One way to look at the pending Nov. 5 national election is through the lens of support or non-support for Ukraine’s defense against the throw-back barbarism of Vladimir Putin’s attempted takeover of its neighbor.
The Harris/Walz Democratic ticket for the White House stands squarely with Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s defense of his country. The Trump/Vance Republican ticket wants to spend no more U.S. dollars on weapons and ammunition to fight against Putin. Curiously, it was a non-issue at the recent national party conventions, probably because the U.S. electorate is split on the issue.
It’s a strange change of posture for the Republican Party that once took a hawkish stand on foreign policy. Its shift to a more isolationist stance starts and ends with Donald Trump, a critic of our NATO partnership that has kept the peace in Europe for nearly eight decades following World War II.
But it isn’t just him. The GOP has gone dovish. The Wisconsin Republican congressional delegation unanimously lines up with their Trump-led presidential ticket. The state’s five GOP congressmen – Scott Fitzgerald, a retired Army Reserve officer; Glenn Grothman; Bryan Steil; Tom Tiffany; and Dale Van Orden, a special operations veteran, all want to bail out of Ukraine funding. The party’s nominee in the 8th District to replace Mike Gallagher is Tony Wied, who lines up with the five.
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson also wants an off-ramp from U.S. involvement in Ukraine, saying at one point, “Vladimir Putin will not lose this war.”
Gallagher left Congress on short notice. A former Marine officer and foreign policy expert, Gallagher presumably cut short his term in Congress in disgust with the party’s soft Trumpian stance on relations with dictators in China, North Korea and Russia.
For those of us who greatly appreciate Ukraine’s fight for independence and freedom and sacrifice in lives and national treasure, here are considerations that the Republicans have set aside:
- Russia is our biggest enemy and threat, with China second and Iran third.
- No American blood has been spilled in bringing Putin’s invasion to a stalemate. We are only supplying dollars and armaments, less than 10% of our annual defense budget.
- Our contribution is a bargain. Contrary to Sen. Johnson’s hip shots, Russia is not winning this war. It has lost several hundred thousand troops, either killed or wounded. It has lost one-third of its naval vessels in the Black Sea to autonomous Ukrainian weapons. Ukraine’s current invasion of Russian soil in the Kursk region has claimed 400 square miles.
- Russia is desperate for recruits. In the hundreds of thousands, many talented Russians have emigrated. Many soldiers have deserted, even in the face of an estimated 10,000 lawsuits against them. Its prisons have been emptied in return for front line service, even with the convicts knowing they will become cannon fodder.
- The Russian economy, subject to many international sanctions, has been diminished.
- With its forces bogged down for the foreseeable future, assuming continued NATO support, Russia is far less of a threat to other neighbors, including NATO members like Poland and the Baltic states.
- NATO has been immensely strengthened with Finland and Sweden becoming members to avoid flying solo like Ukraine.
- S. and European countries are supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets and sophisticated air defense systems. They are starting to hit the battlefield. They will not be decisive, but they will be pivotal.
As a wrap-up, keep in mind that Putin has already survived one high-level rebellion against his leadership.
The mothers of Russia have to be angry at the increasing loss of their sons in an unnecessary war. They have to be sympathetic, along with their husbands if they are still alive, any move to end Putin’s megalomaniacal aggression.
How long can that crazed leader last with piles of body bags on his front lawn?
Piles of body bags drove the Soviets out of Afghanistan and us out of Vietnam.
Torinus is a retired U.S. Marine officer who holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Stockholm.
