I find most news sources and people think of all wars the same way. But that means they only understand the wars superficially. The two recent talked about ones, Palestine and Ukraine, are good examples.
Russia and Ukraine are very poor countries, with memory of extreme poverty and famine. They are obsessed with food security. The recent changes in Ukraine, the coup d’état, the broken peace treaty, etc, don’t directly harm Russia, but they are perceived as worsening Russians’ food security. This is a the thing that most frightens Russians. They must do everything they can to protect themselves against risk of famine. That is why there is a war.
When Russians say things like “we are acting against an aggression against us. This invasion is purely self-defense.”
If you want to stop the war, you must address those concerns.
Israelis are obsessed with the old testament. It says that they are exceptional. Jews are God’s one true people. They are precious and other people are disposable. It defines a chunk of the middle east that belongs to the Jews, and says it is their destiny to recapture it and expel or kill its inhabitants. It gives examples where a small crime can justify going to war. It justifies genocide by Jews against other tribes.
That is why there is continuous expansion of Israel into Muslin lands, including massacres and expulsions of Muslims by Israel. But any similar crime against an Israeli is leads to disproportionate and collective punishment against his whole people. That’s why Israelis don’t have a problem with this activity.
When Israeli statesmen say things like “they are just animals” or “what do you mean innocent Palestinian” this is what they mean.
If you want to stop the war in Palestine, you have to address that underlying rationale.
It’s always a good thing to have more input on any subject.
In the Russia X Ukraine conflict I have to underline Russia waa always prone to isolationism. And the country is also one of largest exporter of grains on the planet.
Moving towards an aggression war over a resource the country already has is a faux pas, to be gentle.
Having an individual in power that made every possible move to revert what little opening gesture the country made since the collapse of the USSR is not a good thing. Afteral, we are dealing with someone that openly admited to being a former KGB agent; that is advertising power for intimidation purposes. It’s an explosive mix.
Every attempt of cooperation was always met with distrust, while maintaining the notion “the west” is not to be trusted. It was fated to fail and the end result is a war against a country that strived to move away from that isolation and distrust culture.
On Israel, I can only say everybody sucks here. No one is exempt of flaws. Israel always had its mind on grabbing more land to expand and drive out their neighbours, viewed as animals, but the other side has and uses the exact same rethoric.
Meanwhile, the newer generations die because old men keep dreaming of wars to waist their lives. No one will emerge victor.
Jerusalem should had been burned to the ground centuries ago or turned into a glass pit in the outcome of the sexond great war.
There is no reasoning when creeds come to play. And those in power go hand in hand with those creeds and are out to snuff out those who are walking away from it. Secularism is the true enemy here.
this is all true. i will add one thing. this whole idea of Israeli Jews reconquering their ancient holy lands, struggling against the native peoples, gradually winning due to superior funding. It’s compelling. It’s enchanting. It’s a bullshit propaganda story to fool Israelis into fighting for some barren lands.
Israel exists because the USA needs a military outpost in a geopolitically and strategically important area. If Jerusalem were flattened, it wouldn’t make any difference.