Update: The letter was published on February 11, 2015.
The European nations (Germany, France, Poland, Balkan
countries) most affected by the impact of the conflict between Ukraine and the
separatist forces are strongly opposed to the prospect of the United States
providing "lethal armaments" to the Ukraine-government forces. The
voices in Congress urging lethal arms shipments are, in the main, the same as
those who gave full-throated support to the U.S. invasions of Iraq and
Afghanistan, as well as to aerial strikes in Pakistan and various African
nations – and of course we know how successful those armed incursions have
been.
The reaction of European nations is that providing arms to
the Ukrainian government would be "pouring fuel on the flames," and
those nations – closest to the possibly resultant fireball – should be heeded.
Indeed, there are ongoing negotiations to tamp down the dispute, and these
should be encouraged, not undermined by supply of arms to either side.
Accordingly, Americans' reaction should sanely be, Why do
the voices of American politicians for armaments and military force be given
any attention, any credibility? The simple answer is they should not, as they
shouldn't have been before our previous armed interventions.
