Ukraine Armed Conflict - Movie Review Example

Ukraine armed conflict Analysis ‘The fog of war’ also sub d as ‘eleven lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara’ is a documentary film directed by Errol Morris in 2003. In the film, Morris interviews Robert S. McNamara, a former US secretary of defense. McNamara uses the interview to provide his view on the nature of modern day warfare (Morris). He uses the interview to grapple about his role in American history. Morris allows McNamara to re-tell his story from his own perspective, but he also goes further to divide the documentary into eleven lessons that can be learned from McNamara’s life. The eleven lessons obtained from McNamara’s life in the film can get used to analyze the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine. War has provided a big challenge for mankind in modern day society. Various countries are engaged in civil and international conflict on the global stage. As society engages in armed conflict, so too does mankind suffer directly as a result of deaths. A current example of armed conflict is the Ukrainian crisis that is threatening to pull the country in different directions. The conflict in Ukraine began as civic unrest that grew out of control resulting in the deaths of protesting civilians and the eventual flee of the country’s president Viktor F. Yanukovich (Ahmed, Botelho & Gumuchian 1). Yanukovich had failed to keep the promise he made to the Ukrainian citizens that would have seen the country become integrated into the European Union instead opting to sign an economic deal with Russia. This led to the civil unrest that spiraled out of control and got met by a brutal response by Yanukovich’s government. The crisis took a further dive when the country appears headed for a war with Russia, which in turn has threatened to evoke the involvement of other global countries in the globe including the US (Ahmed, Botelho & Gumuchian 1). Russia views on the autonomy of Ukraine have raised suspicion into the belief that Russia wants to expand its control into Ukraine and does not value the country’s democracy. Russia’s involvement in the crisis has sparked tensions in the eastern part of Ukraine known as Crimea (BBC). Pro-Russian separationists in the region who are believed to obtain support from Russia have organized a campaign of sabotage and incitement that seeks to destabilize the Ukrainian state. The first lesson obtained from the ‘fog of war’ is that of empathizing with your enemy. Morris uses Vietnam as a case in point where the US did not empathize with its enemy to understand why they were fighting or what would have allowed them to cease their fight. In the Ukrainian crisis, the apparent lack of the country’s president to empathize with his citizen’s led to the escalation of the crisis. The country’s citizens were yearning for economic reforms and integration into the European Union that would have signaled the country’s involvement with the more productive and modern Western Europe’s economies (Ahmed, Botelho & Gumuchian 2). For Yanukovich to fail to honor the commitment he had promised to the Ukrainian’s who were looking forward to economic reforms, it shows a complete lack of empathy for his citizens. If Yanukovich’s regime had showed more recognition towards his citizens’ demands, then the crisis might have become subdued or averted. For Yanukovich’s regime to also align itself with Russia in their rejection of the European Union deal further incensed the country’s populaces who have historically wanted to become freer from Russia. Alignment with Russia led to uproar among the populace over Yanukovich’s government’s corruption and their level of patriotism. The government’s decision to align itself with Russia was a further show of the government’s apparent lack of empathy to the citizen’s demands too. Russia’s infringement on the Crimea region of Ukraine is also a show of lack of empathy towards its neighbor (BBC). Russia does not recognize the wish of the Ukrainian people through its involvement in the crisis. A lack of empathy from both sides in the crisis will only contribute to more destruction and loss of lives. The second lesson derived from the ‘eleven lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara’ is that “in order to do good, you may have to engage in evil’ (Morris). In light of the Ukrainian crisis, there has been the emergence of armed separatists thought to have backing from Russia who have claimed government offices in the eastern city of Slaviansk (BBC). This has led for analysts to view this as a situation that is reminiscent of how Russia claimed the Crimea region of Ukraine. The show by such separationists with the backing of Russia is a clear lack of disrespect and negligence of Ukraine’s sovereignty and democracy. The people of Ukraine have turned to violent street protests against Russian backed military infringement. Violent street protests or armed conflict is