Important differences and similarities between attacks on Iraq versus Ukraine

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Before trying to compare or contrast the Ukraine invasion with other invasions, we need to consider all of the key differences and similarities.

DIFFERENCES

Iraq attempted to annex the entire nation Kuwait whereas Ukraine attacked no nation.

Iraq suffered under a decades-long dictatorship whereas Ukraine had a representative government–especially after the 2018 elections where Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his party won handily.

Dictatorship Iraq attacked dictatorship Kuwait, whereas Russia attacked democracy Ukraine.

United States directly attacked Iraq whereas United States has limited its assistance to advice and supplies with conditions and sanctions.

Russia attacked Ukraine to commit full-on genocide whereas United States attacked Iraq for “regime change.”

United States attacked Iraq more than a generation ago whereas Ukrainian blood flows today. If we want to save lives and end wars, we should be working on the current one. Attacks on Iraq were years back whereas the attack on Ukraine is a present emergency. We can no longer prevent all the bloodshed in Iraq whereas we can still work to stop or reduce bloodshed in Ukraine now.

More generally, diverting to past wrongs condones or encourages current wrongs continuing. If every time a wrong is committed in the world we excuse it for other past wrongs, then we get a world full of never-ending wrongs.

SIMILARITIES

Kuwait was a sovereign nation when attacked by Iraq just as Ukraine was sovereign when attacked by Russia.

Years after George Bush attacked Iraq, his son George W. Bush went in again without justification just as years after Russia attacked Ukraine, Russia went back in without justification.

For the most part, Republicans supported the second American attack on Iraq and also support the second Russian attack on Ukraine (with less-than-honest condoning, excusing, or justifying the attack).

Editor’s note: Nothing in this article may be construed as supporting or condoning the George W. Bush attack on Iraq. Newscast Now opposes that war and the earlier “Gulf War” too.