Now not the time to reduce aid to UkraineMark Twain said “History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.”, and to paraphrase the author of Ecclesiastes ” ..there is nothing new under the sun..”
The ruthless dictator Vladimir Putin is exploring how far he can push the civilized world in his brutal assault on Ukraine. Putin insists that the collapse of the Soviet empire “was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century,” and has made clear his goal is the reconstitution of that empire. Since Putin’s rise, Russia has engaged in a multiple wars and interventions in neighboring countries. Putin has also meddled in elections and governments around the globe, including ours. When a dictator is clearly telling you their goals and has demonstrated he will act upon them, LISTEN.
In a brutal Ukrainian winter, Ukrainians have shown courage from leadership down to middle-aged guys fighting on the front lines.
Events could have unfolded far differently had President Biden listened to the historically ignorant “America First” nonsense from the Right, Ukraine would be a Russian-occupied hellhole of concentration camps, torture chambers, and makeshift prisons, all of which were discovered in areas recently liberated from Russians. Dictators across the globe are taking note that the West will fight when its interests are at stake.
Originating in WW1, “America First,” was adopted by every nationalist group since, including present day MAGA types, who wish America not be “The Arsenal of Democracy” but withdraw to “Fortress America,” and abandon all international alliances and treaties. This is as wrong-headed and dangerous as it was when their forebearers insisted we stay out of WWII, until bombs started falling on Pearl Harbor.
America spent the equivalent of $600 billion in “Lend /Lease” support of nations standing up to Axis powers in the 1940s, $345 billion to Britain as she stood practically alone against the Nazis. The US spent about $9 trillion on defense during the Cold War, primarily to oppose the Soviets. We have committed to Ukraine about $66 billion, and more is in the pipeline, a bargain as opposed to what appeasement by abandoning Ukraine will eventually cost. NATO is stepping up to protect its own back yard, and while we need oversight on how taxpayer money is spent, now is not the time to go “wobbly” on Ukraine or NATO.
Kevin Woods
Mount Vernon
Letter to editor Feb 2
February 2, 2023