Of all the people one can learn from about world affairs, it is an outspoken, plain-speaking, unapologetically swashbuckling Republican American president. Not the one who struggles with basic grammar. Not the one who thinks injecting bleach cures diseases. But one with actual courage, wit, and the ability to turn a phrase.
Teddy Roosevelt.
He said it best:
Speak softly and carry a big stick. You’ll go far.
Good old Teddy knew exactly what he was talking about.
One of the few political figures I admire, alongside Nehru and Lenin (yes, yes, interesting mix, I know), Roosevelt hit the nail on the head. Power, real power, is not in loud proclamations. It is in quiet confidence.
(Side note: Funny how both Roosevelts, one Republican and one Democrat, are amongst my favourite world leaders! One a ‘man’s man,’ the other in a wheelchair. Both tough. Both brave. Both intellectual giants. Both good for America. Both good for the world. I wonder where America got lost and is not able to produce such leaders anymore. But that is digressing. On with the subject matter now.)
The Strongest Are the Softest.
Long ago (maybe back in the 1980s), I remember reading about an Australian study that measured how polite or rude police officers were based on how they were armed (nothing, baton, gun). They found that:
- The most soft-spoken officer was the one carrying a gun.
- The rudest officer was the one who was completely unarmed.
It makes sense (even though I could not find this study online when I looked some time ago). The stronger you are, the more confident you are, the more powerful you are, the less you need to project it. The person who feels weak or insecure is the one who is unnecessarily aggressive. Like a small dog yapping at everything while the big one just watches. While the person most confident of their strength is calm, polite, and accommodating of others.
Which brings me to Ukraine.
The Cost of Giving Up Power.
In 1994, Ukraine voluntarily gave up its nuclear weapons under the Budapest Memorandum, along with Belarus and Kazakhstan. In exchange, they were given security assurances by nuclear powers (mainly Russia, the UK, the USA, and France). They were also promised financial aid and other concessions, but we will leave that aside for now as irrelevant to this specific discussion.
At the time, Ukraine had:
- 1,900 Soviet strategic nuclear warheads
- Between 2,650 and 4,200 Soviet tactical nuclear weapons
And they dismantled it all. They even signed away their right to build them by joining the NPT.
A fat lot of good that did them.
Now, look at countries that refused to give up their nuclear weapons.
- North Korea is still standing and still untouchable.
- Pakistan is not exactly a model state, but no one is invading them.
- South Africa had nukes literally during apartheid. And yet, surprisingly, no large, aggressive wars (other than the ones they started).
The Harsh Reality.
Ukraine is not being attacked because it is weak. Not because Russia is right. Not because it is dependent on foreign aid. It is being attacked because it does not have nuclear weapons.
And that brings me to India.
I am a pacifist. A secular humanist. A Gandhian in most respects. But I take my hat off to every Prime Minister of India who supported our nuclear program, whether covertly or overtly. Specifically, to Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who demonstrated that India has the means to wreak unseen havoc on its enemies should the need arise.
Even with our no-first-use policy. Even with our pacifist stance. Even with our lack of territorial ambitions.
India is safer today because someone, somewhere, put the safety and security of this nation first. And decided to build a nuclear bomb.
If only Ukraine had had such leaders.
But when you give up your weapons and put your faith in assurances, you do not just invite war.
You invite a spectacle. You invite humiliation.
And when the only person left to defend your country is a comedian (however brave, however articulate, however inspiring), you are not in a war.
You are in a farce.
