OPINION:
In 2019, after spending a decade conducting business across the globe, I was nominated as U.S. ambassador to Norway. Never in all my travels have I sensed such financial insecurity or concerns about safety among the people of Europe than in the past few weeks as tensions have ratcheted to an all-time high between Ukraine and Russia.
Residents in places from Scandinavia to the United Kingdom are worried about how they are going to afford to eat and stay warm, and whether they will suffer from any fallout of potential nuclear warfare between the two sparring countries with direct involvement from the United States and NATO.
The impact on their lives is devastating. Some of the costs of war are not only crimes against innocent people but also environmental crimes. Yet all we hear from the White House and Congress is the need for another appropriation for war without making a case for a strategic interest for the United States.
Peace rarely gets discussed among our leaders, yet the stakes get higher every day and not just for Europe. Here is how the tension could impact our everyday lives soon:
Vladimir Putin and his proxy leaders in nearby countries are threatening to utilize nuclear weapons. Military observers say we are the closest we have been to nuclear catastrophe since World War II. One of Mr. Putin’s newest nuclear submarines, the largest sub in the world, was spotted in the Arctic Sea — potentially armed with a nuclear drone.
Local governments are running public service announcements in New York City and New Jersey on how to respond to a nuclear strike. The Department of Health and Human Services just purchased $290 million in drugs that would treat patients in radiological and nuclear emergencies.
An unknown saboteur just imploded the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Denmark and Sweden, providing what little natural gas is being shipped into Germany for use in Europe this winter. This leak led to 70,000 metric tons of methane gas into the ocean and atmosphere, according to France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission. The full impact on marine life and the atmosphere is still unknown. In response, Norway, Europe’s largest gas supplier and a major oil producer, has deployed its military to patrol offshore with assistance from Britain, France and Germany.
Energy costs across Europe will be catastrophic as winter is approaching. In Britain alone, energy costs are up 50% and rolling blackouts are expected across Europe. With Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 now unavailable to Europe, there will be only a small supply of natural gas coming to the continent from a new Norwegian pipeline as well as limited shipments of tankers from the United States.
Countries closest to Ukraine are seeing astounding inflation related to groceries as Ukraine is a breadbasket of Europe and grows much food for this region of the world. In Latvia and Lithuania, for example, inflation was more than 22% for September; in the Netherlands, it was more than 17%; and in Poland, almost 16%.
The United States has sent more than $54 billion to Ukraine with President Biden announcing another $625 million package of aid this month for military equipment and weapons. NATO is also funding the war in Ukraine, which includes American tax dollars.
Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has been the center of intense fighting in the Ukrainian war, raising more fears of an atomic disaster. It is held by Russian forces and is in a region just annexed by Russia.
Whether Mr. Putin should remain in power is not debatable. Furthermore, what is not up for debate is the impact this war could have on the lives of tens of millions of citizens across the globe as the environment and human lives are impacted. A regional crisis should not escalate into a global catastrophe.
Instead, the United States needs a plan to bring this war to an end to solve what was a border crisis between Russia and Ukraine. It is certainly a plausible solution as war is only accelerating an astounding worldwide recession post-COVID-19.
It is urgent that our leaders now spend more political capital looking toward peace and less toward war. It may mean the very survival of a generation.
• Mark Burkhalter, a Johns Creek resident, was President Donald Trump’s nominee as ambassador to Norway. He is the former speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives.
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