Surprisingly, 71 percent of Democrats opposed their president’s war hysteria over Ukraine.
Ukrainian government tank fire against Donbass. (Ukraine MOD/Flickr)
By Brett Wilkins
Common Dreams
A majority of Americans want the Biden administration to work with Russia toward a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis in order to avert a potentially catastrophic war, according to the results of a new poll published Friday.
According to the Data for Progress survey of 1,214 likely U.S. voters, 58 percent of overall respondents “somewhat” or “strongly” support the Biden administration “striking a deal with Russia to avoid war over Ukraine.”
Among Democrats, support for such a move was 71 percent, while 51 percent of Independents and 46 percent of Republicans agreed with the prospective policy.
NEW POLL: Voters support the Biden administration striking a deal with Russia to avoid war over Ukraine. https://t.co/8khZUmerbW pic.twitter.com/rMowDKDvwb
— Data for Progress (@DataProgress) January 28, 2022
The poll’s findings echo pleas from U.S. progressives, who urge President Joe Biden to pursue a diplomatic solution to the crisis, in which the world’s two foremost nuclear powers are involved.
“There is no military solution,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) asserted Wednesday.
The new poll comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a Friday press conference that conflict with Russia “is not inevitable” and that there was still time for a positive diplomatic outcome.
Common Dreams reported Friday that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that there will be no war if the United States does not escalate the conflict.
“If it depends on Russia, then there will be no war,” he stated. “We don’t want wars. But we also won’t allow our interests to be rudely trampled, to be ignored.”
Citing security concerns—including decades of U.S. provocation such as expanding NATO—Russia has reportedly amassed around 100,000 troops near the border of eastern Ukraine, where pro-Moscow separatists have been fighting the Western-backed Ukrainian government since 2014.
Russia is seeking a guarantee that Ukraine will not be admitted into the NATO alliance, which Moscow views as inherently anti-Russian. The U.S. refuses to provide such a guarantee.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that any Russian invasion of Ukraine would be “met with a severe and united response” from NATO. While the Biden administration has suggested that such a response would be primarily economic in nature, the Pentagon announced earlier this week that 8,500 U.S. troops were being placed on alert, ready to quickly deploy to Eastern Europe in the event NATO activates a rapid reaction force.
According to a Kremlin official quoted by Reuters, Russian President Vladmir Putin spoke by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron Friday, telling him that “he wanted to continue dialogue and that we needed to work towards the implementation of the Minsk accords,” a reference to the quadrilateral talks between France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine on the war in eastern Ukraine.
“He said he didn’t want an escalation,” the Russian official said of Putin, but added that the U.S. and NATO have still failed to address Moscow’s primary security concerns.
On Thursday, Biden spoke with Volodymyr Zelensky, his Ukrainian counterpart, and “reaffirmed the readiness of the United States along with its allies and partners to respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine,” according to a White House readout of the conversation.
This article is from Common Dreams.
If Americans are consistent, then 1 in 5 Americans would strongly approve of Kennedy’s decision to negotiate with Khrushchev rather than just have a ‘go at it’ approach and see if anyone survives! Of course, perhaps even today, a majority of Americans d0n’t know of the concessions made to the Soviets at that time. In retrospect, Khrushchev should have asked for a promise not to overthrow
So, if Americans are consistent, then 1 in 5 Americans strongly believe Kennedy made the right call in negotiating with Khrushchev rather than just having a ‘go at it’ and seeing IF anyone survives. Very unlikely that soviet missiles get removed without some concessions from the US.
Russia keeps telling the US?NATO and the media that it has no plan to invade Ukraine, but the lies go on. “massed troops” ready to invade, “imminent invasion” with no limit on time (now February, but the Olympic Games go until 20Feb so no action before then!) when there is NO movement of troops nearer to country 404. Why would Russia want such a burden, and the increased hatred by the “West”, to make a continuing enemy of its next door neighbour ? Ukraine remains next to Russia whatever happens, so Russia wants it to be neutral. Making war is the apparent desire of the USA?UK /NATO, and it is Russia keeping to the path of diplomacy which is already laid down in the Minsk agreement. Let us hope Macron has made a small step in his talk with Putin yesterday.
As a registered Dem, who voted for Bernie in the primaries, I wish overall support for this position was much higher. If one is an intelligent human without pathological hatred for others and/or one’s own self, I fail to see how one doesn’t STRONGLY support this.
Democrats could care less what the people they misrepresent want. They work for the oligarchy – NOT YOU.
You left two words out Cliff! “Democrats and republicans could care less what the people they misrepresent want.”
You need to read Joe Lauria’s “The Tangled Tale of NATO Expansion at the Heart of Ukraine Crisis.” However you do get 1/2 credit where 1/2 credit is due, you did after all get it half right.