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Giving Peace a Chance in Ukraine By Bruce Altschuler

BFP Team
Sunday, January 22, 2023
News, Op-ed, Peace Activism

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Brooklyn For Peace has been urging a cease fire and negotiations to end hostilities. People who disagree will tell us that “you can’t negotiate with a war criminal” or “you can’t trust Putin.” Our reply is that if we don’t look for opportunities to negotiate, the only alternative is the endless continuation of a war that has already killed hundreds of thousands on both sides, unleashed destruction on much of Ukraine and worsened climate change and food insecurity throughout the world.

A worthwhile precedent is the 1995 Dayton Accords negotiated with, among others, alleged war criminal Slobodan Milosevic. As imperfect as this agreement was, it ended a years long conflict that had killed tens of thousands and did not prevent the prosecution of Milosevic as a war criminal, although he died before a verdict in his trial could be rendered.

The United States and Ukraine should take advantage of any openings for negotiation that present themselves. One example of a chance missed was Putin’s proposal for a cease-fire during Orthodox Christmas in January. Rather than seeing this as a possible opportunity to advance the cause of peace, Ukraine and the United States immediately denounced Putin’s proposal as hypocritical. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba pointed to Russia’s shelling of Kherson on Christmas Eve as evidence. President Biden made a similar statement. If so, why didn’t Ukraine, the United States or one of its NATO allies propose a deal earlier – cease fires on both religions’ Christmas holidays? If there was such an agreement and it was observed, it might have been a start, however, small, toward a larger agreement.

Negotiations can only succeed if both sides have something to gain from an agreement. In that case, a violation by one side will cause it to lose its gains. That, not faith in the goodwill of the other side, is what makes agreements work. But you can’t get to an agreement if you are unwilling to start.

Written by Bruce Altschuler

Article by BFP Team

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!BREAKING NEWS! Twenty-One NYC Council Members have now endorsed RES 423 — a bill that would put NYC on official record urging substantial cuts to the bloated Pentagon war budget.  Call your Council Member and ask them to Co-Sponsor RES 423 (if they already have signed on, then thank them! Don’t know your CM? Find them here: bit.ly/find-cmBREAKING NEWS! ‫‬ ‫‬ Thank you, COUNCIL MEMBER DIANA AYALA!‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ We appreciate your sponsorship of City Council RES 423 ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ that now has WOW — TWENTY-ONE SPONSORS! ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ To all our supporters —   We’re on a roll and we can pass RES 423‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ But we need your help!‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ★ Find your Council Member here: bit.ly/find-cm‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ★ If they’re already a sponsor – thank them and ask them to ask their colleagues to sponsor 423.‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ ★ If they are not yet a sponsor – call or write them and remind them that our city faces a financial cliff. Also, tell them that THERE IS MONEY – but Congress shovels our taxes into war spending by funding huge Pentagon budgets, year after year … at the expense of our cities, its residents, and their constituents. ASK THEM TO SPONSOR RES 423 which puts our city on official record urging substantial cuts to the Pentagon budget so that the urgent needs of our people can be funded and met.LET’S PASS IT!* INITIATING SPONSORCarlina Rivera* CO-SPONSORSAlexa AvilésDiana Ayala, Deputy Speaker Charles BarronJustin BrannanGail A. BrewerTiffany CabánCarmen N. De La Rosa Amanda FaríasJennifer GutiérrezShahana K. Hanif Crystal Hudson Shekar KrishnanFarah N. Louis Christopher MarteSandy NurseChe OseéLincoln Restler Kristin Richardson JordanJumaane Williams, Public AdvocateJulie WonBrad Lander NY City Council NYC Council Speaker Adrienne AdamsJumaane D. Williams Office of the NYC Public Advocate Councilmember Chi Ossé Council Member Julie Won Tiffany Cabán Council Member Lincoln Restler Council Member Crystal Hudson Councilwoman Carlina Rivera 利華娜 Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala#movethemoneynyc


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Join us TUESDAY 3/28 at 8:45 am ET at 50 Hudson Yards, NYC for an action against the F-35! We’ll join with the Mindful Rebels after their weekly protest meditation outside BlackRock HQ to raise our voices! See you there! https://www.codepink.org/groundthef35_nyc


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Try not to miss this! Documentary premiere Tues 3/28, @ 9 pm ET, or streaming afterwards on PBS.org


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Tuesday, 7, Mar
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Friday, 24, Feb
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Thursday, 16, Feb
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Sunday, 22, Jan
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Saturday, 17, Dec
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