As I cruised through the morning news, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” was doing their usual slanted political gossip – and their everything-is-about-Trump spin. FOX was focusing on the bravery and the impressive successes of the Ukrainian force – and the collapse of the Ruble (good analysis by Larry Kudlow).
But it was CNN that had the most impacting coverage of the Russian invasion. War correspondent Mathew Chance was reporting from a bridge where Ukrainian forces had stopped the advance of Putin’s military. Correction: They did not “stop” the advance, they destroyed the Russian unit.
Chance walked along the debris-filled bridge. He was the only human being to be seen on camera – at least the only living human being. He walked past tanks and launch vehicles that were in a condition between ripped apart or crumpled. They were almost unrecognizable.
Among the debris were pieces of metal, weapons and unused grenades — AND BODIES. Bodies of dead Russian soldiers. Even Chance seemed to get a bit emotional in seeing the dead bodies. I did. It was a powerful – albeit strange — moment to feel the sadness of seeing enemy soldiers dead. It reminded me of how Lincoln felt about the Confederate dead at Gettysburg.
They did not die on that bridge because they hated the Ukrainians – or because the Ukrainians hated them. The Russians were not like the Nazi storm troopers or SS units – who were bred to be pathological killers. They did not want to be there. They were young men who wanted to live in peace at home with their loved ones. They died there because, yet another megalomaniacal madman had pushed his malignant dream of an empire into a war – killing combatants and civilians alike. Forcing two groups of soldiers into a bloody conflict that neither side wanted.
It occurred to me that the CNN report – those images – should be seen in every part of the world. They should be seen in the west to show the power of the Ukraine military and resistance movements. To inspire further support for the Ukrainian cause.
In a previous commentary, I have called for a major effort to show the Russian people the human cost of Putin’s war. Show the Russians their dead young men. The CNN report would be an ideal example of the price the Russian people are paying for the Madman of Moscow’s war. The CNN footage should be spread through as much as the Russian media as possible –including social media. It should be hacked into every communication platform in Russia – as hackers did in sending anti-war messages through a government-run television station.
What made Chance’s report so powerful was the fact that there was no analysis – no back story. He reported what he saw. He reported what happened on the bridge. The imagery needed no further explanation.
There is also a great discomfort in considering what happened on that bridge. Because as long as Putin is willing to force his nation’s young men and women into his unholy war – and as sad as the images on that bridge may be – one feels a sense of self-depravity in hoping that we will see more of those outcomes – more of those images — until the battles are over.
So, there ‘tis.