We’ve seen it all before. This time, however, it is in some respects, worse. In the run-up to World War Two, few so-called America Firsters embraced Adolph Hitler (American Nazis notwithstanding). Few, if any, in America called Hitler a savvy genius when he grabbed Czechoslovakia.
On the other hand, Vladimir Putin is a savvy opportunist and ruthless, but he’s no genius. Putin was almost certain that resistance led by the United States to his land grab in Ukraine would not materialize. He greatly underestimated Biden’s and, therefore, NATO’s determination to support Ukraine against Russia’s unprovoked aggression.
Today, however, some in our country who oppose American aid to Ukraine, and therefore NATO’s assistance to Ukraine, seem comfortable cozying up to Vladimir Putin. They are foolishly prepared to have Ukraine hand over the Russian-occupied eastern swath of their country to the Russian dictator. And, as far as Crimea goes, they say, well, if Ukraine hasn’t retrieved it since Russia grabbed it ten years ago, forget about it.
They seem, and probably are, too ignorant to have learned anything from the rape of Czechoslovakia following Hitler’s march into the Sudatenland in 1939. They seem remarkably blind to the lessons of history. Their leader, former President Trump, couldn’t even bring himself to criticize, let alone condemn, the imprisonment and apparent murder of Alexei Navalny. What in the world is wrong with today’s Republicans?
The Party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan (my old party) has been co-opted by today’s GOP of the Tommy Tuberville’s, Majorie Taylor Greene’s, Andy Biggs’s, Paul Gosar’s, Matt Gaetz’s, and a large cast of similar deep thinkers in the thrall of former President Trump. Sadly, they seem to be the legislative inmates running the asylum.
Understand this: Many Republicans in Congress are carefully and deliberately trying to squeeze Ukraine into submission. Why? Because former President Trump appears to be silently rooting for the Kremlin. He can envision himself as a pal of Putin and has no empathy for Vladimir Zelensky. To Donald Trump, it simply makes no sense to sympathize with the weaker of two adversaries. He sees Putin as a kindred spirit, a man with swagger— brutal, mean, someone he could hob knob with, a fellow savvy genius, and, as Trump likes to describe people he admires, a killer.
He sees Zelensky as someone he doesn’t relate to at all: a man playing defense against a strong offense, a weak player refusing to yield to a stronger opponent, a beleaguered man punching way above his weight, a loser who is stubbornly refusing to lose. These are all qualities Trump disdains.
Donald Trump sees Vladimir Putin as someone he can do business with and would enjoy doing business with. That reality is why Trump says the war in Ukraine will be over in 24 hours when he becomes President. Given the swiftness with which a stab in the back can be administered, it shouldn’t even take 24 hours.
Now, it is no mystery why Trump, and therefore his Maga base, abhors the Ukrainian President. Zelensky wouldn’t play along when former President Trump informed him during a recorded Oval Office telephone call that he wanted him to find dirt on Biden before he would release the arms Congress and the Defense Department had approved for Ukrainian defense. Trump was rightly impeached for that attempted shakedown, which is another reason he probably dislikes President Zelensky. It is also why many Republicans in Congress are willing to stop or slow- walk aid to Ukraine. They, like former President Trump, have learned nothing from history.
On his watch, Putin would like to reconstitute the Russian Empire and re-establish the former Soviet sphere of influence. Europeans, especially Eastern Europeans, understand this. That’s why those nations closest to Russia are allocating much more financial support, relative to their GDP, than the United States is to help Ukraine defend itself. They know that once Putin seizes Ukraine, it would only be a matter of time before he would move to pocket more territory.
What nations are spending more than the United States relative to their GDP to help Ukraine? Norway, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Denmark, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Finland, UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Croatia and Bulgaria. Why? Because they understand history better than we do. Even Finland, with a population of less than six million people and an 850-mile border with Russia, is spending about 50% more relative to its GDP than we are to help Ukraine. Even traditionally neutral Sweden is spending significantly more relative to its GDP than we are. Fifteen of the 19 European countries supporting Ukraine are spending more relative to their GDP than America is. And nearly everything America spends to help Ukraine is being spent here in America, benefiting American companies and workers.
Sweden ended 200 years of neutrality to join NATO as a direct result of Putin’s aggression against Ukraine. One might wonder if, perhaps, these European nations that are helping Ukraine fight Putin’s aggression have a better understanding of the threat Putin represents than do the Trumpophiles in Congress.
America is not being asked to join the fight for Ukraine’s defense other than to supply munitions for Ukraine to defend itself. President Biden watched Russia’s mobilization for this war and skillfully rallied our traditional allies as well as some traditionally neutral nations to stand with Ukraine. History will accord him high marks for that. The resolve of this newly formed Western alliance has shocked Putin, and it has cost him dearly in both blood and treasure.
The Republicans in Congress and their leader in Mar-a-Lago do not seem to remember, or far more likely, do not care about certain pertinent history regarding the predicament Ukraine is facing. Ukraine, in 1994, at our strong urging and pressure, turned over all of the nuclear warheads on its territory to Russia for dismantling. We were the authors of that 1994 agreement, the so-called Budapest Memorandum. Russia is a signatory to that agreement, and Great Britain is too. In return, Russia agreed to respect Ukraine’s independence and to refrain from any aggression against Ukraine.
While we have no formal treaty obligation to defend Ukraine, we have an enormous moral obligation to assist the beleaguered nation.
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I question whether Ukraine has any chance of victory. If not then more money to Ukraine is a waste. Then the best solution is a peace agreement even though it would mean Ukraine loses some of its territory.
"President Biden watched Russia’s mobilization for this war and skillfully rallied our traditional allies as well as some traditionally neutral nations to stand with Ukraine. History will accord him high marks for that." Well said. That being so, let's forget about a "moderate" third party. A vote for a "centrist" or an abstention is a vote for Trump. Trump's admiration for "strong-man" Putin shows his scorn for democracy, law, checks and balances, elections, and decency, keys to our American way. We cannot afford such a president -- again.
I question whether Ukraine has any chance of victory. If not then more money to Ukraine is a waste. Then the best solution is a peace agreement even though it would mean Ukraine loses some of its territory.
"President Biden watched Russia’s mobilization for this war and skillfully rallied our traditional allies as well as some traditionally neutral nations to stand with Ukraine. History will accord him high marks for that." Well said. That being so, let's forget about a "moderate" third party. A vote for a "centrist" or an abstention is a vote for Trump. Trump's admiration for "strong-man" Putin shows his scorn for democracy, law, checks and balances, elections, and decency, keys to our American way. We cannot afford such a president -- again.