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Ukraine will lose only if MAGA Republicans cut off U.S. aid - Max Boot
In 1940 and 1941, America First isolationists argued that the United States should not help Britain resist the Nazi onslaught because it had no chance to prevail. “I have been forced to the conclusion that we cannot win this war for England, regardless of how much assistance we extend,” Charles Lindbergh said on April 23, 1941.
Today’s America Firsters are voicing a similar refrain when it comes to Ukraine. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said: “I haven’t voted for any money to go to Ukraine because I know they can’t win.” Former president Donald Trump chimed in: “You’re really up against a war machine in Russia. … They defeated Hitler, they defeated Napoleon.” (This vaunted “war machine” lost the Crimean War, the Russo-Japanese War, World War I and the Soviet-Afghan war.) Many of these isolationists make it sound as though they are doing Ukraine a favor by hastening its defeat and occupation. “It doesn’t help the Ukrainian people,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), said recently, “to prolong their suffering in this war.”
Today’s America Firsters are voicing a similar refrain when it comes to Ukraine. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said: “I haven’t voted for any money to go to Ukraine because I know they can’t win.” Former president Donald Trump chimed in: “You’re really up against a war machine in Russia. … They defeated Hitler, they defeated Napoleon.” (This vaunted “war machine” lost the Crimean War, the Russo-Japanese War, World War I and the Soviet-Afghan war.) Many of these isolationists make it sound as though they are doing Ukraine a favor by hastening its defeat and occupation. “It doesn’t help the Ukrainian people,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), said recently, “to prolong their suffering in this war.”
Ukrainian nationalism has been turbocharged by the Russian assault, and Ukrainians remain nearly unanimous in their desire to fight the invaders. In one recent poll, 89 percent of Ukrainians said they are still convinced they will win the war.
Putin’s goal was to snuff out Ukraine’s independence. So far, he has failed miserably. So, too, his gambit of cutting off Russian natural gas to Europe failed to cow the continent. The war has actually strengthened NATO, with Sweden and Finland joining the alliance and member states boosting their defense spending.
Gift Link Washington Post
