As the war in Ukraine moves toward an ugly conclusion unfavorable to the U.S., I anticipate the appearance of a common propaganda phenomenon following lost wars: the stab in the back. This is a propaganda tactic in which military defeat is attributed to domestic treachery undermining the heroic efforts of the military. The bellicose elements of the U.S. foreign policy establishment (a.k.a. the neocons), which invested large amounts of financial and political capital in the proxy war in Ukraine, will resort to the tried and true tactic of blaming the failed project on the betrayal of an ally. They will assert that Ukraine could have achieved a glorious victory over Russia if only the U.S. had supplied sufficient money and weapons or intervened directly in the war.
It is an article of faith of the U.S. neocons that when military violence fails to achieve a political objective it is because insufficient violence was applied by weak-willed U.S. politicians. Since this is impossible to disprove, it is a safe position in which to retreat after failure while preparing the next misbegotten military adventure. I will examine the stab in the back phenomenon from an historical perspective and as part of the repertoire of pro-war propaganda.
WWI
The most notable historical occurrence of the stab in the back propaganda tactic followed the German defeat in WWI. The Germans had a more compact term, dolchstoss, for betrayal of the valiant military by internal treachery. This simultaneously glorified the military while denigrating the accused traitors, in this case Jews, socialists, communists, and pacifists who allegedly undermined support for the war. The dolchstoss legend was a major contributor to German antisemitism supporting the rise of Hitler and the subsequent European holocaust.
Picture from 1924 German election poster
In fact, Germany was defeated in WWI by an economic blockade and four years of massive casualties, with the outcome finally decided by the entry of the U.S. tilting the military manpower balance and making victory impossible.
Vietnam
The U.S. indulged in a milder form of dolchstoss after the end of the Vietnam war. It was asserted that the miltary performed heroically, but that they were betrayed by politicians lacking the will to fight on to victory. To this day, the POW/MIA flag is widely displayed beneath the American flag, and its statement, “you are not forgotten,” implies that U.S. prisoners of war were abandoned in Vietnam. Although no proof of this ever emerged, it was a widely held belief for decades that the government abandoned U.S. POWs.
This sentiment was reinforced by a series of films depicting U.S. soldiers in Vietnam as victims of manipulative, incompetent, or corrupt leaders.
Despite documented instances of horrific war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Vietnam, such as the My Lai massacre, the public came to accept the dolchstoss idea as a means of shielding the military and blaming weak and treacherous politicians and peace activists. So great was the fear of dolchstoss accusations in Washington, that Nixon and Kissinger prolonged the Vietnam war for several years to secure “peace with honor,” and supplied the doomed South Vietnamese government with vast stocks of weapons before withdrawing U.S. forces.
It is this same fear that motivates Trump to keep pouring money and weapons into Ukraine. Despite some cutbacks in military aid caused by depleted U.S. arms stocks, Ukraine remains on financial and military life support from the U.S. and NATO. Trump does not want to be the President who “lost Ukraine.” Thus, he is trying to achieve a “win” by persuading Ukraine and Russia to make peace, despite their unwillingness to settle for less than their maximal demands. Unfortunately for Ukraine and Trump, Russia increasingly has the upper hand on the battlefield, and it is likely just a matter of time before Ukraine is forced to sue for peace. Then will come the dolchstoss claim, which Trump will try to dodge.
Instruments of Propaganda
Dolchstoss is a propaganda tactic that provides multiple benefits to foreign policy militarists: it prolongs existing wars, excuses failures, and enables future wars. Should an armed conflict with China over Taiwan end badly for the U.S., you can be sure that the dolchstoss treatment will be applied. Dolchstoss is just one of several propaganda tools used by the U.S. foreign policy blob. Consider the analogy of dolchstoss to a musical instrument. There is a whole orchestra of propaganda instruments that play the music supporting wars.
The U.S. musicians who play the propaganda instruments of war are operatives who are usually anonymous or clandestine. These individuals are among the most evil people in existence. They sow the seeds of violence and war while justifying themselves with patriotism and institutional authority. The actions and influence of these musicians of evil in stirring up fear and hatred worldwide have led to millions of deaths and vast destruction since WWII. Until this orchestra is disbanded, the world will continue to suffer the deadly consequences of propaganda concerts arranged by the United States.
Conclusion
When the war in Ukraine ends, the advocates of this debacle will escape negative consequences by claiming that Ukraine was stabbed in the back by weak U.S. politicians intimidated by Russia. They will maintain that if the U.S. had unleashed sufficient force against Russia victory would have been achieved and that the risk of a global nuclear war was negligible. Protected by this argument, they will move on briskly to advocating war against China over Taiwan, confident that, if necessary, another stab in the back campaign will cover up another military disaster. Perhaps U.S. citizens will eventually realize that it is they who are being stabbed in the back by incorrigible war mongers.
