America Looks Incredibly Weak, Thanks to Politics

The same people who attacked Obama for Russia now advocate the same policy on steroids...because of course they do

Imagine you’re in England, the year is 1938. The demons of World War I are still stirring in the hearts of the veterans, many now in their early 40s. This crazy but somewhat intriguing character, Benito Mussolini, is making a bunch of noise, while a darker figure to his north, Adolf Hitler, is likewise doing the same. There have been some land grabs but really only of areas that have historical connections to Germany and Italy. Hitler has made it clear that remilitarizing the Rhineland is no big deal, after all, it IS German territory.

How would you feel? Would the idea of another war be something that filled you with dread? If you were like most, you would feel some peace when your leader, Neville Chamberlain, said that we need to appease these characters with some concessions that really, aren’t a big deal right? After all, what happens in Germany and surrounding areas are really their business, and the agreed upon post Great War boundaries are kind of out of date.

How would you feel when Winston Churchill, a colorful character whom many call a war monger, repeatedly warned of the dangers of this kind of policy? If you were like many in England, you would prefer he go away to allow you to drift in your listless state of peace and purposeless tranquility. If we ignore it, it will go away. Yet in history classes we praise the courage and foresight of people like Churchill. Many read of England pre-war and surmise that if only THEY we in charge in 1938, they would have seen and attacked the Nazi menace in the cradle.

We collectively heap scorn on Chamberlain, while acting like Chamberlains of the present day!

In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and opened a front in the east of Ukraine. The US response was absolutely weak, and Obama missed an opportunity to kill Russian expansion in the grave. He deserves this scorn, however, the very same people who attacked him for weakness now advocate the same policy on steroids, as they scramble around for political talking points and ignore the real need Ukraine has to finish this fight. For a fraction of the yearly cost of the military, we can ensure the defeat of one of our two major strategic enemies. These opportunities don’t come often, if at all. We found a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow.

Instead of leading with courage, the House and Senate Republicans have decided to squander this moment to politics, of course. Many outright lie about how much aid has been provided to Ukraine, and what exactly that aid is. As a casual observer, you would assume that over $100 billion of cash has been shipped there with no accountability. You would be wrong. US aid has strict accountability, is spent largely on American companies and products, and includes much equipment intended to be replaced, that instead was sent to Ukraine and assigned a dollar value, similar to a car being donated to a charity and assigned a value. Even though you were prepared to drive it to the junkyard, you now get a dollar tax write-off. (Look at a comprehensive breakdown of US Aid here)

America does not have “war fatigue” or “leading the world fatigue.” We have TLS (Terrible Leaders Syndrome). We have been so safe and protected that we turn other Americans with different political views into the enemy, and that becomes the real fight. This is why many Republicans oppose more aid to Ukraine, because Joe Biden is the one asking. And other Republicans simply have sifted away leaders with courage to tell the truth and are left with spineless members too scared to make a strong case to win the fight, or too frightened to withhold their vote for any priority bill until this fight is funded.

The war on Ukraine is the fight of our generation. Unfortunately we appear to be failing to step up to our legacy. No single member of the Republican party who opposes further aid has any right, to ever criticize a weak foreign policy again. They will torch their credibility.

Lastly, consider this. In Afghanistan, the US lost over 2400 people in the 20 year war in Afghanistan. It’s estimated the Russians have lost over 350,000 since the launch of this phase in 2022. In five days, Russia loses the same number we lost in 20 years. FIVE DAYS. Don’t tell me Russia is winning. The only way they can win is if we chose to let them.