‘Dispute’ or war? DeSantis should go to Ukraine and find out
Ron DeSantis should go to Ukraine.
That way he could meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and determine if the terrible war between Russia and Ukraine was indeed “a territorial dispute” not vital to U.S interests, or an outright brutal war of aggression by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Everybody else has gone to Ukraine, from President Joe Biden to actor Ben Stiller. So why not DeSantis?
And Zelenskyy, in the name of equity, fairness and drama, could turn on the Kiev air raid sirens the way he did during Biden’s recent visit.
DeSantis, the popular GOP alternative to Donald Trump, caused a stir among GOP supporters of continued military aid to Ukraine, when he said the U.S. had more important issues to deal with.
He said, “While the U.S. has many vital national interests—securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural and military power of the Chinese Communist Party— becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them.”
No sooner did DeSantis downplay the threat from Russia—compared to China and the southern border—then a pair of Russian fighter jets struck and downed an unmanned U.S. spy drone flying in international airspace over the Black Sea.
Perhaps DeSantis spoke a bit too soon.
The incident appeared to be an intentional military provocation on the part of Russia, which is fuming over ongoing U.S. military aid to Ukraine. Putin no doubt believes that he would have defeated Ukraine by now were it not for aid supplied to the Ukrainians by the U. S. and NATO.
It was also a test to see how Biden would react, if he reacts at all.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is far from a “territorial dispute.” Putin aims to conquer and subdue the entire country before advancing on to Poland and Europe
While DeSantis, who has yet to announce his presidential candidacy, has been touting his impressive domestic achievements as governor of Florida, his Ukrainian remarks represented his first comments on foreign policy.
This put him at odds with many Congressional Republicans, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who support keeping Ukraine in the fight against Russia.
It also drew negative comments from former Vice President Mike Pence, who is also considering a run for president. Pence said there was no room in the Republican Party for “Putin apologists.”
“We support those who fight our enemies on their shores, so we will not have to fight them ourselves,” Pence said.
Ironically, DeSantis’ stand on Ukraine aligns the Florida governor with Donald Trump, the man he would have to beat to win the GOP presidential nomination. Trump has repeatedly bragged about how he could work with Putin.
DeSantis’ remarks were either a political blunder or a shrewd move.
They are a blunder if Putin, faced with losing his foolhardy war with Ukraine, and by proxy the U.S., becomes increasingly despondent and belligerent and seeks to widen the war with the support of
China, Iran and North Korea.
It is a political plus if nothing like that happens and it gets DeSantis, a presidential candidate, the international spotlight with a stately trip to Ukraine and a meeting with Zelenskyy. He would break away from the GOP field.
He has been invited to visit the war-torn nation. Following his remarks Oleg Nikolenko, the spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign ministry, issued the invitation.
He said, “We are sure that as a former military officer to a combat zone, Gov. Ron DeSantis knows the difference between a ‘dispute’ and war. We invite him to visit Ukraine to get a deeper understanding of Russia’s fullscale invasion and the threats it poses to U.S. interests.”
DeSantis is a former U.S. Navy JAG officer who served as legal officer to the commander of the U. Navy SEAL mission in Fallujah during the Iraq War. Part of his duties consisted of monitoring the missions of SEALS and Army Green Berets and overseeing the human treatment of detainees.
Go to Ukraine.