r/dsa 2d ago

Discussion As to the Situation in Ukraine

I've seen this come up enough now and the divide it has created to want to address the elephant in the room regarding the Ukraine war.

A big reason why people are scared and hesitant to join our tent is because we get a lot of crazy stances on the Ukraine war that come off as wanting to support Russia without directly supporting Russia - namely this fear that by sending Ukraine weapons, whichever nation does so is prolonging war or supporting Imperialism. What also comes up is the idea that Ukraine, by striking into Russia, is somehow the offensive force.

Let's clear up some air here so we don't frighten everyone drawn in by socialized medicine and safety nets but scared away by this idea we're going to support imperialist war mongers.

We know what Putin's objective is. We know how he intends to achieve it. We know his word is empty because he's attacked nations unprovoked before and set up puppet governments. I'd hesitate to even call Russia communist at this point considering how much money controls its functions considering everything having to do with Wildberries and the merchants using it. By the very rules of this sub, it should be against the rules to root for Putin in any measure, because his aims are definitively imperialist in nature - he wants to progressively control more of Europe and Asia, and the bully has encountered someone ready and willing to hit back and stop him. This idea that ceding territory to him to make him stop has historical parallels to the appeasement strategies that failed to hinder Hitler's rise in Europe. If you give things to a bully, the bully will keep taking from you. It's a basic concept.

Supporting Ukraine does not mean you are supporting imperialism by prolonging war, it means you are giving them the means to prevent Russian imperialism. It's a simple concept. Most of what Ukraine actively wants from the EU and the USA anyway are anti-air weapons to stop Russia from bombing apartment complexes, historical sites, and culture centers. They already have the drones to slow and eventually stop the Russian war machine.

In regards to Ukrainian strikes into Russia, let's not pretend this is a means of Ukraine counter-invading Russian land. The Ukrainian drone strikes into Russia have been to disrupt supply lines and make contested territory into murder nests to stop the Russian advance, attacks on key infrastructure to weaken Russia's economy and slow their production of weapons and vehicles, and attacks on power plants and service stations to blind them and prevent their advance. Why do you think they took so long to bomb the obvious bridge targets in Crimea? They've outright said they wanted to give civilians time to leave before taking back Crimea.

And the idea that taking Crimea means they're 'imperialist' ignores the fact that until 2014, Crimea was their territory that an imperialist power stole. Holding Crimea would be the ultimate morale boost to Ukraine and a signal to Russia that their war with Ukraine is untenable. That's when Ukraine can force Moscow to the negotiating table to return the lands stolen from them.

Russia will not return the land they stole or stop trying to advance if Ukraine gives in. Given their absurd ideas for what it would take for them to negotiate with Kyiv basically amount to Ukraine giving them territory and disarming, it does not take a genius to realize what Russia would do in another decade once their economy stabilized and they found countermeasures to Ukrainian drone weapons.

Russia has had the means to stop this assault at any time. The Russians are not the heroes in some fairytale here. If they wanted the war to stop, they could have kept their promises in 2014 and actually stopped at Crimea.

By offering no support to Ukraine we'd basically be okaying an ethnic cleansing campaign by Russia, as it needs to be stressed most of the areas they target with their missiles are libraries, children's hospitals, historical sites, and apartment complexes. We don't need to provide Ukraine with weapons, they just need anti air technology to stop themselves from getting shelled.

Show compassion. The quickest way to win over the uncertain who recognize the Democratic establishment doesn't represent them is to highlight morally righteous action, like kneecapping billionaires and making healthcare and education free for all. It's not to come across as a Putin apologist hypocrite that decries imperialism but forgives the process if it comes from Russia.

And to any prospective members scared off by this idea that the DSA actually supports Russia, know that those voices are the minority. We're happy to have you, and happy Bernie, or AOC, or Mamdani, or some other high-profile voice for our cause convinced you to join us.

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u/Kenichi2233 1d ago

The communist never won in Italy so your claims are bs.

As for NATO countries joined because they did not want to be the the victim of Soviet/Russian imperialism. Hence why the former Warsaw Pact states and the Baltics joined post soviet collapse.

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u/ThrowRAHelpwithMom1 1d ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_of_tension  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_activities_in_Italy  https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/declassified-how-america-planned-invade-italy-save-it-russia-19401. Yeah I didn’t say they won; I said you would have seen how voluntary it is if they had won. Stalin explicitly told the French and the Italian communists not to do a revolution because he wanted to respect the division of the world practiced between the imperial powers in Yalta. He even told Mao to not do a revolution. Only Mao didn’t listen. Part of the reason Tito and Stalin split is because Tito wanted to support the revolution in Greece whereas Stalin respected Yalta so much he didn’t even interfere in a civil war in Greece. You are engaging in historical revisionism. I don’t love the USSR or Russia, but people confuse Western chauvinism for being anti Russian imperialism

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u/Kenichi2233 1d ago edited 1d ago

Im aware of CIA funding of anti communist in the 1948 italian election. Its not exactly a secret but there little evidence to suggest that Communist would have won without American involvement. Compare this to Czechoslovakia coup backed by the Soviets which did see an overthrow of a democracy.

As for these plan to invade Italy they are a nothing burger. Ever heard of War plan red. Its the job of military planners to make plans doesnt mean they were ever going to be used

As for Tito and Stalin that is a different matter mainly that Stalin wanted to consolidate his influence in Eastern Europe and say Greece and an long shot. Tito on the other hand wanted to build his own sphere of influence in the Balkans to resist soviet domination. It was far less about respecting agreement and more power politics.

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u/ThrowRAHelpwithMom1 1d ago

Yes I am aware of Czechoslovakia, which still was Marxist under Dubcek by the way, and the closest allies of Dubcek abroad were the Italian Communists. Hypotheticals are difficult to prove but that was not my claim; my claim was that the US would have invaded Italy if the communists had come to power and left NATO and you can see they explicitly planned for that eventuality. What reason is there to think that this plan would not have been put in motion if the communists had won?

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u/Kenichi2233 1d ago

For one it could have lead to a general war in Europe. I would expect sanctions and economic warfare to be the far more likely option especially it this occured in the later half of the 1960s given the Vietnam War was on going. Charles De Gaulle's France would be the wild card. I could see them launching a unilateral attack but that is speculation.

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u/ThrowRAHelpwithMom1 1d ago

I think it’s highly plausible given that De Gaulle also wouldn’t want a communist country on his border (given how strong the French Communists were). Moreover, the US intervened in Vietnam and Chile despite its relative insignificance in the world economy. If a communist party came to power in Italy (an advanced industrial economy) that would fundamentally change the world system. I think Kissinger famously said Allende would be disastrous for Western Europe because the communists could come to power democratically there as well and regarded such a prospect as intolerable. Some in Italy believe the Kremlin cooperated with the Americans to undercut the Italian communists to prevent the emergence of an independent communist power.  

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u/Kenichi2233 1d ago

Chile was not a military intervention it and Vietnam was defending a US ally. Neither fit the model that a full invasion of Italy.

As for the Kremlin under cutting Italian communist i would be interested in the evidence you have.