BIG READ: Whatever we call it, the ‘war’ in Ukraine is at a tipping point
Russia’s miscalculations, misnomers and military failures have played into the hands of Kyiv
Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” has gradually morphed into something worse than he imagined. With Putin’s draft of an estimated 300,000 reservists to enter Russia’s war on the Ukrainian people, the “special military operation” is what it always has been; it’s war because war it is, never mind what it’s called or what its meaning or intent is. Naming of wars imputes value and meaning, for better or for worse.
This imputing meaning to particular wars has been a constant feature of war and of the people who wage wars. The journalist and writer Chris Hedges, who covered wars and conflict in South America, the Balkans and the Middle East for more than two decades, explained in his book War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning: “Even with its destruction and carnage it can give us what we long for in life. It can give us purpose, meaning, a reason for living. Only when we are in the midst of conflict does the shallowness and vapidness of much of our lives become apparent.”...
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