Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy left his war-torn nation to come to Washington to address Congress.
It was a historical moment, of course. Many observers noted the similarities between the Zelenskyy visit and the World War II Christmas time visit by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Both Zelenskyy and Churchill were in America to plead for military aid and support in their war with an evil empire builder.
In both cases, the United States was already a major supplier of military weapons and humanitarian aid. A major difference was that at the time of Churchill’s visit, America had already been attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbor and was in a state of war with Tokyo. Churchill was concerned that President Roosevelt would focus on Japan to the detriment of the war in Europe.
Zelenskyy’s concern is that the United States – and NATO – will gradually lose the will to win – meaning failing to provide the necessary resources to win. There is one irrefutable fact. Ukraine cannot win a war of attrition without the massive ongoing support of the world democracies. While with the limited support the west has given – a lot but still insufficient – the Ukraine military has been able to thwart Putin’s plan for a swift victory over all of Ukraine — and have pushed back some Russian advances in the east and south. That does not mean that Ukraine is poised to win the war.
General James Spider Marks – and virtually every other media general – have been perfectly clear. To win the war, Ukraine will need a lot more weaponry – and a lot more powerful weapons. We have still denied Ukraine’s request for the fighter jets sitting in NATO. We have provided Patriot missiles with an 80-mile range, but not those with a 150-mile range.
As Marks put it, the Biden administration is still in a reactive mode – not a proactive mode. To me that sounds like what I have been saying since the start of the War – Biden is offering too little, too late.
Yes, I have heard Zelenskyy praising the United States for all that we are doing. What else could he say to the people in Washington who make the decisions upon which his life and nation depend? We know, however, that even Zelenskyy does not believe the west is doing enough. Otherwise, he would not be begging for more.
It is in America’s interest to stop Putin’s ambition of a new Soviet Union – and maybe more. Lose the War, and America loses another democratic nation to the authoritarian enemy – even a potential future NATO ally. We lose to Putin another strategic location … enormous natural resources … a cooperative business relationship … intelligence gathering potential.
Fortunately, the small number of congressional members – on the left and right – are too few to prevent the full Congress from pursuing the critical security interests of both Ukraine and the United States.
As one of the television generals put it, this is the time to provide Ukraine with everything we have in the non-nuclear arsenal, so that the Ukraine military can drive every Russian soldier out of their country.
After Churchill’s visit, America upped support for the war in Europe. One can only hope that Zelenskyy’s visit will have a similar effect.
So, there ‘tis.