PELOSI DESERVES THANKS FOR UKRAINE VISIT
It was a dramatic moment for U.S. involvement in the Ukraine war.
Nancy Pelosi, one day after her surprise meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, told the media in Poland on Sunday: “America stands with Ukraine. We stand with Ukraine until victory is won.” For good measure, she added: “Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done.”
Coming so soon after President Joe Biden’s vital request to Congress for $33 billion in additional short- and longterm aid to Ukraine, those words now signify a deeper commitment. That terminology is welcome because it signifies that the Biden team finally recognizes Ukraine could win — if the right heavy weapons from the West arrive soon enough — and will back the country for the long haul.
Yet if Ukrainian “victory” is now the U.S. goal, Biden needs to better explain to Americans why such a win is vital for our country’s security — and for democracy worldwide.
On the surface, it looks as if Biden should have no problem with public opinion. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows a big majority of Americans back sanctions on Russia and aid to Ukraine, with 36% saying that the United States is giving the right amount of support and 37% saying that it is giving too little.
Yet if Ukrainian “victory” is now the U.S. goal, Biden needs to better explain to Americans why such a win is vital for our country’s security — and for democracy worldwide.
But there are burbling currents in this country, often on the far-right, that buy Putin’s message that he is merely defending Russia against Ukrainian Nazi aggression.
Given these counter currents and the fickleness of public opinion, one cannot take long-term U.S. public support for Ukraine for granted, especially as we approach the poisonous atmosphere of the 2022 midterms — let alone the 2024 presidential election.
Here, then, are the points that I believe Biden must make clear to Americans going forward:
› This war is about Russian aggression, full stop, and Putin’s imperial ambition to control and/or annex Ukraine, which he believes is part of historic Russia. It is not about NATO expansion. When Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, Ukrainian public opinion opposed joining NATO. Not now.
› If Putin gets away with seizing and keeping more Ukrainian land, this changes all the rules that have kept the Western world safe since World War II. It means any country with sufficient weapons — especially nukes — can threaten its neighbors in order to seize parts or all of their land. In Asia, China might follow suit with Taiwan or North Korea with South Korea. In such a dogeat-dog world, the United States will ultimately get dragged in.
› Ukraine’s goal — as expressed by Zelenskyy — is for Russian troops to withdraw from all territory seized after the Feb. 24 invasion. Then negotiations can begin, including over the fate of
Crimea and the eastern Donbas region that were annexed by Moscow in 2014. This could be called an incomplete Ukrainian “win.”
› There can be no serious Ukraine-Russia negotiations unless No. 3 is completed. Zelenskyy has already offered to refrain from joining NATO and for Ukraine to remain neutral, but Putin is not interested. He wants to annex eastern and southern Ukraine and destroy the rest.
› The United States’ goal is to help Ukraine achieve No. 3. It is not to achieve regime change in Moscow (this will not happen unless it is compelled by Russians themselves). Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s recent statement about wanting “to see Russia weakened” specified that he meant weakened so that Moscow couldn’t invade more neighbors. Still, as a rule of thumb, it’s better to speak softly and carry a big stick.
Ukraine’s fight is our fight because Ukrainians are battling to avoid a takeover by a criminal dictator, in Europe, in the 21st century. If that doesn’t wake Americans out of their take-democracy-for-granted stupor, then shame on us.