Below are 11 sincere questions for those who support the continuation of the three-year-old Russia-Ukraine War. First, a little housekeeping…
Russian President Vladimir Putin is a bad guy, a gangster; and the thought of rewarding the bad guy with anything, much less territory in Ukraine, does not sit well with me.
Since this war began three years ago, I have hoped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would send the gangster home humiliated with a bloody nose. But that hasn’t happened, and at this point I’ve lost faith it will ever happen.
So now what? Faced with this reality, what do we do now?
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All I’m hearing from the neocon Ukraine War fans and their fellow Ukraine War fans on the rabid left is a call for more of the same.
First, let’s define “more of the same.”
More war. More death. More fear a desperate Putin will go nuclear. More tens of billions of U.S. dollars poured into a war that cannot be won.
“More of the same” makes no sense to me, and after 20 freaken years in Iraq and Afghanistan, it especially makes no sense to me.
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I get all the nuance. I get the geopolitical strategy. I also know Putin had his reasons. I know Putin has some valid concerns, although none validated starting a war. I know we’d love to drain Putin’s economy to a point where he’s overthrown. I know we’re sending a message about invading an ally.
I get all that. I do. But after three bloody, costly, futile years, I have questions for those of you who demand “more of the same,” starting with these…
- What is your definition of victory?
- What’s your strategy for victory?
- When will this victory be achieved?
- We’re already three years in. When I look at the map of the back and forth of territorial gains and losses in Ukraine, I’m reminded of the trench warfare during World War I. Thousands of young men, an entire generation dying in a war of inches. If nothing changes, how long are you willing to demand this continues? Give me your time limit. Five more years? Ten more years? Tell us when you will say this war has gone on too long.
- How much money should the U.S. pour into this war? We’re already about $200 billion in, much of it unaccounted for. Tell us what dollar amount will be too much for you.
- What are the downsides of a peace deal?
- Have you considered the fact that a peace deal might leave Ukraine with more land than if the war continues or Ukraine loses?
- If all our previous aid packages didn’t make a difference, what makes you believe the next one will?
- Why are you really okay with Zelensky outlawing 11 opposition parties and canceling a presidential election? A war is no excuse. Abraham Lincoln stood for reelection in the middle of a much worse situation: a civil war. Lincoln also believed he would lose. Must we destroy democracy to save democracy?
- If Trump is so pro-Putin, why doesn’t he pull our support from Ukraine and walk away, Enjoy your war, pal. Instead, he’s risking political capital to get a peace deal.
- When did y’all — especially those on the left — begin to oppose the pursuit of peace?
Say what you want about Trump, he’s making his case for why this war must end now in a peace deal.
All I hear from the other side is some version of “more of the same” … and “more of the same” is unacceptable.
Make your case. Let’s hear it.
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