{"id":2073809,"date":"2023-10-20T06:54:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T10:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-the-conflicts-in-israel-and-ukraine-are-not-one-war\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T07:01:28","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T11:01:28","slug":"no-the-conflicts-in-israel-and-ukraine-are-not-one-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-the-conflicts-in-israel-and-ukraine-are-not-one-war\/","title":{"rendered":"No, Israel and Ukraine conflicts are not &#8216;one war&#8217;."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fno-the-conflicts-in-israel-and-ukraine-are-not-one-war%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2073809&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>A Flimsy\u200d Talking Point: Israel and \u200cUkraine Are Not the Same War<\/h2>\n<p>A memo must \u200dhave\u200c gone out this week \u2064to all unreconstructed neocons directing them to propagate\u200b the idea that the conflicts in\u200c Israel and Ukraine are \u201cone war,\u201d and that the stakes of\u2063 this one war \u200care so high \u2062\u2014 civilization itself hangs \u2063in the balance! \u2014\u200c that the United States must get \u2062deeply involved in both of them.<\/p>\n<p>I \u200bknow, it sounds idiotic, but that\u2019s the\u2064 line.\u200b President Joe Biden \u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox5ny.com\/news\/biden-uses-oval-office-speech-to-declare-backing-of-israel-ukraine-in-time-of-war?taid=6531cd941b640e000108c421\">peddled a version of it in \u2063an Oval Office\u200d speech \u2063Thursday<\/a>, saying \u2063Hamas and\u200b Putin represent different threats but \u201cboth \u2064want to completely annihilate\u2064 a neighboring democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>This\u200b flimsy talking point \u200dmade the rounds\u200c earlier in the week when\u200d neocons like Jonah Goldberg \u200band\u200d Matthew Continetti both argued that\u200c Israel and Ukraine\u2064 are \u201cthe same war on two fronts,\u201d as Goldberg put it.\u2064 Everyone\u200d knows about Iran\u2019s support for Hamas,\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/goldberg-israel-ukraine-same-war-202718700.html?guccounter=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">he said<\/a>, but the \u201cmore vital question is of Russia\u2019s involvement.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>Israel\u200b and Ukraine: Different Realities<\/h3>\n<p>This \u2063flimsy talking point made the rounds earlier in the week when neocons\u200b like Jonah Goldberg and Matthew Continetti both\u200c argued \u200dthat Israel and Ukraine are \u201cthe\u2062 same war \u200don two fronts,\u201d\u200c as\u2062 Goldberg put it. Everyone knows\u2063 about Iran\u2019s support for Hamas, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/goldberg-israel-ukraine-same-war-202718700.html?guccounter=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">he \u2062said<\/a>, but the \u201cmore vital \u200dquestion is\u200b of Russia\u2019s involvement.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Israel and Ukraine are both \u201cflawed but\u200b decent democracies \u200bfacing enemies who seek to erase \u2064them from the map.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Ukraine ranked well\u200b below a bunch of\u2062 Third World \u201csh-thole \u200ccountries\u201d on nearly every democracy matrix.<\/li>\n<li>Ukraine\u2062 is now\u2062 a \u200cone-party state where the party controls the news media.<\/li>\n<li>Russia is a rational authoritarian state, not part of a fundamentalist\u2062 Muslim \u200cterror network trying\u2063 to start World War\u2062 III.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As \u200dfor Israel \u200band Ukraine, Goldberg claims they are \u2062both \u201cflawed but decent\u2062 democracies\u2063 facing enemies who\u2063 seek to erase\u200c them\u200c from the map.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is like a Kamala Harris speech on foreign policy: <em>Israel is a country. Ukraine is a country. Because they are both countries, they \u2062have much in common. Both are \u2064at war. War is when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-the-conflicts-in-israel-and-ukraine-are-not-one-war\/\" title=\"No, Israel and Ukraine conflicts are not 'one war'.\">good \u2063armies fight bad armies<\/a>. Ukraine and Israel\u200b are good.\u2063 Russia and Hamas are bad. Therefore, Israel \u2063and Ukraine \u200care\u200c fighting the same war.