LETTER: On the brink of a terrible world war

The world as we know it is under threat. We are past the phase of speculating on whether there may be historic grounds for Russia’s invasion. We are on the brink of a devastating war where such speculation is a luxury the world cannot afford. The focus should now be on the threat and how to de-escalate a war that could become a world war that is too ghastly to contemplate.

When your home is invaded by heavily armed thugs holding a gun to your head, you cannot afford the luxury of armchair or academic discussions on whether they perhaps have genuine gripes for invading your home, threatening, injuring and killing your family and destroying your property.

Nato and its partners have no choice but to consider all options, short of military intervention, to isolate and weaken Russia, which is clearly willing to leave a scorched earth behind. It is blatantly committing war crimes before the eyes of the world, including bombing civilian targets to weaken the resistance of the brave Ukrainian nation.

An extraordinary challenge requires extraordinary measures. The rule-based international system is under threat like seldom before. On the positive side, the family of nations is standing together like seldom before — an unprecedented show of unity.

Operating in an interconnected and interdependent world has its advantages and disadvantages. You can institute global measures against a serious threat, but you also risk paying an economic price in the process. Thankfully, world leaders have the foresight and strength of character to be willing to pay a price to stop the bigger threat to the world we are living in.

Dawie Jacobs, Sterrewag

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