A Nuclear Wake-Up Call
Vladimir Putin’s drive to put nukes in space should be a wake-up call across the political spectrum. Anti-war obsessives on the left and neo-isolationists on the right must face facts: Putin means to keep on conquering, and he will if he’s not stopped now.
Modern militaries depend on satellites for everything from communications to targeting; cutting off those capabilities would cripple forces trained to depend on them.
And while US orbital assets might be protected against some anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons, nukes are far more destructive across a much wider volume. That’s why international treaties ban nukes in space.
But Putin has ripped up plenty of other treaties when they got in his way.
US intelligence believes the Kremlin hasn’t yet launched any such weapons into orbit, but apparently Russia’s exploring it.
Meanwhile, one wing of the Republican Party thinks Vlad’s not so bad: “Russia is open to a peace agreement, while it is DC warmongers who want to prolong the war,” tweets Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).
The geopolitical wisdom of a former highschool football coach: Let Kyiv fall, and wait for Putin to take his next step toward restoring the Russian empire.
Hmm. President Barack Obama sent Hillary Clinton off to meet Putin with that oh-so-cute “reset” button; got caught telling Putin’s wingman he’d have more “flexibility” after the 2012 election (during which he mocked Mitt Romney for warning of Moscow’s ill intent) — then barely blinked when Putin seized Crimea in 2014.
Then again, Obama also imagined he could turn Iran’s revolutionary regime into a US ally, the linchpin of a stable Middle East, if he appeased Tehran enough, starting with his infamous nuclear deal.
Republicans shouldn’t repeat Obama’s mistakes — with Iran or Russia. And Democrats who now recognize Putin’s evil should back serious increases in defense spending.
Ignoring or appeasing our enemies (powers out to upend the world, peace be damned) invites aggression and disaster. Left and right must quit fooling themselves; House Republicans can start by passing the $95 billion package to aid Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and boost the US defense industry.