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Recognizing the Differences<\/h3>\n<p>Seriously though, setting aside obvious facts like Israel is one of America\u2019s closest\u200d allies and Ukraine is not an ally at\u2062 all, let\u2019s start with the \u2063fatuous notion that Israel\u2063 and \u2063Ukraine\u200d are\u2063 both \u201cflawed but decent democracies.\u201d Even before the war, Ukraine ranked well below a bunch \u200bof Third \u200cWorld \u201csh-thole countries\u201d \u200con \u200dnearly every democracy matrix, and was only slightly better than\u2064 Russia\u200d on most\u200c corruption indices.\u200c A <a href=\"https:\/\/freedomhouse.org\/country\/ukraine\/nations-transit\/2021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2021 report by Freedom House<\/a> pegged\u2063 Ukraine as a \u201ctransitional \u200dor hybrid regime,\u201d not \u200ba\u200b democracy, and rated it only \u2064\u201cpartly free.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Once the war\u200b began, \u200bit got worse. \u200dUkrainian President \u200cVolodymyr Zelensky shut down the free press, banned all \u2063opposition political parties, and canceled elections. Ukraine is now a one-party state where the \u200bparty \u200dcontrols\u200b the \u200bnews \u2062media. That doesn\u2019t sound like any democracy I\u2019ve ever heard \u200cof, and\u200d it certainly \u2062isn\u2019t anything like \u200bIsrael, which has \u2062a free press and free elections \u2014 things that aren\u2019t just\u2063 characteristics of democracy but prerequisites for it.<\/p>\n<p>What \u2064about Biden\u2063 and Goldberg\u2019s notion that Ukraine and Israel both face enemies that \u200cwant to wipe\u2064 them off the map? I get that demonizing foreign \u2062adversaries is\u2062 a way\u200c to gin up support for endless and unpopular foreign adventures, but the analogy here is ridiculous. Russia is a rational authoritarian\u2063 state, not part of\u2063 a fundamentalist Muslim terror network trying to start World War III. It doesn\u2019t want to annihilate Ukraine, it wants to\u200c absorb it into a greater Russia (Putin himself has said so repeatedly).<\/p>\n<p>We can all recognize Putin is\u200b the\u200c aggressor in\u2062 this war\u2064 while also admitting that the \u2062difference between Russians and Ukrainians is mostly a regional accent. Given the\u2063 unique \u2063historical circumstances and the realities \u2062of Russia\u2019s nuclear\u200d arsenal, the best thing we can do \u2064to help Ukraine is to push \u200cit to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/02\/04\/in-russia-crisis-ukraine-should-trade-land-for-independence\/\">negotiate a political settlement\u2064 with Russia<\/a> \u2014 something we should have\u200d been doing before the first shot was fired.<\/p>\n<h3>Not the Same War<\/h3>\n<p>That of course is\u200c impossible in Israel, which isn\u2019t fighting to keep \u201coccupied lands,\u201d\u200b as Ukraine\u2062 is, and would \u2063likely\u200b give 99\u2064 percent\u2062 of \u200dthe West\u200b Bank and Gaza back to Egypt and Jordan if it\u2064 could. Acting\u200c like there\u2019s some \u2064equivalency between the Donbas and Gaza isn\u2019t just historically illiterate, it\u2019s insulting to Israel. \u2062As for Hamas and its allies in\u2064 Tehran,\u200d they don\u2019t want to rule over the \u200dIsraelis or absorb \u200bthem into a greater Palestine, they want \u200cto drive them into the sea.<\/p>\n<p>But I don\u2019t want to beat up \u200con Goldberg\u200c too much\u200c because he\u2019s not the only one spouting this nonsense. \u200dContinetti over \u2064at\u2062 The Washington Free\u2063 Beacon <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/columns\/from-jerusalem-to-kyiv-its-all-one-war\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published<\/a> a somewhat less\u2062 ham-fisted version of the same \u201cone war\u201d argument this \u200bweek. He argues\u200c both conflicts stem from two big\u2064 mistakes by President Biden that weakened American deterrence: the Afghanistan withdrawal and the revival of\u200d the Iran nuclear deal. The Afghanistan debacle convinced \u2062Moscow there\u200c would be little\u200b cost in \u2063an outright\u200c invasion of Ukraine, and Tehran took\u2063 advantage of Biden\u2019s diplomatic overtures\u200c to unleash \u2063regional\u200c mayhem.<\/p>\n<p>Both observations are correct as far as\u200d they go. American weakness abroad usually results in revisionist powers pursuing their \u200drevisionist goals, as we saw during\u2062 the entire Obama presidency and again during Biden\u2019s \u200cterm. But Continetti takes these observations much farther than\u2062 they can reasonably go.