Defeating the Forces of Evil

Zelenskyy made an exasperated plea for fighter jets and tanks to sustain a defense as his country continues battling Russia’s invading troops. Russia now says its main focus is on taking control of the eastern Donbas region, an apparent pullback from its earlier, more expansive goals, but one which is raising fears of a divided Ukraine.

Speaking after President Joe Biden said in a lacerating speech that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not stay in power — words the White House immediately sought to downplay — Zelenskyy lashed out at the West’s “ping-pong about who and how should hand over jets” and other weapons while Russian missile attacks kill and trap civilians.

“I’ve talked to the defenders of Mariupol today. I’m in constant contact with them. Their determination, heroism and firmness are astonishing,” Zelenskyy said in a video address, referring to the besieged southern city that has suffered some of the war’s greatest deprivations and horrors.

“If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had 1% of their courage.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stalled in many areas. Its aim to quickly encircle the capital, Kyiv, and force its surrender has faltered against staunch Ukrainian resistance — bolstered by weapons from the U.S. and other Western allies. -Source: POLITICO

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“In their well-meaning blindness they would sacrifice the future of humanity and the lives of millions of people at a later date for a temporary cessation of hostilities. I would emphasise to you that the Forces of Evil must be defeated now; the evil leaders must be wrenched from their high place, and the complete defeat and annihilation of those responsible for launching this horror on humanity is an absolute necessity and bounden duty, if security, well-being and a new order of happier living is to be the lot of coming generations. A temporary ending of the war would only give time for the Forces of Evil to reorganise, and the future war would be infinitely worse than this one. This the intelligent humanitarian is saying, and this is the opinion of the Hierarchy. The Hierarchy stands firmly on the side of those who demand a war to a finish, and the reasons are the ultimate saving of millions of lives and the preservation of certain basic spiritual values.”

The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, p. 426 (written in 1944)

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[Six] objectives facing the Hierarchy at this time and involving the personal attention of the Christ; they all have a potent and beneficent effect upon humanity. Let me enumerate them in concise form, because it is essential that there be clear perception of the emerging values on the part of workers of all grades and kinds in the world, for otherwise perception is not possible. To each point enumerated I will append in a few brief words the reason why it is regarded as important:

The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, pp. 551-52 (April-May 1946)

1. The Reorganisation of the World Religions.
   Reasons
   a. To make way for the World Religion, universal religion.
   b. To return humanity to the simplicity which is in Christ.
   c. To rid the world of theology and ecclesiasticism.
2. The Gradual Dissolution of Orthodox Judaism.
   Reasons
   a. Because of its presentation of a wrathful Jehovah, caring only for his chosen people. This is a basic evil. The Lord of the World, the God in whom we live and move and have our being, is totally otherwise.
   b. Because of its separativeness.
   c. Because it is so ancient that its teachings are largely obsolete.
   d. Because when the Jews become spiritual they will greatly benefit mankind, for they are found in every land.
3. Preparation for a New Revelation.
   Reasons
   a. Because where there is no vision the people perish. [Page 552]
   b. Because human expectancy indicates its emerging presence.
   c. Because the new Invocation will inevitably bring it to us.
4. The Reaction of the Hierarchy to Shamballa.
   Reasons
   a. Produces a direct channel.
   b. Conditions the inflow of power energy.
   c. Relates the will-to-good to goodwill.
   d. Creates new constructive tensions and new ashrams.
5. A Closer Relation of the Hierarchy to Humanity.
   Reasons
   a. Produces (in the near future) the externalisation of certain ashrams.
   b. Leads to the reappearance of the Hierarchy on earth.
   c. Recognises that man’s point of development warrants this.
   d. Presents a nearing opportunity for revelation.
6. An Effort to avert War.
   Reasons
   a. Because the next war would annihilate the greater part of the human race.
   b. Because, having a religious basis [Patriarch Kirill], the hate involved would be greater far than anything hitherto known.
   c. Because Shamballa would be involved, and this has never been the case.

You can see therefore how critical, spiritually, are these times, and how urgent is the task which confronts the Hierarchy and its workers on earth. The war may be over in the physical sense, but great issues are still involved and undetermined and can lead either to peace or to a renewal of those conditions in which wars are generated and which, once generated, cannot be avoided.

The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, pp. 551-52 (April-May 1946)

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[Russia’s military problems do not mean] that Ukraine will be able to drive off the Russians or even prevent the Russians from grinding them down. Ukraine’s hopes of surviving continue to rest on increasing lethal and non-lethal aid from the West, including advanced air defense systems, combat aircraft, armored vehicles, artillery, and other systems that the U.S. and NATO have so far been reluctant to provide. Russia’s problems do mean, though, that Ukraine actually has a chance to win this war if the West leans into helping.

The U.S., its allies, and all free peoples must recognize how important such a Ukrainian victory would be. It would show the world that freedom can defeat tyranny; it would impose a devastating defeat on Putin, finally checking his decades-long relentless advances. It might even give China’s Xi Jinping pause in contemplating hurling his own untested, unfree troops against Taiwan.

If there is any chance at all that Ukraine on its own, helped only by the provision of weapons and money, can defeat Putin — and there is — then the U.S. and the world must do everything in their power short of intervening directly to help Ukraine win.

Frederick W. Kagan is the director of the Critical Threats Project and a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. He also advises the Russia team at the Institute for the Study of War.

https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/599945-ukraine-can-defeat-russia-but-the-west-must-help

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Last summer, Putin published a lengthy essay entitled “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians” that sought to explain that there was an artificial division between the two countries and that “true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia.”

The language Putin used caused some historians to shudder. They said he echoed some of the same rhetoric Hitler used in “Mein Kampf,” the dictator’s autobiography and political manifesto. Hitler’s book brimmed with distorted history about Germany’s lost greatness, global conspiracies that undercut Germany’s power, and justifications for conquest of another group of people.

“Like the Führer, the president of Russia bemoans the tragedy that has befallen his homeland, an erstwhile empire, and he too wants to turn back the clock,” wrote Avi Garfinkel, a reporter for Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, in an article entitled, “How Putin’s Ukraine Agenda Evokes Hitler’s Mein Kampf.”

This may be one of the most disturbing links between Putin and Hitler. Some Putin critics say he is using Nazi language and propaganda techniques to justify the invasion of Ukraine. They compared the “Z” inscribed on Russian tanks to a symbol used by Nazis in concentration camps. Others compared a recent massive war rally Putin led in a Moscow stadium to scenes of a Hitler speech in an infamous Nazi propaganda film called “Triumph of the Will.”

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/02/world/putin-invasion-mistakes-hitler-blake-cec/index.html

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