For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Contact: press@peoplepowerinitiatives.org
Former National Security Officials Call for Diplomacy to End Russia-Ukraine War In Open Letter in New York Times
Washington, D.C. — Today, Eisenhower Media Network, a group of former high-ranking national security fellows, released an open letter appearing as a full-page ad in the New York Times, calling for a diplomatic end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Competent and wise diplomacy could have prevented the Ukraine War and it most likely could have ended it already,” Matthew Hoh, Associate Director, Eisenhower Media Network; Former Marine Corps officer, and State and Defense official said. Only diplomacy will end this stalemated war, there is no military victory possible for either side.”
The letter, signed by 13 retired military officials and national security experts such as retired colonel Larry Wilkerson, retired ambassador Jack Matlock and Professor Jeffrey Sachs, does not condone Russia’s invasion or the suffering it has brought about, but tries to explain the dynamics of the situation from a historical and current lens asking diplomats to consider a less war-mongering approach.
“I worked in Space Command as a senior advisor to the Commander, where our land-based nuclear arsenal was under his command. This is the most fearful I have ever been of a nuclear escalation,” Dennis Fritz, Director at Eisenhower Media Network; Command Chief Master Sergeant of the US Air Force (retired) said. “My goal is to bring awareness to as many people as possible the backstory of how we got here and how ‘silence is complicit’ if I disagree with our current policy and role in the Russian/Ukraine conflict.”
Historically, the fellows say, Russia has been invaded by foreigners and is therefore wary of expanded NATO borders. With that in mind, this situation should be considered with perspective and understanding versus weapons and destruction.
“As Dan Ellsberg has warned courageously and unceasingly, we — the world — are at the nuclear brink again, perhaps closer to the edge than ever before. It only requires one step to go over and then our steps end forever,” Colonel, US Army (retired) Lawrence Wilkerson said. “If that’s not sufficient reason for a return to diplomacy, our extinction is at hand; the timing is all that is in question.”
Yet, the U.S. has sent over $30 billion worth of military gear and weapons to Ukraine, with total aid to Ukraine exceeding $100 billion. Further confirming the ethos that war is a racket, and only highly profitable for a select few. It’s time the US and those perpetuating this war acknowledge the part they’ve played in the devastation of the Ukrainian people and lead with wisdom and diplomacy.
“We owe it to the youth of the world to fully convert the U.S. military-industrial complex into fields that actually benefit the species, including climate resiliency, space exploration, public transportation, and energy capture and storage,” Christian Sorensen, Eisenhower Media Network fellow and Former Arabic linguist, US Air Force said. “Diplomacy in Ukraine is the first step toward ending the business of war in which the U.S. ranks number one.”
Read the letter here.
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