<\/p>\n<p>Without explaining what core U.S. interests \u200dare\u200b implicated in the Russia-Ukraine war, or what a Ukrainian victory\u2063 in \u2062that\u200b conflict might entail, he simply asserts that Biden \u201cmust recognize that \u2062Ukrainians and Israelis alike man distant ramparts in a war for the civilized world,\u201d as if\u2063 a Moscow-dominated Ukraine represents\u200c the same\u2064 kind of civilizational threat as an\u200d Iranian-dominated Middle\u200c East. But of course\u2064 it doesn\u2019t. The former would mean a return to the status \u2064quo ante\u2063 2014 in\u200b Ukraine (which might \u200dbe where we end \u2064up even with a\u200c Ukrainian\u200b \u201cvictory\u201d).\u200b The latter would mean nuclear war.<\/p>\n<p>But never mind that. How do we save civilization? \u200bCongress must dole \u2063out funds to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan right away\u2062 \u2014 and that\u2019s just for starters, says Continetti. \u201cThen Biden must tell Congress that this money is a down payment. The next\u2063 step is a\u200d much\u2063 larger appropriation. America must\u2064 commit \u2062to \u2064a \u200cconventional and strategic\u200d arms buildup that \u2062will\u2063 instill fear in Moscow, Tehran, Pyongyang, and \u2064Beijing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One \u2062could argue that given the \u2062decrepit state\u200d of the \u200bU.S. military and the unstable \u2063state\u2062 of world\u200c affairs, a conventional and \u200bstrategic arms buildup\u2063 is long overdue. But that\u2019s not\u200d what \u200dContinetti is arguing. Remember, <em>civilization itself<\/em> is at \u2064stake, which\u200c here serves as a rhetorical legerdemain to skip \u200dover how, exactly, the U.S. under Biden\u2019s leadership is supposed to reverse decades of industrial \u200dand military \u2062decline, keep \u2064funding the\u200d quagmire in Ukraine, while also supporting Israel, Taiwan, \u200cand maintaining U.S. military readiness.<\/p>\n<p>As\u2064 Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Heritage\u200c Foundation President Kevin\u2064 Roberts\u200c noted in <a href=\"http:\/\/0378D420-B22F-4AF7-AB99-300936B18488\/In%20January,%20the%20U.S.%20raided%20one%20of%20our%20major%20arms%20stockpiles%20in%20Israel,%20designed%20to%20support%20our%20allies%20in%20that%20region,%20and%20instead%20transferred%20300,000%20155mm%20shells%20to%20the%20war%20in%20Ukraine.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newt-gingrich-says-he-will-not-accept-joe-biden-as-president\/\" title=\"Newt Gingrich Says He \u2018Will Not Accept Joe Biden As President\u2019\">recent op-ed<\/a><\/a>, the U.S. has overcommitted resources to \u2063Ukraine at\u200d the expense\u2064 of allies like \u200cIsrael: \u201cIn\u2064 January, the U.S. raided one of \u200bour major arms\u200b stockpiles in Israel, designed to\u2062 support \u200bour allies in \u2063that region, and instead transferred\u2064 300,000 155mm shells to \u200dthe war \u200din Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Such details \u200ddon\u2019t concern the likes of\u200c Goldberg and Continetti.\u2064 For \u200dthem, all foreign conflicts\u2062 are the\u2062 same, all of them require U.S. intervention, and all revisionist powers meld together into a single enemy. They really \u2064think this\u2064 way, so at least they\u2019re being \u200bhonest. The neocon\u200c mind comprehends\u200b only one\u2063 war \u2014 a\u200b war that must be fought over and over, decade after endless decade,\u2062 no\u2064 matter the cost, no matter how pyrrhic the victory.\u200b No thanks.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How has \u200dthe erosion of judicial independence and freedom \u2064of \u200cspeech affected\u200d the political \u2064opposition \u200bin countries with authoritarian tendencies?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  With \u200dauthoritarian tendencies, noting \u200bthe \u200berosion of judicial independence, \u200bfreedom of speech, and the suppression of \u2063political\u2063 opposition.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, \u200bUkraine is \u200bnow \u2062a one-party state \u200cwhere the\u200c \u200cparty controls \u2062the \u200cnews media. Independent\u200c \u200cjournalists\u2062 face\u2063 threats,\u2063 harassment, and violence, \u2064with multiple cases of journalists being attacked or killed\u200b \u2062in recent \u2064years. \u2064The government has also passed restrictive\u200c laws that limit freedom of \u200bexpression and impose censorship.