The war to save Ukraine protects us.
This war, i.e., the unprovoked, egregious attack by Putin and Putin’s Russia, is about testing the strength of Europe and the United States. If we – the U.S., NATO, and the Western World coalition show weakness, we send a direct message to China and other authoritarian nations that the United States of America and our allies in the Western democratic world are weak … that they can erase all of the Western democracies, resulting in their dictators and oligarchs taking over our resources. We will all be poorer and without the freedom to better ourselves if that happens.
For rural America, it also means our soldiers will be off to war … again. 44% — almost half of the U.S. military, comes from rural America, and this time, we’ll be sending our men and women off to war with a weakened hand.
WWII veterans will remember how Hitler and Hitler’s Germany attacked and took over one European democracy after another. Lond0n and the USA stood back. Both belabored under the idea that distance would protect us. Franklin D. Roosevelt did Lend/Lease but it wasn’t enough since Hitler/Germany had been allowed to gain so much strength. Every time Hitler/Germany took over another country, decision-makers stood back. It wasn’t until the UK was under fire that Roosevelt and the USA realized that we could be next. We had waited until the war was huge and our allies were beaten. The result was a longer war, more deaths, and more tragedy when we should have stopped the German aggression in the beginning. Now, thanks to the Hard-Right conservatives in Congress, we could make the same mistake again.
Ambassador William B. Taylor frames the opportunities before us like this:
“As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine moves toward its second full winter, observers note that typically heavy rains and then cold may enforce a season of slower fighting. But the war’s most meaningful “next season” may well be not the winter but the nine to 10 months until next summer. Three factors critical to Ukraine’s defense and Europe’s security will evolve by the summer in ways that could open a path toward a just and lasting peace — or could leave the region facing indefinite warfare and threat. …”
Russia’s record in Georgia, Putin’s habit of taking over countries like Moldova, and Putin’s expertise at filling the media with propaganda while aiding new dictators’ takeovers, e.g., Hungary and Belarus, grew into this dangerous affront to the Western World. Putin doesn’t want only to restore the USSR by patching together smaller countries that do not want to be part of Russia; he wants to knock out Western democracy. Western Democracy is us! … the United States of America.
Now, U.S. Republicans are holding our national security hostage as they try to use the so-called border crisis as their excuse. A key question is why? … Some of the answer to this question centers on the Hard-Right which simply opposes Ukraine and other “working together” with the Western World challenges as they seek to move the U.S. away from democracy. But the more serious Members who say they support Ukraine, are first choosing to hold Ukraine hostage as they demand extreme changes in border strategies.
In the long run, aid for Ukraine is a cheap price to pay for stopping WWIII before it goes any further. In the short run, voters must ask themselves whether they should send conservatives who work against U.S. national security interests back to Congress again.
Bernd Debusmann Jr, BBC NEWS, Washington: Why are some Republicans opposing more aid for Ukraine?
Ambassador Willian B. Taylor, United States Institute of Peace: Ukraine: The Next 10 Months Can Shape Hopes for Peace