The news today is not uplifting.
Russia continues to gain against Ukraine in the Eastern regions, is now targeting grain terminals in Ukraine’s port of Mykolaiv (WSJ) to damage the country’s food exports, is increasing cyberattacks on the western alliance (WSJ), while Turkey goes on obstructing Finland and Sweden’s push for NATO membership (NYT).
Meanwhile, the growing costs of inflation have spread widely and the rise in interest rates is slowing down the economy globally, all of which weakens the collective resolve of western nations to support Ukraine.
How long before Ukraine stops getting what it needs and is then trounced by Russia?
Not long.
Not all countries in the EU have contributed equally to the war effort, Germany and France underperforming significantly, yet public shaming seems to go only so far.
Nations are protesting they have limits.
If we keep going at this pace, Russia will devour Ukraine. And everyone watching will shake their heads and say, ‘what a shame… but really… there’s only so much we can do. Now we just hope they won’t invade us. So let’s be nice to Putin and the Russians.’
Something like that.
Do we want to live that way?
Hell, no!
If we do so, it amounts to a grand failure of leadership.
We started out giving much support to Ukraine but have not gone all the way.
Hasn’t Ukraine’s courage earned them the right to get all the arms they need?
Do we allow all their suffering and lives lost to be in vain?
Judging by the increasing protests of western nations, their economic concerns with the soaring price of energy, there is not much time left to act decisively.
So the time to give Ukraine all they need is now. That may not assure a victory but it will say we did all we could.
The slowing of the support given to Ukraine is a veiled effort to ask them to give up.
But they will not. It is their land and they won’t have it.
Which then throws it back in our face.
Ukraine will go all the way, help or no help from the West.
Are we expecting them to die in the battlefield and then live with the notion that we didn’t do all we could? That we didn’t give them the proper weapons?
The idea that our giving Ukraine fighter jets to push back Russia is going to trigger a nuclear war is a farce.
Putin may well be infuriated by it but we are as well armed as Russia and China combined.
Acting decisively now by giving Ukraine all they need is allowing ourselves the chance of victory.
Once victorious, sanctions should be lifted partly or completely, and the world economic crisis will begin to resolve.
The sanctions have been only modestly effective and there is no way we can influence China and India to stop buying Russian oil. Why, even western nations are asking for exemptions from the sanctions on one or another commodity.
We’re too interdependent to cut things off quickly and expect a powerful result. That will take time to plan.
But a military victory today is possible. Which will then permit the lifting of sanctions.
For us not to push for a military victory is a failure of courage.
It is saying we allowed Putin to frighten us.
Today, we stand awash in over caution, while letting Putin throw at Ukrainians everything he has.
Let us act now, damn it!
We should not back away from this confrontation without the sense that we gave it our best. And our best is to arm Ukraine to the fullest, short of nuclear weapons.
Ukrainians are saying to us, here we give our lives, helps us!
Who in recent history has said that loudly for all the world to hear?
No one.
So let us act.
Putin should not be allowed to intimidate us.
He needs to be confronted now.
Note to Mr Biden.
You’re heading out to the Middle East in the days to come. Word is that you’re expected to meet with MBS (Muhammad Bin Salman) who, our intelligence agencies have determined, is responsible for the murder of journalist and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018 after he entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Ankara, Turkey. He had been publicly critical of the Saudi regime.
I understand that Saudi Arabia can play a role in stabilizing the tensions in the region and is willing to ally with us to counter Iran’s threats.
As our president you need to look at the big picture.
But that does not mean you have to bow to that nation’s leadership. It sends a bad signal.
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