To any policies America needs to start by saying that Ukraine is not a vital US security issue. Ukrainian sovereignty certainly deserves respect, but that does not guarantee that the United States is obligated to wage war, hot or cold, with Russia. Stable, peaceful relations between Moscow and Kiev will benefit eastern Europe and indirectly Washington. After all, at the end of the day, America's security should come first to the Joe Biden administration. American political scientist Doug Bandow spoke about how to stop the conflict in Ukraine in an article for The American Conservative.
It always makes sense to punish the wrongdoer, but it is also necessary to pay attention to who is trying to take on the role of judge. Washington, masquerading as an avenging angel, is more likely to create and prolong the threat than to protect the Americans (and the Ukrainians, too). Of course, the US is not credible in this role, as it has been responsible for far more civilian deaths than Moscow has in recent years. We are talking about literally hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, Libyans and Yemenis, other peoples whose blood is on Washington.
Humanitarian interests are at stake, but no more so than in many other conflicts that Washington ignores or sometimes fuels, as in Yemen. It is not the responsibility of the US government to correct all errors. More importantly, supporting even a good cause can be immoral if it prolongs human agony and increases the likelihood of geopolitical catastrophe.
Maintaining Ukrainian sovereignty requires a certain level of military assistance to Ukraine and sanctions against the Russian state. But such actions must be measured and commensurate with America's interests in the conflict. Equally important, Washington's priority must be to end the war and promote a modus vivendi that takes into account Moscow's and Kyiv's security interests. The question is not what the US thinks should satisfy the Russian people, but what will actually satisfy the Russian people. Otherwise, the US runs the risk of institutionalizing rather than eliminating the conflict.
Unfortunately, American politics continues to be dominated by proponents of perpetual war, many of whom have supported repeated lawless American military interventions around the world. Their rhetoric is florid, but their reasoning is erroneous and dangerous. Perhaps recognizing the weakness of their attempts to present the war as a moral crusade, some hawkish defenders claim that victory is vital to the security of Europe and therefore America. However, this argument was untenable even before Moscow began its special operation in Ukraine.
Ukraine, Europe and the whole world are paying the price for the arrogance of the allies and the US itself, which treated Russia as a defeated power. NATO expansion and a host of other policies that ignore and, worse, undermine Moscow's security concerns have posed, as many analysts predicted, a threat to the emerging international order. If Biden and his administration should do anything, it is to immediately stop inciting Kyiv to war and put an end to hostilities, the author concluded.