First and
foremost, Ukraine must develop its intelligence, counter-intelligence, and
security services to a high level of probability that terrorists, separatists,
saboteurs, or foreign agents will be
identified. This would require the
continuing offer of rewards to citizens who disclose criminal or subversive
plans, personnel, or activities; the infiltration of groups advocating
“reunion” or integration with Russia; and the selective monitoring of suspect
communications with the best technology currently available.
Second.
Ukraine must not deviate from its expressed intent to control and to establish
a 10 km buffer zone along its Russian border.
The movement of Russian personnel, baggage, and equipment through border
checkpoints must be scrupulously monitored and any suspicious Russian citizens
entering Ukraine tracked.
Third. Ukraine
should begin building up its “special operations “(Spetsnaz) forces so as to ensure that any future terrorist or
separatist armed outbreaks – even within
crowded cities – can be handled with little or no loss of civilian lives.
Fourth.
Ukraine must ban all Russian media penetration that may be intended to subvert
the loyalty of Ukrainian citizens. Concurrently, the law should emphatically
guarantee the right of any domestic or non-Russian media to freely criticize
the government or otherwise challenge the status quo.
Fifth. In
all eight oblasts comprising what Putin’ would like to call “Novarossiya”, the government should
undertake a special educational program, including public service infomercials,
that would inspire a greater sense of identification with the Ukrainian state,
and alleviate any misunderstandings and discord that currently
exist among the regions. It is important
that all school text and government – controlled programming deal in verifiable
and documented historical facts: truth, never propaganda.
Sixth.
Ukrainian law should provide for swift and severe sentencing of convicted
terrorists, including mandatory hard labor and even capital punishment in
appropriate cases. Subversives should also be dealt with severely.
Seventh.
Ukraine has a superb technical and intellectual base for the development of
advanced military hardware. It should
invest in its military-industrial complex so as to ensure self-sufficiency in
military logistics, and enable a profitable export base.
Eighth. As a
back-stop to all the above and as “insurance” against a return to conventional
cross-border military invasion, Ukraine should build a small arsenal of
tactical, nuclear weapons together with short and intermediate range or ground-hugging missiles capable of penetrating Russian airspace and
destroying its most important sites.
Although Ukraine can not hope (and has no reason) to compete with Russia
in nuclear might, it can afford (and has the skill) to ensure that the price of
any attack on Ukraine would be far too costly to the aggressor: i.e., a
modified form of “mutually assured
destruction” (MAD lite).
All of the above forms of defense against
foreign aggression or internal security threats, have been (and continue to be) applied with
success by many of the most progressive and civil-liberty oriented democracies
in the world. It is most unfortunate for
any society to have to invest so much of its financial and intellectual
resources into simply protecting itself.
But Ukraine has no aggressive designs on any of its neighbors, and its
government must do what is normal,
natural, and proper to safeguard the security of its people – its highest priority ….. while, concurrently, implementing
strong safeguards such as
independent review and appeal
procedures, against infringement or
abuse of the rights of its citizens.
George Woloshyn served as a member of U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s administration and was responsible for National Security Emergency Planning and Preparedness.
