The Steering Committee of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, known as the VIPS, sent a memorandum to President Joe Biden on April 6, posted on the anti.war.blog recommending that he take the necessary diplomatic action to forestall the “growing risk of war” from the escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
These experienced professionals argue that the starting point for policy depends on recognizing on two basic realities: that Ukraine is not a member of NATO, and therefore Article 5 of the NATO Treaty would not apply in the case of an armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia; and that “Ukraine’s current military flexing, if allowed to transition into actual military action, could lead to hostilities with Russia.”
Therefore, “we think it crucial that your administration immediately seek to remove from the table, so to speak, any ‘solution’ to the current impasse that has a military component. In short, there is, and can never be, a military solution to this problem….
“We strongly believe:
