Until 40 days ago Ukraine was more than a friendly nation, it was a European partner aspiring to full and formal allied status.
Ukraine was not wishing to fight a proxy war, but a war of national defense and liberation from Russian brutality, occupation, and annexation.
Pause for a moment. Let this sink in as an analogy. The raped are the innocent. The rapist is the guilty. Women and men know this simple truth. This isn't disputable. You've always impressed me as a moral person, so you know that, so let's move on.
The question for the US and Nato in February of 2022 was a) is it tolerable to accommodate this aggression in the 21st century. and b) does this represent a major threat to other nations, particularly to those whose values and economies are heavily intertwined?
The answer is no, it was not and is not tolerable AND yes, it did and does represent a major threat to the west, even to the well-known neutrals and historically raped of Finland and Sweden, who immediately sought NATO entry.
Pause for a moment. Let this sink in. A serial rapist and looters are likely to continue. Communities band together to stop such scum from raping and robbing them. There are always a few hermits, anti-social types, and macho men who are indifferent to rapists and looters and brag they are not worried cause it won't ever affect them - you are not like them.
So then, we assume that you are a moral person and not on the side of the rapist Putin and Russia and their hideous savagery, if so, let's discuss how we should have and should now react.
The Biden administration and Nato countries assisted Ukraine for the same reason, to help Ukraine survive and regain its occupied lands from serial criminals. But also, with the side benefit of weakening Russia if the war continued. Formerly and historically neutral countries Sweden and Norway also joined seeing the same threats to, and benefits for, their national security.
Has that worked? Yes, but not nearly as well as hoped. Ukraine, largely due to US and European failures to react promptly and decisively in their aid, still made initial gains but has since been in a war of attrition. At this point both sides appear fragile, with Ukraine looking more fragile than Russia, if only because one of Ukraine's major backers is trying to back out (ie USA).
None the less, the war has seriously eroded Russian cold war stocks of arms (that far exceeded western reserves) and shown their military to be unable to win EXCEPT, perhaps, by attrition facilitated by a failed will of the US leadership.
Even so this has been a wonderfully efficient way to cripple the western hemisphere's greatest serial rapist and looter for negligible costs and little risk.
THEREFORE...
If Ukraine wants to fight on, why stop? Russia is a serial rapist that is isolated, economically teetering, and every day this goes on is a day closer to Putin's political destruction and Russia's containment. The US and Nato don't have to risk a single western life, the cost is very small, moreover, if deftly handled it may secure 25 percent of the world's deposits of rare earth and other minerals for the allied world, especially the US.
Pause here. Think about it. If you truly believe in America first (as most Trumpers claim they do) then putting our needs for secure access to rare earth and related minerals is paramount. But you can't have secure access if Russian claim jumper rapists also want it. The US has to defend Ukraine if it wants to keep it from the only military capable of taking it - Russia
While there has been could be an end in sight there is very little in our national interests nor that of European allies to either force a fragile and unjust conditional surrender upon Ukraine. In fact, its is exceedingly stupid to do so.
Finally, if the US wishes to break the stalemate it has been simple and SHOULD BE even simpler now: stop didling and send Ukraine the same kind of weapons Russia has. Do that and in six months Russia will be the one suing for peace to the benefit of Ukraine, the WEST, and the USA.
www.euronews.com
Zelensky needs our money. Period.
