After 20 years and $2.3 trillion spent, after more than 100,000 American and Afghan lives have been lost, one would think our war in Afghanistan would be the reference point today. However, outside of a few jabs from conservatives about President Biden’s handling of the exit, the war has hardly been brought out in this entire election cycle – even though it ended just three years earlier.
Opinion columnist
LZ Granderson
LZ Granderson writes about culture, politics, sports and navigating life in America.
A reminder of how fast society moves and perhaps a glimpse into the future.
When was the last time you heard someone mention Ukraine in casual conversation? Back in February 2022, when Russia invaded, there was a vigil on our streets. Now, more than 1,000 days later, after Congress has approved $ 175 billion in aidit is likely to fade into a distant memory. President-elect Donald Trump, who has repeatedly questioned Ukraine’s funding, has vowed to end the war quickly. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has said he wants to do it in a “diplomatic way” next year.
While the average American is probably not thinking about Ukraine before the 2022 invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been thinking about the country for more than 30 years.
“The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the historic downfall of Russia,” said in the documentary which aired on Russian airwaves. Putin also called his country’s fall of 1991 “the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century.” For those keeping score at home, he ranked the end of the USSR as worse than the world wars and 20 years in Vietnam. “We lost 40% of our territory, production capacity and population. We are a different country. What we have built over the millennia has lost a lot.
Make Russia Great Again may not offer a pronounceable acronym, but it clearly defines Putin’s foreign policy agenda. This is one worldview that sees Ukraine as a rebellious commonwealth and not an independent democracy.
“Overcoming oppression” is a story we all know in this country. This is a story that is taught to children and is based on weirdness. It is a story of freedom. But as we know, freedom is not free.
Under the Biden administration, America is willing to help Ukraine pay for its independence. The incoming Trump administration has signaled that this will not continue. Other countries will help Ukraine in the war, but without America’s military and economic power, this coalition will struggle to counter Russian power.
Gambling in not providing aid to Ukraine must be a fallen country, it will not satisfy Putin. His desire to restore the glory of his country has lasted for thirty years. Why will he stop only when the resistance crumbles?
The phrase “elections have consequences” is not only about domestic politics. There are consequences abroad as well. While most voters support Trump’s candidacy, do they understand what it means to walk away from Ukraine?
As former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) told me: “Ukraine gave up its nukes, in exchange for peace. The fact that Russia is attacking now means that nuclear is the only deterrent, so you can expect nuclear proliferation around the world.
As president, Trump has been slow to respond Russia fires and captures Ukrainian ships and sailors in 2018. Based on his lukewarm response, and his comments about helping Ukraine, one wonders if Trump has a “red line” for Putin, and if so, what it is and what he is prepared to defend. Unfortunately, there aren’t many opportunities to have this conversation during this election cycle. If there is, perhaps the voters will have a better understanding of the money for Ukraine. According to Kinzinger, a member of the Air National Guard and an Air Force veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, “the money we spend on weapons is actually produced here in the United States and we send old (weapons) to Ukraine. So we’re building projects and refurbishing weapons we are alone.
The U.S. usually pays to destroy old weapons, Kinzinger said.
No one has risen from the noise that surrounds a campaign season full of misinformation. Trump for isolationism, or willingness to ignore Ukraine, apparently resonated with many voters. And because of our habit of being quick to talk about war, it’s likely that many will remember how much it costs to support Ukraine.
On the other hand, we can find abandoning Ukraine and caving to Russia has a far steeper cost – one that will be impossible for us to forget.
@LZGranderson
