Riots Are Not Protests – USA Gov Policy

The murder of George Floyd was a horrible crime. So is the reaction to it.

In the aftermath of Mr. Floyd’s death, the officer responsible was fired, and he is going to be prosecuted. Other officers in the vicinity may also be subjected to legal action. That’s precisely how justice is supposed to work.

Peaceful demonstrations are to be expected whenever authority is abused. But the riots and destruction that have torn through the nation are inexcusable, and appear to have little to do with the actual underlying issue.

For far too long, the Left has sought any opportunity to enforce their will and gain, by physical abuse and threats, what they cannot win at the ballot box. They have not helped the downtrodden or minorities; they have merely used them for their own political ends. This is especially true when it comes to minorities.

Major Progressive politicians seek to gain points by siding with the rioters. This is especially true in New York, where Governor Cuomo and NYC Mayor de Blasio have done everything short of actually urging violence. They do produce occasional calls for calm and nonviolence, then go on to essentially praise the rioters in guarded terms. The NY State Police Union has condemned Cuomo’s lack of support.

Consider what these two individuals actually stand for. Cuomo has stated that individuals who disagree with his leftist views should leave the state. De Blasio is in a whole bizarre category by himself. He cheered on the Soviet Union when it placed combat arms in Latin America. His administration is mired in financial corruption; his wife “lost” almost a billion dollars meant for the mentally ill. His daughter was arrested at one of the disturbances rocking the city. He has consistently sided with criminals over his own police force, and now tends to side ideologically with the rioters over those seeking to protect lives and property.

It also lasts for a longer time as compared to other alternatives to cialis 5 mg show its results. What to Look For Privacy and safety are matters of concern and you should only cheap viagra for women learningworksca.org buy from trusted, reliable, and safe online pharmacies. The medicine keeps a man sexually active for 36 hours; comparatively the pfizer viagra price other two ED drugs hardly offers 4-6 hours effect. Ask your doctor about the current medications you’re taking, and the many other conditions that could be negatively affected if you start taking the medicine or after you buy a refill. lowest prices viagra

The current riots are similar to ANTIFA actions that have been ongoing for some time. They feature mindless violence directed against innocent bystanders. The riots the nation is now enduring have nothing to do with Floyd. The terrible fate of that man is merely an excuse. The White House acted properly in declaring ANTIFA a domestic terrorist organization.

A black radio announcer in Chicago, a city hard hit by the riots, was furious at the Floyd incident, but believes that the riots have nothing to do with that terrible incident.

Members of Project 21, an African-American organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of Black Americans, has made their opinions on the riots very clear:

“The left is ruining our lives…” “what we are watching unfold across the country is a coordinated effort to destroy the rule of law and order in our communities and to gin up racial tension…” “Every American of good conscience was sickened by the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer with a troubled past. I also believe that every American of good conscience is sickened and angered by rioters and anarchists who are taking advantage of protests to loot and burn private and public property….” “Rioters have looted George Floyd’s spotlight…. Instead, Americans are focused on the mayhem and bedlam that are tearing our republic in two. Once again, the left is ‘fighting for’ blacks while also demolishing our neighborhoods and ruining our lives.”…..”Rioting and looting will never get any rogue officer fired or arrested. And you are wasting your time and breaking the law yourself, thusly making you as criminal as those against whom you purport to be protesting….”

ANTIFA’s outrages and history of violence has finally led them to be labelled as a domestic terrorism group. The move was long overdue.

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Ukraine’s Frozen Conflict

As we approach winter in the northern hemisphere, the war in Ukraine is beginning to resemble a “frozen conflict” from many perspectives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told the media he hopes the war will end faster once President-elect Trump takes over in January. Opinions in Moscow, however, differ from that of the Ukrainian leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin argues that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) needs to exclude Ukraine from joining in “exchange” for peace. If it does not, he says, then no end to the war is in sight. So far there is no Christmas solution. Several NATO countries, according to Vladimir Socor of the Jamestown Foundation, are tentatively considering “coalitions-of-the-willing” to provide security for Ukraine outside of the formal NATO framework. There is, however, no collective mechanism today under which such an arrangement is viable. According to the NATO Charter, while Ukraine is a NATO partner country, it may not join as a full member since it has not fulfilled the requirements for membership. That has not stopped NATO and allies from continuing “to provide Ukraine with unprecedented levels of support, helping to uphold its fundamental right to self-defence,” according to the organization. Socor says that keeping Ukraine out of NATO will not advance peace with Russia. Waiting for a peace settlement, he suggests, would only serve to encourage Moscow to continue the war indefinitely. Although the Biden Administration officially withdrew its support for Ukrainian membership in 2021, NATO maintains an “open door” policy toward membership-seeking countries. The current White House position led the way for European states to oppose Ukraine’s membership saying that a decision should be delayed until “conditions are met.” Biden pushed for changing “open door” to a “bridge” metaphor. It is not intended as an across-the-board NATO policy and has been implemented in the past on a case-by-case basis, says Socor. “The alliance’s open-door policy was not fully insulated from Russia’s non-statutory blocking power, and NATO-aspirant countries’ path toward membership was not always irreversible.” Russia has successfully blocked states like Georgia from joining, first in 2008 and again after the war in Ukraine began in 2014. Russia recognizes the value add of Ukraine to NATO is enormous and that Kyiv has a better case than some other nations. Putin’s invasion was, in part, intended to foreclose that option. By 2021, Moscow was pushing hard to maximize its war objectives, which included further annexations of Ukrainian territory. A main goal for Putin was, and is, to ensure there is no Ukraine left to join NATO. As President-elect Trump prepares to assume office in January, he is faced with the historical challenges presented by the war. Post-conflict security guarantees were the center of several proposals made during the 2023 military stalemate. The incoming Trump Administration has yet to outline how it intends to handle the Russia-Ukraine war. Analysts in Washington believe that the new Administration will expect its European allies to guarantee the majority of Ukraine’s security needs. As we approach 2025, several European nations have acknowledged that they do not view Ukraine as eligible for NATO membership as it would draw the organization into the middle of the conflict. Others want to wait until the war is over or pending a “peace” settlement before considering Ukrainian membership. Socor reports that some “influential voices” are suggesting that “Kyiv should join NATO after “freezing” the war along a stable armistice line, de facto accepting Ukraine’s partition, with NATO security guarantees applying de jure to the government-controlled territory only.” This would mean starting accession talks soon with the actual talks to commence only after a ceasefire is in place. Trump arrives in Washington at a time when Putin’s hybrid strategies of war in Ukraine have eviscerated commonly-held differences between war and peace. “Absent a political consensus in NATO over Ukrainian membership, certain European allies, including France’s President Emmanuel Macron, are holding informal consultations about post-conflict security guarantees to Kyiv by NATO members outside of NATO’s framework,” according to the Jamestown Foundation. The Biden Administration downplayed the discussions on possible forms of military assistance and defense industry cooperation by sending only an Assistant Secretary of State. For a European peace to hold the Trump Administration would need to formally extend the United States’ nuclear deterrence to Ukraine. Options under discussion in Europe include a “coalition of the resolute” to deploy forces to Ukraine as part of a possible armistice package, deterring further Russian attacks, says Secor. European officials are also debating, without any agreement, whether its military forces could perform non-combat logistical roles to free Ukrainian forces to fight. None of the possible courses of action has moved forward as all eyes are waiting on the incoming Trump Administration for clues about its intended level of support for a NATO framework and other non-NATO proposals. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.