The danger of a nuclear war erupting from the war in Ukraine requires that the U.S. give up its idea of encouraging Ukraine to bleed Russia, and instead push for a negotiated settlement, retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and history professor William J. Astore argued strongly Oct. 15 in his blog, Bracing Views. Astore makes two crucial points: “wars are inherently chaotic and unpredictable"; and “Anyone who thinks they know how this war is going to end is overestimating the predictability of war. We’re all engaged in guess-work, and where nuclear threats are involved, guess-work is less than reassuring.”
He titled it “The Russia-Ukraine War as a World War,” arguing that the war in Ukraine, which is “already a war with global implications openly funded by the U.S. with the explicit goal of weakening Russia and removing Putin from power,” could escalate into world war.
Yet, U.S. officials are said to be privately asserting that “neither Russia nor Ukraine is capable of winning the war outright, but they have ruled out the idea of pushing or even nudging Ukraine to the negotiating table,” he quoted the Washington Post as having written on Oct. 11.
His conclusion: In chess, draws are agreed on in the middle game when “both players realize they have no prospects for victory and that further play will merely prolong the inevitable. It’s time for the major players in this conflict to agree to some version of a draw, a negotiated settlement, an end to conflict. Chess, after all, is just a game. The players don’t have to worry about dying in a nuclear cataclysm. We do.” (https://bracingviews.com/2022/10/15/the-russia-ukraine-war-as-a-world-war/)