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Israel \u200dhas a robust\u200c and vibrant \u2063democracy. It has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chile-hardline-conservative-wins-round-1-of-presidential-race-after-years-of-leftist-terrorism\/\" title=\"Chile: Hardline Conservative Wins Round 1 of Presidential Race After Years of Leftist Terrorism\">multi-party system<\/a>, \u200bwith free and fair elections, and a judiciary that operates independently.\u2064 Israeli citizens enjoy a wide range of rights and \u200dliberties,\u200c including freedom of speech, press, and\u200c assembly. \u200cDissent and opposition to government policies are\u2062 openly expressed and protected.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, the threat Israel faces from Hamas\u200c is fundamentally different from the conflict in Ukraine. Hamas is \u200ca terrorist organization that explicitly calls \u200dfor \u200bthe \u200cdestruction of Israel and uses indiscriminate rocket attacks against \u200dcivilian populations. Israel is forced to defend its citizens against these attacks while making \u2064efforts to minimize harm to innocent civilians. The conflict\u2062 is rooted in a \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-house-and-senate-reach-property-tax-deal-after-months-of-debate\/\" title=\"Texas House and Senate finally agree on property tax deal after lengthy debate.\">long-standing dispute<\/a>\u2063 over land\u200c and self-determination.<\/p>\n<p>On\u200b the other hand, the conflict\u2063 in Ukraine stems from Russia&#8217;s illegal annexation\u2063 of Crimea and its continued \u2063support for separatist movements in Eastern Ukraine. Russia&#8217;s actions\u2062 violate\u2063 international\u2062 law, undermine Ukraine&#8217;s\u200b sovereignty, \u200cand threaten regional stability. The conflict is not about erasing Ukraine from the map but\u200c about Russia&#8217;s geopolitical ambitions and its disregard for the principles of territorial integrity and self-determination.<\/p>\n<h3>Conclusion<\/h3>\n<p>Propagating \u200dthe\u200c idea that Israel\u200b and \u200bUkraine are the same war is\u200d a flawed and misguided argument. While both countries \u2064face challenges,\u2063 they\u2062 exist in different geopolitical contexts, with different adversaries, and confront distinct threats. It is essential to recognize \u200dthe unique \u2063circumstances and complexities of each conflict and develop tailored strategies to address\u200b them.<\/p>\n<p>The United States should engage in diplomacy and support its\u2062 allies based on their specific needs and circumstances rather than lumping them together as part of \u2064a\u2064 single war. Such an approach undermines \u2064the credibility \u200dof\u2064 America&#8217;s foreign policy and fails to account\u2064 for the nuance and intricacies of international conflicts.<\/p>\n<p>It is crucial \u2064to have informed\u2063 and nuanced discussions about international affairs, focusing on accurate\u2062 assessments of the situations at hand and recognizing the differences between conflicts.\u200c Only then \u200dcan we <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/staten-island-illegal-immigration-debate-gets-heated-as-group-accuses-protestors-of-attempting-insurrection\/\" title=\"Staten Island immigration debate intensifies as group accuses protestors of 'insurrection'\">develop effective policies<\/a> and strategies that promote peace,\u200b stability, and the\u2062 protection of democratic values.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It seems a memo was sent to unreconstructed neocons this week, instructing them to promote the notion that the Israel and Ukraine conflicts are a single war. They claim the stakes are incredibly high, with civilization itself at risk. Consequently, the United States must become significantly involved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":518,"featured_media":2073810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2073809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2073809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/518"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2073809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2073809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2073810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2073809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2073809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2073809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}