Readers respond to Question of the Week: Will Gaza, Ukraine wars end in 2024?
Not until the cost of war far exceeds the price of peace in either place
Netanyahu has declared the fighting in Gaza will continue throughout all of 2024. The Palestinian authorities have made it clear since the founding of Israel that a two-state solution is unacceptable. Israel has every reason to expect that if they declare a permanent ceasefire without an unconditional surrender by Hamas, supported by Iran and its proxies, the thousands of missiles raining terror on Israel will not end. In the Ukraine conflict, Putin's Russia has a very high tolerance for casualties, currently around 350,000. It is approaching their military deaths of WWII, but nothing compared to total Russian combined losses of 18 million. Even with a generous supply of modern weaponry, Ukraine is running out of population vital enough to take advantage. The current best hope? Domestic assassination of Putin.
— Stephen Smith, Eagle Rock
No end under Biden
Prior to ending these two wars, many considerations must be taken into account. In Gaza, it depends on how much progress is made in bringing the Hamas leadership to their senses. When Hamas hides behind willing Palestinians instead of facing the Israelis faceto-face, innocent civilians will continue to die. In Ukraine, an agreement on borders is dependent on Putin and Zelenskyy. There is a debate over who will take control of the eastern provinces and Crimea, where Russia appears to have a firm grip. This war will also kill innocent civilians. While sending Blinken to the Middle East and Lloyd Austin to the Ukraine, the Biden administration has no answers. Biden administration efforts to end the slaughter are not feared by Russia or Iran.
— Stephen Lucas, Van Nuys
U.S. must pull the plug
Two things. Israel has long since depleted its stock of artillery shells and aircraft bombs. The opposing armies in Ukraine are frozen in place because of landmines. The only thing keeping these wars going is the U.S. supplying arms and money. All we have to do to stop the slaughter in Gaza or the standoff in Ukraine is pull the plug.
— Bob Munson, Newbury Park