In Iraq, I worked with a few Ukrainians. Today is a reminder.
From 2011 - 2012, I worked at the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, specifically in the political-military affairs section. My job was to work closely with the NATO training mission in Iraq, Iraq’s national security council and intelligence agencies, and more. I really enjoyed working with NATO, as the multinational training force truly was a melting pot of Europeans (and a few Americans). It comprised Brits, French, Spanish, Italians mostly, but other nations also contributed a few personnel to the mission: Latvia, Romania, Denmark, etc.
But so did Ukraine.
Ukraine was not, and still is not, a member of NATO, but Ukraine was doing what it could to get NATO member status. It was a NATO partner nation, but not technically an Ally, which would provide collective NATO defense if the country was ever attacked (re: ongoing events right now). By contributing personnel, Ukraine, as I understood it, earned “points” that could eventually lead to an eventual NATO membership. Even back then, NATO was considered the “28+1,” with the one referring to Ukraine.
Ukraine supported the NATO training mission in Iraq with two personnel, and I'll never forget their uniforms with the Ukrainian flag sown on. They worked hard and were engaging when working with them.
Today, as Ukraine is under a multi-pronged attack from the Russian military, I think about those two Ukrainians. Where are they today? Are they still serving in Ukraine's military? Are they in combat? What about their families?
As the battle unfolds, unfortunately, the Ukrainian military isn’t on the same level as Russia's. Russia almost certainly will be able to impose its will on Ukraine, whatever that may be. So what are we (or anyone) to do?
I haven't really been involved in national security for about 10 years, but I still remember learning about how countries can respond to one another. It was the acronym DIME: diplomacy, information, military, economics.
Diplomatic actions could consist of pulling ambassadors and diplomats, cutting ties, and reducing diplomatic engagement.
Informational tactics included cyber operations, information operations, psychological operations, and more.
Military operations include direct military action, as well as military support like equipment and training.
Economic tactics comprise sanctions, cutting economic ties, and more.
The question now is: what will the United States choose to do? President Biden enacted economic sanctions against Russia. But what else is happening? It seems like the only option left is the military option. But it doesn’t seem like that is likely.
