://blackagendareport.com/node/14661


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