As the images from the Bucha narrative swept over United States, seasoned former diplomat Jack Matlock ran counter to the CNN segment on April 4 in an interview: “I share many of these emotions, but to the idea that we can make a major nuclear weapon state a pariah, that by our actions we actually are destroying those elements in that society that could bring a positive change in the future. I think that is not wise.” Matlock dealt with the Moscow government as the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1987-1991, in addition to earlier postings to the Moscow embassy, in 1974-78.
He made clear as to what kind of foolishness was involved in rushing to judgment, when so much was at stake. One can feel outrage over instances of the “horrors of war,” but the issue was how to end such horrors, he argued. Against a nuclear power, there must be deescalation accomplished through actual negotiation. Any other path leads to uncontemplated horrors. “To think that the world would benefit from making Russia, a nuclear power equivalent to the United States, a pariah, I think, does not really represent our interests in the future. I fear a world of that sort.”