In Ukraine, war is raging. In Norway, we raise moral fingers against each other – Dagsavisen
A letter from the front in Kyiv is circulating on social media. It is written by a Ukrainian who is getting ready to fight against the Russian invasion force, and addressed to the international left. To the part that has been blinded by “Anti-imperialism of idiots”those who only saw “NATO aggression in Ukraine” and therefore never saw Russian incitement and preparations.
It is not difficult to stand behind the content. And even less now, a week after Vladimir Putin sent his invading troops into the neighboring country. The world changed, brutally and suddenly, when Russia entered Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
The division in the EU has been replaced by a united front over an existential threat. Germany changed security policy so abruptly and radically by Sten Inge Jørgensen in Morgenbladet believes that it can be argued that “World War II finally ended in Germany” last week. Finland and Sweden are considering NATO membership. Norway is sending weapons to the conflict.
The world has changed, but something remains as before. Here at home, the abrupt throws of world history can be used to hit dissidents in the head in our internal sandbox war.
It is not to want peace even if you suddenly get a war
Personally, I stand behind the letter from the front. There is a difference between democratic leaders and autocrats, and many – often to the left of the center line – all too often forget this basic truth.
There is room for many nuances in the analyzes of the world, also internally on the left. Personally, I share much of the radical left’s skepticism about NATO’s role in many conflicts. My vision of European cooperation takes place on completely different terms than the current EU allows. I am married to a Latin American, and have thus interned much of the skepticism in the continent towards the United States’ handling of the “backyard” in the south.
This is not changed by Russia invading Ukraine. It becomes completely subordinate to the catastrophic situation we now face, and ends up far down the list of things that require attention here and now – but it does not disappear. “The big stick” from the United States Monroe Doctrine does not get more sympathetic that Vladimir Putin has shown the whole world his true face.
[ Norge bør ha korn i beredskap ]
All this to say the following: It is not the case that those who “have seen this war coming” and who strike hardest on the tide of war, have suddenly been right in all questions of war and peace.
In other words, it is not the case that the newspaper Klassekampen and editor Mari Skurdal deserve to be described in Aftenposten as “Putin’s Norwegian posters” because the newspaper has tried to analyze the situation differently from others prior to Russia’s invasion.
Some of the postings in the Class Struggle may have been written into the idiots’ tradition of anti-imperialism. The readers of the class struggle were probably even more taken to bed when Putin went to war last week than readers who have stayed with other newspapers. And yes, some of Putin’s claims can be found in what the Class Struggle has published, in the understanding that Russia needs a security zone, and the criticism that NATO has eaten more and more into Russia’s borders.
[ Putins dødelige paradoks ]
It has been too easy for the left to point out that the United States and NATO must necessarily be warlifters and conflict makers, as former SV politicians, now debate editor, Snorre Valen points out in VG. But it has also often been correct. Think of Iraq, or Libya. Think of America’s historic role in Latin America.
To put it this way: It is not wrong to want peace even if you suddenly have a war. Nor does it mean that one has to be an unreliable soldier in the war we have now caught.
Political editor Bjørgulv Braanen in Klassekampen wrote on Tuesday and text with the title “Yes, I was wrong”. Here Braanen admits that he missed the question. “I let too much of my own experience with previous strategic intelligence leaks from Washington guide the assessments. The prelude to the Iraq and Libya wars is still strongly remembered, “he writes.
It is so rare that we who write in the newspaper mistakenly admit that it is refreshing to read one mea culpa-text. It was brave of Braanen. But that’s not enough, obviously. On social media, many people think that the admission is too bad. The braan lies flat, but not flat enough. He was wrong!
Yes, he did. This does not mean that everyone else necessarily has been right. And at least as important: It does not make the radical left’s analysis of the power relations in the world crazy in all other questions, as it almost appears now that answers are demanded from many as to why they did not understand what Putin really is and always has been.
[ Dersom Hadia Tajik må gå av på grunn av pendlersaken, er det nok noen som gnir seg i hendene ]
It is still legitimate to be an opponent of the EU, even though the EU is now emerging as the foremost defender of democracy and international law. Personally, I am both impressed and happy with the power of action in Brussels and the other European capitals over the past week. It is possible that the events force me to go a few rounds with my own EU opposition – there are new priorities that apply now. This does not mean that it is wrong to be skeptical of what the EU’s labor market policy does with the conditions in vulnerable industries in Norway.
More of us need to reconsider our position on various issues now, in a new world. But we must live together, even after this crisis. And not least: We have to lift in droves now. What lies ahead of us can be tough. Historical times are like that. It will require a statement to political opponents who have had bad conditions in our social media times. We are united on the great goal: the fight for democracy.
Then it may be worth reminding everyone who thinks that Rødt and SV must throw the NATO opposition in the trash – now! – that it is only a little over a year since the alliance’s strong man was named Donald Trump. And that he can quickly call it again in a few small years.
[ SV-topper mener tiden er moden for å revurdere egne NATO-standpunkt ]
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