With the Senate blessing the $61 billion Ukraine aid package after the House (led by Speaker Johnson) miraculously pushed through the bill using Democratic votes, all of Washington is rejoicing at President Biden's masterful act of projecting America's image as a global leader.
"For Biden, Aid Package Provides a Welcome Boost on the World Stage," screamed a headline in the New York Times. Trump hater David Frum, writing in the Atlantic, concluded that "Ukraine won. Trump lost."
The clinking of wine glasses aside, serious commentary focused on what was next for Ukraine. The Guardian said that Ukraine's plight grows ever more precarious. "Defeat would be a catastrophe not only for Kyiv, but also for the future security of Europe." This idea—that a defeat in Ukraine would risk Europe's future security—was the reasoning behind Speaker Johnson’s sudden 180-degree turn. Far from Ukraine winning, as David Frum hopes for, the practical concern that Johnson faced was that Ukraine could lose.
When Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, the reasoning was that Ukraine abandoning its neutrality and becoming a NATO country, with American weapons lined up against Russia's borders, was an existential threat to Russia. But now, after America led Europe to defend Ukraine against Russia by committing over $200 billion in military aid, logistics training, and strategic advice, a defeat in Ukraine could become an existential threat to the West. As we said recently, in the global propaganda war of the projection of power, the West cannot be seen to lose - and to save its face, America has to continue to fund Ukraine. Forever.
Kurt Volker, a senior American diplomat with a wealth of experience in U.S. foreign and national security policy, summed up the Beltway thinking for the Center for European Policy Analysis titled "How Ukraine Wins." Trained on a Neocon diet that promotes American military supremacy worldwide to advance foreign policy goals, Volker worked as a legislative fellow on the staff of late Senator John McCain, the most potent Neocon voice in Washington for decades. Volker served as the 19th United States Ambassador to NATO under President George W. Bush and as President Trump's U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine from July 2017 until his resignation on September 27, 2019.
Even if Washington follows half of Volker's prescriptions, Americans are looking at an incredibly long, almost never-ending commitment to Ukraine. Warning that if Washington does not follow his advice, the consequences would be dire, Volker lists several actions that must be taken.
- Far from Ukraine avoiding defeat, Volker wants American policy to shift to ensure a Ukrainian victory. [Volker does not define what victory is].
- Volker wants America to tell Ukraine to hit Russia well behind the front lines, which is a marked deviation from America's policy thus far and, therefore, a significant escalation.
- Volker wants France, the United States, the U.K., and other NATO allies to form a "coalition of the willing" to directly assist Ukrainian defense of its cities, civilians, and non-military infrastructure from drone, missile, and rocket attacks — just as they did recently with Israel.
- Volker wants Congress to swiftly approve a lend-lease facility for Ukraine, up to $500 billion in U.S. assistance, to avoid gaps in available funding in the future. He says that Congress should pre-position authority for Ukraine to borrow from the U.S. for its defensive needs - also known as a blank check.
Volker's analysis shows how out of touch Beltway insiders are with ordinary Americans. We present four charts below that illustrate how Americans recognize that the United States is too much in debt to afford foreign wars, and any assistance to Ukraine would needlessly prolong the war. Americans want America to take care of its borders first rather than worry about the borders of other countries.
Lord Acton famously said in 1887, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Last week's maneuvers on Capitol Hill were a bitter reminder to ordinary voters that the corrupt Beltway has all the power to set policy, spend tax dollars, and borrow funds to advance its wisdom as it sees fit.
Every American household has borrowed and contributed $900 to Ukraine. With the additional $61 billion, the total amount per household reaches $1,400, bringing the total debt to $273,000 per household. Have you heard of any politicians or media cheerleaders proposing ideas for handling this debt? It seems they only want to borrow as if there's no tomorrow.
The average American is an innocent bystander with no influence whatsoever on the country's fundamental decisions. To this end, America is fast deteriorating from a representative constitutional republic to an elite oligarchy. Our Founding Fathers must be turning in their graves.
