My Take | 2 letters that help explain the catastrophe in Ukraine, Europe and the world today
- In America, there have been deep foreign policy thinkers, and warmongers and propagandists; too bad most in the first group are now dead
“Not worried about a nuclear holocaust? You should be.” – Christopher Nolan, director of Oppenheimer the movie
Two open letters, separated by almost exactly 26 years, landed in my inbox recently.
It’s rare to have a genuine teachable moment in global politics, recent history and intellectual responsibility. But if you read both of them, and compare and contrast them, and then reach your own independent conclusions, I believe you will have gained much deeper insights into the war in Ukraine, Russian aggression, Nato expansion, the threat of nuclear war, and generally, the dangerous world we live in today.
If I could have my way, I would have considered my job done today by linking the two letters online and pointing out briefly their relevance for readers. That would have been my contribution, however infinitesimal, to world peace and understanding. Alas, I only get paid if I produce a column. So, apologies for my own propaganda and biases in the following. I recommend you to just skip them, and go straight to those two letters. And yes, please read them both.
Forty-six warmongers and propagandists