The Trump administration has thrown its support behind the United Nations secretary-general’s call for a global ceasefire in conflicts. That’s the right call. As we grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, it makes sense that we work together to confront this common and most exigent concern.
Unfortunately, the U.N.’s Antonio Gutteres’s effort is unlikely to find much traction. The challenge?
Our adversaries seek advantage from this chaos, not a sense of companionship.
To be sure, Guterres’s words are eloquent and deserving of support. As he put it, “It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives. To warring parties, I say: Pull back from hostilities. Put aside mistrust and animosity.” Fine words.
But consider just some of what has already happened this week.
- Russian forces continue to strike Ukrainian forces in that nation’s south-east.
- Bashar Assad’s forces continue to bomb civilians in Idlib, Syria.
- Al Shabab terrorists continue their attacks in Kenya.
- The Taliban continue ambushing Afghan security forces in Afghanistan.
- And even as it faces a catastrophe in the crammed city-state of Gaza, the ruling Hamas is rejecting Israeli interest in a ceasefire.
We’re only two days into this week, and global conflict continues.
That speaks to something: Those with little regard for human life have little regard for the coronavirus. Indeed, they seek advantage from the obstacles and distractions the virus causes for their adversaries. Take Iran’s recent escalation of attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq. Iran is suffering a truly catastrophic outbreak of the virus, yet its hard-liner elements have decided now is the time to push hard against America. They do not care about their own people, they simply believe the coronavirus has the Trump administration distracted and the U.S. military depleted in capability. And to some degree they are right.
The key here is that these enemies of humanity do not have any interest in mitigating human suffering via acts of solidarity. They have agendas, and those agendas come before concerns of the moment. Where we see the coronavirus pandemic as an opening for much-needed cooperation, these adversaries see the pandemic as an opening for even greater chaos.
So as much as Gutteres and the rest of us would wish his ceasefire call be heeded, it won’t be.
