Is it so axiomatic, as some suggest, that the Biden admininistration would like the war between Ukraine and Russia to drag on endlessly? The argument is that such a war would weaken Russia, one of its main geo-political rivals at home and globally, while at the same time strengthening the hand of the Biden administration and U.S. imperialism.

But what this line of reasoning ignores is that it could just as easily weaken the Biden administration and its political capacity to pursue its domestic agenda – not least Biden’s reelection – and its international agenda – the good as well as the bad.

And, especially, if the current war morphs into a wider war with all the unintended consequences connected to that turn of events.

Whataboutism reveals the duplicity and racialized nature of imperialism in the past and present which is more than ok. It’s necessary. But here’s the problem – when it’s done in a way that devalues the just anti-imperialist struggle of the Ukrainian people or the imperative of global solidarity expressed by millions of people worldwide for the people of Ukraine, it serves no good purpose.

In his appearence before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Secretary of State Blinken said that the United States will support Ukraine’s possible decision not to join NATO and maintain its neutrality. This represents not only a welcome de-escalation of war rhetoric from the Biden admininistration, but also aligns with the position of Ukraine’s President Zelensky.

What Zelensky isn’t ready to do is to accede to any demands of Putin that violate the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Makes sense.

By the way, truth be told, there was never a roadmap to Ukraine’s membership in NATO, in large measure because of the hesitation of some of its current members. In their calculus, bringing Ukraine into NATO, could easily become more trouble than it’s worth.