The White Flag

A few weeks ago Pope Francis came under fire for comments that Ukraine should have the "courage of the white flag" and open negotiations with Russia for an end to the war. I don't think he meant surrender as many say. He has always been in favor of negotiation to end conflicts. Refusing to dialogue continues conflict. Some may argue that negotiation with Russia is fruitless, but how does one know unless they try to open that dialogue? For as much grief as the Pope has received on this issue, is he right, that there is courage in the white flag?

One of the world's top economists, Jeffrey Sachs at Columbia University and director of its center for sustainable development seems to agree with Francis. In a post on 8 Feb 2024 he said that  "The $61 billion (that is military aid for Ukraine) will make no difference on the battlefield except to prolong the war, tens of thousands of deaths, and physical destruction of Ukraine. It will not “save” Ukraine. Ukraine’s security can only be achieved at the negotiating table, not by some fantasized military triumph over Russia." You can read his full post here.

Source: National Catholic Reporter

In a July 2023 post Sachs damned the US position. History is seemingly repeating itself from what occurred sixty plus years ago in Vietnam, as Sachs says in that post:

At this point, Biden knows full well that NATO enlargement to Ukraine would trigger World War III. That’s why behind the scenes Biden put NATO enlargement into low gear at the Vilnius NATO Summit. Yet rather than admit the truth – that Ukraine will not be part of NATO – Biden prevaricates, promising Ukraine’s eventual membership. In reality, he is committing Ukraine to ongoing bloodletting for no reason other than U.S. domestic politics, specifically Biden’s fear of looking weak to his political foes. (A half-century ago, Presidents Johnson and Nixon sustained the Vietnam War for essentially the same pathetic reason, and with the same lying, as the late Daniel Ellsberg brilliantly explained.)

Third, in 1990 the US and Germany promised that if Moscow accepted German reunification there would be no eastward movement of NATO. In the earlier mentioned February post Sachs notes: "In 2021, after 7 years of fighting and more than 14,000 deaths in the Donbas, Putin called on newly elected President Biden to stop NATO enlargement and engage in negotiations with Russia over mutual security arrangements. Biden rejected Putin’s call to end the gambit of NATO enlargement to Ukraine." 

Sachs further noted: 

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately called for negotiations based on Ukraine’s neutrality. Within a month, a framework agreement to end the fighting was reached between Ukraine and Russia, based on Ukraine’s neutrality and an end to NATO’s enlargement to Ukraine. Biden stepped in to stop the deal, with the U.S. informing Zelensky that the U.S. would not support neutrality.

Sachs is no Republican, he views the world through a large lens and is no fan of war and destruction. Some commentators have a less emphatic view that an agreement was reached between Russia and Ukraine before the war. Sachs is known for creating bold and effective measures to address complex issues from poverty and climate change to fiscal obligations, so his opinion matters. The US continues to promote, what President Eisenhower warned about in his 1961 Farewell address: "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist." 

Is there a realistic end-game for Ukraine? The west keeps pouring in more advanced weaponry and money. The west is providing F-16 fighter jets from a variety of NATO countries to assist Ukraine. The US made decisions imbedded with folly in Afghanistan, funding and supplying the forces fighting the Soviets. Twenty years later those same arms were used to fight the US. Recently, the US all of a sudden found $300 million more to provide to Ukraine for military aid at the same time as its  own defense arms are in a $10 billion deficit. 

The only one who wins in a time of war are the arms suppliers, that Military Industrial Complex which seems to run US foreign policy. Negotiation may or may not work, but not negotiating continues the pattern of death and destruction. Catholic Outlook has this to say about Francis' controversial positions: "To put it simply: Pope Francis prioritizes nonviolence over war as a matter of principle. From the beginning of his papacy, Francis has been consistent about the inviolability and dignity of the human person, and this principle applies to his frequent calls for fighting around the world to cease. "In February article at Americamagazine.org (here) by a rabbi and a priest (no it is not a bad joke) there is this:

Pope Francis takes a consistent line regarding violent conflicts around the world—a line that is completely opposed to any war and treats any action that harms body and soul as terrorism. Thus, for example, in the Russia-Ukraine war, the pope refused to support Ukraine’s offensive actions and called for an immediate end to the war. The Ukrainians were enraged at the pope’s position, which refused to distinguish between pure evil and unfortunate necessity, just like the Israelis who were enraged at him for similar reasons.

Two years ago, March 18, 2022, in an address, Pope Francis was clear on war: "There is no such thing as a just war: they do not exist!" In the same address he also commented that: "A war is always — always! — the defeat of humanity, always." I have thought about the Pope's comment and the wide spread criticism he has received over the past few weeks. Negotiation at least opens possibilities. Those possibilities may not bear fruit, but Zelensky, according to Sachs, had reached agreement in 2022 with Putin, until Biden stuck his nose in. Sticking the American nose in to this situation is another example of American hubris which did not serve us well in Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq. If Zelensky had reached agreement before, is it not possible to once again open the door? The white flag does not mean surrender or capitulation, it means having the courage to engage in dialogue. 

On March 20, 2024, Pope Francis was criticized by Ukrainian Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak for his comments, which you can read here. Gudziak says Francis does not understand Putin. I am not sure if anyone understands the Russian president. What concerns Pope Francis is the destruction and loss of life. The Archbishop actually seems to inform Francis' position as the article states: "Gudziak mentioned the thousands of Ukrainian families who have lost someone in the war, or have family members who are missing in action, and are wondering if they are still alive when he states:  "Hundreds of thousands of families are living in this acute anxiety from day to day," said the archbishop." The reason the Pope desires negotiation is to put an end to the bloodshed in order to not increase the families facing the acute anxiety mentioned by the archbishop. 

Ukraine may have tried to negotiate, but they need to keep trying. Perhaps they will have some success so as to bring closure to those who have lost, those not sure what they may have lost, and to simply end the loss. Additional bloodshed means more loss and more loss means more anxiety. The current method is circular. If Russia shuns their overtures, then it is on Russia not Ukraine.

On St Patrick's Day I emailed Professor Sachs regarding Pope Francis' white flag comment. Professor Sachs responded to me with: "Yes, Pope Francis is wondrous, the world’s greatest moral leader." Just like prophets of old, current leaders of our time are often not appreciated until they are gone. Francis has the moral courage of his convictions to speak and take the grief. The courage of the white flag is important not just to Ukraine, but all conflicts.