The question is strategic interest. There is none in Ukraine. We have a nuclear deterrent and NATO. There is no need to provide militray supoort to Ukraine, another esource sink hole that gives us no benefit.
Biden campaigned on getting us out of conflict and took the political hit on withdrawing from Afghanistan.
Now he is potentialy putting us in another no win situation. Does anyone think given Afghanistan and Iraq Europeans are going to fight Russia in any capacity?
NATO was creqted to defend wetrn Europe from Russian aggression, not to go to war to try and crease a democracy.
You also have to commander collusion between China and Russia to create simultaneous military pressure over Ukraine and Taiwan. Add the potential for NK to take advantage and get agressive.
A potential two front conflict against well armed adversaries.
We could easily walk into a conflict that escalates out of control.
Steve, Europe itself is threatened by expansion of the Russian Federation to reoccupy countries that had voted overwhelmingly to leave the Russia-dominated Soviet Union. Right now, Belarus is pretty much controlled by Russia and may well be absorbed in the future. What is happening in Ukraine is destabilizing Europe. That is not instigated by the US or NATO, which poses no realistic threat to Russia except as a safeguard against intimidation and blackmail against its neighbors. Putin is quite clear that the greatest tragedy in his life was the breakup of the Soviet Union, which followed a free and open vote within the Soviet Union about whether its member republics wanted to remain in the union. That was a resounding "no", even within Russia itself.
If we were not to stand firm against Russian aggression in Ukraine, which we have formally pledged to guarantee (along with the UK and Russia), then that would encourage even more aggression elsewhere, likely in the Baltics and Georgia. It would not end with Ukraine any more than Hitler's concessions in Czechoslovakia led him to stop himself from invading neighboring countries. Moreover, the main pro-Kremlin mouthpiece--RT--has just published an article that appears to threaten the right of Sweden and Finland to join NATO, even though they have long had close ties with the alliance. (See
Finland & Sweden in NATO would trigger response – Russia). This behavior by Russia is driving countries in eastern Europe closer to NATO and the EU, not further away from it, and it does not justify Russia's invasion and annexation of Ukrainian territory.
You've been making a very persuasive case, as you do above.
I agree. The nations of eastern Europe and Ukraine have NO desire to become tributary states to Russia. They all have seen and continue to see their economic and security future with the West, with Europe. None of the Soviet Union's former republics are clamoring to rejoin with Russia, not even those who are already under involuntary subordination.
Putin and Hitler have much in common, except Putin is far more patient (more akin to Stalin). In rebuilding the Russian empire, he is first focusing on "Sudetenland" countries with some significant portion of ethnic Russians. Hence, his eye has been on Georgia, Ukraine, and the Baltic states. Each of them offer a pretext for annexation, of "Greater Russia" ownership protecting Russian populations.
Like Hitler, Putin is using a combination of military threats, propaganda, and a constant demand of concessions to demoralize his victims and the West. And, and consistent with historic Russian imperialist character, he will be back demanding more at later date ... becoming progressively more extreme as Russian military power grows and Western will weakens.
Indeed, we have already seen this escalation. Putin's latest demands on NATO are far beyond Ukraine, and impossible to accept (and he knows that) and is yet more strident than ever.
The West cannot backdown and allow the rebuilding of another totalitarian super state.
