War

The war in Ukraine has many asking just how did Putin think it was acceptable to launch an attack. There are some things that people believe in so strongly they are called first principals. There are no solutions to these problems so they need a higher power to decide. If two people disagree to the point they are willing to resort to violence the higher power intervenes to maintain civility. This works within the country but disagreements between countries have no higher power so war is always a possibility. So what are the acceptable reasons to declare war. Countries want to avoid war but it is always in the background because countries are always concerned about security. Countries have tried unsuccessfully to outlaw war so the international community has come up with three legal reasons to go to war. The first is called preemptive strike. When there is good evidence that another state is preparing to attack the first state can preemptively attack. The second is to get permission from the UN Security Council and the third is to protect people from mass genocide. There are two illegal reasons why wars are started. First is a preventive war, not to be confused with preemptive war. Country A see another country building up their military but is not a direct threat. The second reason is an opportunity war where Country A attacks because the other country is in a weakened position. The situation in Ukraine settles around the words preemptive and preventive. As Putin saw the advancement of NATO into Eastern Europe he saw a existential threat to Russia and thus he saw the need for preemption. The West saw the growth of NATO as as minor threat to Russia and thus considered the invasion of Ukraine as preventive. The only solution to this war is a negotiated settlement or else to witness the slow and total destruction of Ukriane.