President Trump has been accused of being too palsy with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. However, Trump never gifted the Madman of Moscow with an entire independent democratic ally of the United States.
A Putin victory at any level is a serious threat to America in both prestige and world power. It sets the stage for the surrender of world leadership primarily to Russia’s Big Brother ally, China. If Putin takes all of Ukraine in the near future through an extended war – or one-third of Ukraine immediately as part of a ceasefire – the ramifications for the western alliance are catastrophic.
The United States and NATO will once again have proven themselves incapable of exerting leadership on the world stage. America will be less feared by adversaries and less trusted by allies. Thanks to a 75-year string of defeats and setbacks in Korea, Vietnam, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, the United States has lost prestige and power – with one exception. That was the foreign policy of President Reagan that brought down the old Soviet Union – the very rogue evil empire that Putin is successfully rebuilding.
Any level of victory by Putin will embolden and energize every American adversary in the world –and shift the center of gravity among unaligned nations in favor of the evil axis currently led by China. We have already seen this with nations like India. Almost unnoticed has been the attack on the dollar as the world’s exchange currency, with a number of nations moving to other currencies.
A Putin victory will energize recruitment by such terrorist organizations as al Qaeda and ISIS, weaken American leverage in the Middle East (where Russia has been gaining) and Africa (where China is making substantial inroads). China is also increasing its influence in South America.
A victory in Ukraine would enable China to take a more aggressive approach to Taiwan and the South China Sea. It would have no incentive to reduce its military build-up … its spying … or its theft of intellectual property. Why would they fear a further retaliation from weakened America?
A Russian takeover of Ukraine means that Putin’s new Soviet Union will acquire enormous natural and agricultural resources. Putin will control all that grain that has been feeding Africa. Putin will gain important strategic geographic benefits – including virtual total control of the Black Sea and all its Ukrainian shoreline.
Any victory for Putin means future aggression. Once he takes over Ukraine and rebuilds his military, it would be foolish to believe that he will not look for the next piece of real estate to conquer.
Then there are the issues of international law and morality. Putin has broken international law with his invasion of a sovereign state – and he has conducted his aggression as an indicted war criminal by the international court. Allowing that to stand – or be successful – is a surrender to world tyranny. America surrenders its position as the beacon of democracy or a humanitarian nation.
The war in Ukraine creates an existential turning point for the United States. Up until now, the slow decline of America on the world stage has been slow – relatively unnoticed and unappreciated. The challenge to American leadership posed by Putin may be the point of no return.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, America under President Biden has pursued a policy of too little/too late in terms of meaningful support for the war effort. And a faction of the GOP has demonstrated irrational opposition to support for the war … period.
The recent Continuing Resolution that omitted funds for Ukraine was a psychological gift to Putin even if funds are restored in a later bill. In omitting the money even temporarily, we have given encouragement to Putin’s only hope – that the United States and western alliance will tire of the war.
Putin believes he can win in the long run – and he is right. We have already seen how hanging on has given him time to strengthen his position with the help of Iran, North Korea and China. The nations that might have thought twice before disregarding U.S. sanctions in the face of a formidable America.
Isolationism has never worked for America. It is the opposite of world leadership. Those who think we can walk away unscathed from Putin’s aggressions are fools. It is time to do what virtually every general has called for – maximum support and all the weapons necessary to really win the war. That means Russian troops removed from every inch of Ukraine – and that Putin pays reparations.
We must defeat Putin militarily and diplomatically. Unfortunately, those on both the right and the left seem unwilling to meet that challenge. On the right, they want to cower in an American bunker. On the left, they want a Chamberlain-like surrender – a defeat made to look like a victory.
It may not be morning in America. That light on the horizon may be a setting sun.
So, there ‘tis.