2-18-2025 9:22pm

The Lessons of History

Beth Callahan Editor

This post expresses the views and opinions of the author(s) and not necessarily that of Warren County Post management or staff.

By Robert Viney

I would not claim to be a great student of history. But having been a student at the Naval Academy during the 1960’s, I’ve probably studied more history of 20th Century global conflicts than most. And as a former nuclear submarine officer who made special operations patrols in Cold War and Vietnam War areas, I’ve lived parts of my life in those periods of conflict.

It was Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England during World War II, who observed that “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” That quote was brought to my mind this week in listening to the statements by Pete Hegseth, JD Vance and Donald Trump regarding Ukraine and Russia.

The Munich Agreement was a treaty signed in 1938 by Germany, Italy, France, and Great Britain. The agreement allowed Nazi Germany to annex the Sudetenland, a German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia. Hitler threatened to start a European war if he didn't get the Sudetenland.

In the meeting, Britain and France pressured Czechoslovakia to give up the Sudetenland. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain signed the agreement in Munich on September 30, 1938. Churchill warned that appeasing Hitler would not guarantee a lasting peace and avoid further aggression. It just took about 7 months for Hitler to break the agreement by invading the rest of Czechoslovakia, and another 6 months to invade Poland, which led to the beginning of World War II.

Are the lessons of 1938, Hitler and Czechoslovakia relevant to 2025, Putin and Ukraine? Consider that Hitler’s justification for acquiring the Sudetenland was that the German speaking citizens were being abused by the Czech government and should be aligned with Germany. That is nearly identical to the reasons Putin has stated for his invasion of the Russian-speaking region of Ukraine.

But the real motivation for both leaders was to assert the beliefs both shared that their countries had the right, their destiny, to control other countries of Europe, and were strong enough to do so without opposition. That motivation will never be satisfied by allowing or accepting their illegal violation of the sovereignty of other nations.

Now President Trump seems set on repeating the mistakes of the Munich Agreement of 1938 with his insistence on ending conflict by appeasing Russia with the illegal territorial gains they’ve made at the expense of a smaller and weaker sovereign nation. And Pete Hegseth and JD Vance seem to be setting the stage for that ill-advised appeasement beginning with the first round of negotiations with Russia this week.

There is another lesson of history that is also being ignored. The purpose of establishing the United Nations at the end of WW II was to settle territorial disputes without military action, and securing the sovereignty of all nations from illegal aggression. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the UN Security Council authorized a joint UN military force to “eject” Iraq from Kuwait and restore its sovereignty. But the permanent members of the Security Council each can veto any action by the Security Council, as Russia would certainly do if there was an attempt by the Security Council to demand Russian withdrawal with consequences.

This essentially means that Russia and China were able to prevent the UN from doing more than token resolutions of opposition to any invasion of other countries. This flaw in the UN Charter was recognized quickly in 1950, when the UN passed Resolution #377. This Resolution gives the UN General Assembly the authority to enact consequences to protect the sovereignty of another nation, in place of the Security Council, when such action is blocked by a veto in the Security Council.

Why has this Resolution and UN action to protect the sovereignty of Ukraine, action designed specifically for such a challenge to peace and security for all nations without the need for multinational conflict, not been employed? Why is the US taking a role in leading role in repeating the past mistakes of history, when the UN option might have led to not only a peaceful end of the Ukraine invasion as early as 2014, but also to preventing further Russian aggression in the future? Where are smaller nations to look to protect their national sovereignty from invasion if the authority of the UN’s role in securing national sovereignty of nations is ignored?

Many nations of the world will be affected by a possible blunder in this area by President Trump. They will pay the price for the hubris, miscalculation or just plain ignorance of history on the part of the American President.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

People in our county have their own thoughts and opinions on the many subjects and matters that affect our lives right here in Warren County. Several have written and have expressed that they would like their letters or written blogs shared.

As one one who believes in Our First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Houchins, 438 U.S. at 15–16."freedom of the press"... a section called Letter to the Editor will be published when someone in our country has taken time and energy to research a topic they feel important and want to share.

It is important to remember, though, that these post express the views and opinions of the author(s) and not necessarily that of Warren County Post management or staff.