Ohio Sen. J. D. Vance has an op-ed today in the New York Times. Here’s its opening:
President Biden wants the world to believe that the biggest obstacle facing Ukraine is Republicans and our lack of commitment to the global community. This is wrong.
Ukraine’s challenge is not the G.O.P.; it’s math. Ukraine needs more soldiers than it can field, even with draconian conscription policies. And it needs more matériel than the United States can provide. This reality must inform any future Ukraine policy, from further congressional aid to the diplomatic course set by the president.
Although I materially agree with what he says in the piece, I draw a different conclusion from the uncomfortable facts he presents than he does. I think that we should continue to provide aid to Ukraine to prevent an outright Russian victory and I think that President Biden should speak frankly and publicly. He should urge Ukraine’s government to accept goals short of the return to pre-2014 borders.
We shouldn’t lose sight of the reality of the situation. There is no amount of aid we’re actually capable of providing which will enable Ukraine to achieve its maximalist goals.
If supporting Ukraine means re-industrializing, I am all-in. Hell, I would support selling munitions to Hamas and the Russians.
Otherwise, I am completely baffled by “helping” Ukraine.
There is no way for the US or NATO to supply Ukraine with the amount of munitions and equipment they would need to expel the Russians, and neither the US nor NATO is willing to convert to a wartime economy.
Not only does the Green Agenda die, but there will be no iPhone upgrades. Actually, existing iPhones will be needed for parts. How many Americans are willing to support rationing?
Also, I do not see this starting WW3. Now, Israel is another matter.
Maybe the “Palestinians” will need to accept some new borders as well.
Yes, as long as they have spirit, support the Ukrainians and bleed the Russians.
The Vance alternative is to do whatever Putin wants. How does that help Ukraine? Also he notes that the average age of a Ukrainian soldier is 43 without noting that Ukraine deliberately chose not to use younger soldiers. Ukraine has a much better idea of what it is like to live under Russian rule than we do. They have decided that it is worth an awful lot of lives to avoid that.
Steve
This war was begun by the US when it attacked and removed the legitimate, democratically elected Ukrainian government by coup d’état in 2014, and installed the current nazi junta. The US also forced cancellation of the cease fire agreement (which would have implemented Minsk) initialed by Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul in 2022. If you don’t keep those facts in mind, you cannot understand anything about this war.
By the way, Zelensky’s term of office either has expired or soon will, and there is no longer even a fig leaf of legitimacy about his regime.
Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, stated this week in a UN Security Council meeting that if the US/NATO/Ukraine do not agree to negotiations on Russia’s terms, Russia will impose an unconditional surrender on Ukraine. Putin has reiterated Russia’s goals as removal and replacement of the nazi junta in Kiev, demilitarized on Ukraine, a prohibition of NATO memberships for Ukraine, no Western troops in Ukraine, and recognition by Ukraine and US/NATO of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the four oblasts in the east.
All of that, and possibly much more, is clearly achievable, and it will be achieved. So far our policies have led to the destruction of Ukraine, the substantial reduction of US/NATO war stocks, and the economic crippling of Europe. Germany is partially deindustrialized and in economic depression.
The US/NATO is facing almost certain defeat in Ukraine. The idea that we could defeat Russia in eastern Europe was sheer lunacy.
The situation in the Middle East is equally grim. Israel has not be able to defeat Hamas, which is largely intact, despite an utter disregard for civilians (both Muslim AND Christian) and the wanton destruction of civilian infrastructure. Over 35,000 dead Palestinian civilians (Muslim AND Christian) and over 70,000 wounded.
Israel’s attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, which is a crime under international law–embassies are sacrosanct– is sheer lunacy, and has brought us to the edge of a large scale Middle Eastern war.
In preparation for a war with Iran, all our allies in the region have closed their territories to US military operations, and have effectively shut down our bases in Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and even Turkey.
Moreover, the Houthis have actually defeated US/NATO attempts to reopen the Red Sea/Suez passage, and it remains closed to US, UK, and Israeli shipping.
Everywhere we see US/NATO incompetence, weakness and reckless aggression. The US cannot fight even one regional war, and we are facing three: Europe, Middle East, Asia. Might as well go for four and have at Venezuela, too.
Lest we forget, over the last several years, at least 5 million military age, fit men have entered the US illegally, and are now nowhere to be found. That is a potential force that is 3 times the size of the total US active duty military, and several times the size of the Army and Marine forces in the US. Those immigrants despise us, and they are a powerful resource for someone who wants to overthrow our government.
PS. Yesterday, guerrillas attacked the Kaliningrad naval base from either Latvia or Lithuania
Jew-Nazis are the worst kind.
So here we go! Holy war!