not the most appropriate solution for Ukrainians towards achieving their sovereignty but in context of the crisis it might be the only way possible to achieve their perceived good (Ahmed, Botelho & Gumuchian 1). An armed conflict with Russia offers Ukrainians a great danger to their civilians and might result in the loss of lives and property too. There is a chance for Ukrainians to assert their sovereignty by engaging in the evil act that is war. Further, the Ukrainian people have already achieved a good by toppling over the regime of Yanukovich, which did not heed to their wishes. They achieved this through violent street protests, which in itself was illegitimate but it helped them to see the downfall of their regime (Ahmed, Botelho & Gumuchian 1). To topple a democratically elected government is not a sign of a democratic state. But in light of the choices offered to the people of Ukraine by Yanukovich’s government in relation to economic and political reforms, it is apparent that the Ukrainians’ had to undertake an evil to achieve good. The third lesson from the ‘eleven lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara’ that can get utilized to analyze the Ukrainian crisis is to get data (Morris). There is a necessity for the international community to obtain the relevant statistics in relation to the Ukrainian crisis before interceding. The involvement of Russia in the crisis has threatened to evoke international response from various countries including the US and those in the European Union. Before undertaking such an involvement, the international community should gain access to statistics on the impact of a possible confrontation between countries on a war level. Statistics on the impact of the war towards Ukraine, Russia, and the rest of the globe should become undertaken by parties concerned in intervening in the war. Data about the cost of going to war for the Ukrainian state should become assessed. The Ukrainian economy is experiencing slow growth and its government’s apparent involvement in armed conflict with Russia should become evaluated to understand the gains and losses that might emanate from the conflict (Ahmed, Botelho & Gumuchian 9). The possibility of casualties that might result from international response should also get assessed. It is also vital for the international community to gather data on the military might of Russia before engaging in armed conflict with the country. They should also gain data on Russia’s allies who might be supportive of their agenda. There is a need for the international community to be thoroughly educated on the circumstances that are driving the nation into an armed conflict with Ukraine. It is immeasurably vital for the international community prepared to respond to the crisis to get all the correct information regarding the crisis. The fourth lesson that can get used to analyze the Ukrainian crisis from the ‘‘eleven lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara’ is you cannot change human nature (Morris). This lesson ascribes to the complexity of war and how it can be difficult for the human mind to fully grasp all the complexities at once. This can be ascertained with the Ukrainian crisis in that there lays far deeper complexities than those directly viewed by the international community. There is the complexity of the Soviet Union bloc that existed before (Ahmed, Botelho & Gumuchian 4). The crisis is not just about political freedom for the Ukrainians but also economic freedom in exploring new economic partnerships with the western world. The delicate nature of the crisis offers a complex diversity to it that cannot all be solved at once. The ‘eleven lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara’ offers a deeper insight into the thought processes and life of one of the most famous secretary of defense in US history thus far. The film offers insight into understanding the decisions of a major policy maker and how individuals and their personalities affect foreign policy undertakings. The eleven lessons provided by the film’s director can get used to examine contemporary global issues such as the Ukrainian crisis and how different decisions can become arrived at. It is vital to note that the eleven lessons from McNamara also stipulate how difficult it can be for human beings to eradicate wars in this century and or change human nature. The lack of empathizing with others is a great contributor to crisis around the globe even when placed in the context of the Ukrainian crisis. The lessons obtained from McNamara can get used to avert or subdue the effects of various crisis globally. Works Cited BBC. Russia: Ukraine military action would undermine talks. 13 April 2014. 13 April 2014 . Saeed Ahmed. Greg Botelho, Marie-Louise Gumuchian. 20 questions: Whats behind Ukraines political crisis? 20 February 2014. 13 April 2014 . The Fog of War. Dir. Errol Morris. Perf. Errol Morris Robert S. McNamara. 2003. Read More