A Prelude to War
Is the Russo-Ukraine War a warmup for greater conflict? And old is new again in the NYPD.
A Prelude to War
“Now the rovin’ gambler he was very bored He was tryin’ to create a next world war” – Bob Dylan
As we recently saw with Adam Entous’ New York Times piece on the United States’ secret war in Ukraine, our country was gambling on a 50/50 chance of Russia using nuclear weapons. That really would have been unfortunate. Imagine the egg on Joe Biden’s face if he was the impetus behind a nuclear war. How gauche!
But that didn’t happen, and we can all breathe a deep radiation-free sigh of relief. However, the world has seen a conflict like Ukraine before. It is, in a way, similar to the Spanish Civil War in 1936.
The Spanish Civil was famous for being a testing ground for the new weapons that would later be used with devastating effect in the Second World War. Hitler’s Germany, Mussolini’s Italy, and Portugal supported the fascist forces of Ferdinand Franco’s Nationalists. World Communism and the USSR supported the Bolshevik leaning Republicans. Sympathizers from Britain, France, and the United States all fought on the side of the Republicans.
Outside forces supplied and tested their new weapons including airplanes, tanks, and U-boats, attempting to apply tactics and determine the effectiveness of the weapons that would soon kill upwards of 50 million people.
We see similarities in the Russo-Ukraine war. North Korea, China, Iran and a host of other countries including India, Nepal, Serbia, and Syria have soldiers and/or weapons systems supporting the Russian Cause. Chinese drones have been tested on the battlefield for both sides. The United States, Britain, German, other NATO countries, and former Soviet Republics threatened by Putin have lent weapons systems, some troops, and intelligence capabilities for the defense of Ukraine.
NATO weapons and tactics have been put to the test in Ukraine. The United States giving enough support to keep the war going, but not enough to win. Perhaps an attempt to prevent a wider war, perhaps just to get an ever-increasing list of weapons systems tested in real battle. Granted, we are not aware of any cutting edge American weapons being used on the battlefield, but that’s not the kind of info that the Pentagon would release.
Trump has claimed that he could have prevented the war from occurring. And we agree with this claim. Did the world see this war as an unpreventable tragedy caused by Putin’s bellicosity, or a convenient warm up to the next global conflict? An argument can be made that the United States saw this as war as an opportunity. Our military and politicians gave Ukraine just enough support to prevent Russia from taking Ukraine, but not enough support for Ukraine to win.
Would American weapons systems be able to stop a Chinese invasion of Taiwan? Would Russia prove itself to be the paper tiger that it showed itself to be as Fascist forces rolled through the vast expanse of Soviet territory in 1941? Would the drones and other systems that China has supplied to Russia be effective in stopping American missile and air power? Nations are exploring these questions, making adjustments, and calculating probabilities.
The Russo-Ukraine War could be the largest proving ground since German airpower leveled Guernica in 1937. Let’s hope that this is not a prelude to a coming global conflict.
A Broken Window is Repaired
This week the NYPD rolled out a new initiative. A brilliant idea that just might work.
The Department rolled out a new Quality of Life Division. Their mission is enforcement based on the “Broken Windows” theory detailed by George Kelling and James Wilson in a 1982 Atlantic Magazine article.
It might seem an anachronism that a 43-year-old article would somehow apply to modern policing, but we think the NYPD is onto something here.
Alright, enough sarcasm.
It is a good thing that the NYPD is returning to broken windows (not to be confused with zero tolerance). The streets of the city are in shambles. Disorder and random crime breed fear regardless of what the crime stat sheet says.
Quality of Life enforcement has fallen by the wayside as the City Council, judicial rulings, and public sentiment have neutered the effectiveness of many prior enforcement initiatives. But the people of New York City have had enough, and the NYPD is responding. The Quality of Life Division will oversee units already in existence and coordinate with them on issues such as:
Noise complaints
Illegal parking and vending
Homelessness-related issues
Outdoor drug use
Aggressive panhandling
Abandoned vehicles
Illegal mopeds and reckless driving
This list sounds familiar. It is what we focused on when I was on patrol when we weren’t fighting serious crime. And it worked. This is what people complain about in community council meetings and on 311 calls. These are the issues that the police and community can work together to resolve.
This is also what creates an atmosphere of order – which broken windows posits leads to a diminution of more serious crime. We agree with that wholeheartedly. Why? Because we’ve seen it, unlike the academics who will look for any half-baked theory to undermine the efficacy of good police work.
We are not sure this new Quality of Life initiative needs the spin up of a new division. Before social justice warriors dismantled the criminal justice system, we would just call this “doing your job.”
But good luck to the new division and new initiative. It’s nice to see a return to what works. We anticipate the communities of New York City will be happier and safer.
Thanks for reading The Ops Desk. Stay Safe!