
<p>How much military aid and support should the United States provide to Ukraine? ;</p>



<p>For me the answer is simple because it is fundamental. ; All they need to kick every Russian soldier out of Ukraine as soon as possible. ; Unfortunately, that has not been American policy since the Madman of Moscow started building up troops on the border. ; And it certainly was not the case when Russia gained footing in eastern Ukraine and the Crimea previously.</p>



<p>This is not a war that is won or lost by Ukraine without dire ramifications for the United States, NATO and the world allied democracies. ; It would be a major shift in world power away from the west and in favor of an alliance of evil nations – Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and a few second-tier authoritarian nations.</p>



<p>MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough often describes Russia as some pipsqueak nations with a small GDP – and the United States as the world’s leading and most powerful military. ; A Russian victory would invalidate that opinion. ; In fact, it has been increasingly invalided in recent ; years.</p>



<p>A loss in Ukraine would undermine – if not end – the perception and reality of America as the world leader. ; It would embolden – as it already has – America’s mortal enemies to become more aggressive – including every terrorist organization on earth. ;</p>



<p>A loss in Ukraine would provide additional recruitment fodder for the terrorist network – as has the surrender in Afghanistan and Biden’s limpid responses to more than 150 attacks on American assets in the Middle East &#8212; and now his his ending America’s once rock-solid support for Israel.</p>



<p>The loss in Ukraine would have the world’s less aligned nations –and even nations in NATO= building pragmatic relationships with Russia and China. There would be a decided shift in world diplomacy and trade. ; The Alliance of Evil will enhance its effort to topple the dollar as the world currency – an event that would crush the American economy and end the era of world leadership in commerce and technology.</p>



<p>The loss of Ukraine would result in a loss of strategic benefits in terms of intelligence. ; It would shift the balance of world power to the Alliance of Evil. ; It removes the buffer state between Russia and NATO.</p>



<p>In taking over Ukraine, Russia and its allies would gain enormous natural and critical resources in terms of minerals and food production. It would extend Russian leverage over the African nations that already depend on Ukraine’s corn and wheat. ; It would provide Putin with more oil revenues to float his imperial schemes.</p>



<p>A loss in Ukraine would only fuel Putin’s desire and willingness to use his military to reclaim more of the old Soviet empire. ; And keep in mind, Putin had the testicular fortitude to invade Ukraine because the world democracies allowed his expansion into other former Soviet satellite states in the past.</p>



<p>In terms of Ukraine, the stakes are high for the United States and the world democracies. ; So, why all the reticence in providing the necessary support for Ukraine to defeat Putin’s empire-building ambitions – and his existential threat to the United State?</p>



<p>I do not know. ; It is beyond my comprehension.</p>



<p>From the moment Putin put his military on the border of Ukraine, the Biden administration has failed to respond effectively. Words and sanctions were shrugged off. Biden covered and crumbled in the face of Putin’s bully-like threats of nuclear war. He took up a Neville Chamberlain approach to accept Russian advances and hope there would be no more.</p>



<p>At the very onset, Biden assured Putin that the United States would stand down on a military commitment to Ukraine. ; I personally believe that was what Putin saw as a green light to launch his invasion. ; He would not have to face the powerful American and NATO military machines. ; The mere threat – credible threat – of that prospect might well have been enough for Putin to give up his plan to take Ukraine by force – at least temporarily.</p>



<p>Biden talked tough in support of Ukraine, but wimped out when it came to real and effective support. ; His too little/too late policies are the reason the war is still going on. ; Biden was willing to give Ukraine moral – and some military – support, but not enough to piss Putin off – which seemed to be Biden’s chief concern.</p>



<p>Former Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko said that America’s minimal and delayed responses to military aid has sent a signal to Putin to “attack, ruin infrastructure and rampage” over Ukraine. ; ; He is not wrong.</p>



<p>While the current political debate focuses on the delay in the passage of the Ukraine congressional aid package – mostly at the hands of a Republican isolationist faction with a few radical left-wingers on the Democrat side.</p>



<p>In terms of optics, it allows Biden to appear to be all in on aid to Ukraine – which he never was and still is not. ; Remember, long before a small contingent of Republican idiots mounted opposition to Ukraine aid and did delay the delivery, Biden was already withholding essential weaponry. ;</p>



<p>For most of the war, he refused to send advanced weapons – and placed conditions on the weapons he sent that they could not be used to strike targets inside Mother Russia.  ; ;Biden refused to provide military intelligence. ; Biden refused to invoke a no-fly zone at the onset of the war – and still refuses to provide Ukraine with fighter jets. ; (Ukraine will be receiving F-16 fighter jets, but not from America. ; They are being sent by Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium. ; So much for Biden’s leadership in NATO.)</p>



<p>And what about those fringe Republicans wanting all aid to Ukraine to cease? As a longtime conservative who generally toils within the GOP, I have no idea how they hold that position. ; It is so patently stupid and destructive to United States interests and security, that their position is virtually beyond rational speculation. ;</p>



<p>The recalcitrant Republicans only plausible claim is that the money is better used for other things, such as defending the southern border. That is political pandering. ; America has more than enough money to defend the southern border from illegal border crossing AND defend the greater security for the United States on the world stage. ; It is not as much a matter of money as priorities. ; There are a lot of fat, waste and less critical line items in the federal budget from which the financial resources can be taken.</p>



<p>The actions of that small GOP contingent that delayed Ukraine funding for five months provided Biden with an opportunity to cast himself as the champion of aid to Ukraine – and Republicans as the blocker. ;</p>



<p>It is debatable whether the delay had any role in the current advances by the Russian military in northeast Ukraine. Regardless if the delay has had a negative military impact on the battlefield or not, it has proved very bad political optics for the GOP. Biden has deftly used to his political advantage by distracting from his own culpability. That is why it is important to understand that despite his current language, Biden has been THE major block to military aid for the past two years – often ignoring the requests for more support from NATO allies.</p>



<p>But that does not exonerate Republicans in Congress for attempting to withhold military aid completely. They did succeed in delaying critical aid. And they did provide optimism and an ever real advantage to Putin. They made America seem less committed than we are – which is not fully committed, in the first place – and more likely to eventually abandon Ukraine completely. They emboldened Putin – and that had to be great news in Moscow – and Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang.</p>



<p>It should be noted that the current advance by Russian troops is not a net gain in the war. ; They are attempting to re-gain territory that they lost to the Ukraine military in the past.  ;It is a minor point, but significant in understanding the overall dynamics of the war.</p>



<p>It is not too late to reestablish American leadership in terms of thwarting Putin’s plans for Ukraine. It would require a new policy – articulated and enacted – with the goal as the TOTAL defeat of Putin in Ukraine. ; It would take a President Reagan to accomplish such a goal – and America seems to be left with a bunch of Neville Chamberlains.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

A Putin win in Ukraine is existential threat to America
