Stop whining, MAGA isolationists and American Firsters.. Europe awoke, and so should you. The zombies are sleepwalking in the MAGA House. Arising from the dead of the 1930's, America Firsters are rising again. We know how that turned out. Appeasement hen only opened to door to the Nazis, who thought they could walk into Poland and France without opposition and America would just stay out of it. Japan saw the US American Firsters as a weakness and Pearl Harbor happened. Ukraine is the 2024 version of Sudentenland as England thought handing that part of Czechoslovakia over to Germany's annexation would bring "peace in our time."
Why is there a small knot of those spreading the Russian line in Congress? Back in my Cold War days, we called those who swallowed or promoted USSR propaganda, at best, "dupes" and, at worst, traitors. However< with an old cold warrior in charge of Russia, old tricks never die. The problem is that in this age of cyber, social media, AI, propaganda postings, fake newspaper stories, and other methods do not come with a "made in Russia" label on them so the willing ignorant just echo the Russian line even in Congress today.
Update: 4 8 2024 Mike Turner says Russian propaganda has spread through parts of GOP | CNN Politics
The old axioms are as true today as ever: The best offense is a great defense. Aggressors fear they will be met with overwhelming military resistance is the best way to stop an invasion. For those reasons, Trump is a danger to our own national security and makes it more likely we will be putting our boots on the ground in Europe if he has his way by weakening US commitment to Ukraine now and if he gets elected in November..
Update Feb 23-25 to an earlier post Update 4 20 24 The $61 billion aid package for Ukraine was approved by the House, and it did contain the authorization to seek Russian funds held in US banks, the "repo" act. The money would have gone to Ukraine's reconstruction, but this vote in the House, certain to be passed in the Senate, enables to keep the reconstruction use as part of the plan. Mike Johnson emerged from his ideologically fueled obstructionism to permit a vote on Ukraine aid as a stand-alone bill. The vote was overwhelmingly bi-partisan in a most unusual occurrence: a coalition of the rational and moderates from both parties. Part of the deal, it appears, is that the Democrats would also cross over to keep Johnson as speaker if his right-wing nuts tried to oust him. That is what skilled legislators do, and it helps to have a skilled legislator like Biden in the White House.It and most of the other elements of the Senate bill also passed. Now third in line to the presidency and privy to national security briefings. It must have contained some sobering information. Having a son of fighting age entering the Naval Academy also is a sobering thought, if Russia directly engaged NATO troops, our sons, daughters, and grandchildren would have their lives on the line.
https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/02/message-to-magas-in-house-you-should.html: Plan B: Should Speaker Johnson beat down a movement to force him to bring Ukraine aid to the floor because he knows he would lose if that fails, there may be a plan B to support Ukraine. While this concept was applied to post-Ukraine, assuming it survives this conflict, I wonder if it could be applied to funding military aid. Use of Russian treasure held in Western banks could be tapped. Post-conflict reconstruction was discussed recently by Fareed Zakaria on CNN. Western Nations holding Russian funds should freeze them and set up a reconstruction fund for Ukraine, not only funding Ukrainians from Russian money but also providing a reconstruction fund kept out of the hands of Russia. I am unsure of the legality of this but after I wrote this, I heard the former ambassador to Russia on MSNBC suggest this. He carries enormous weight. We will know the week of Feb. 25 when the House returns to work. and the discharge petition forces Mike Johnson to bring to a vote. Update Feb 25.: on MSNBC review I heard an interview I missed .. Rep Jim Hines believes that will be the ultimate solution. The only question is whether to take the interest of the 300 billion Western banks have in Russia or the principle. If the bulk of it is in Swiss banks, that will be a difficult job, but for the first time in history, the Swiss have been supporting one of the combatants, Ukraine and NATO, instead of being neutral.
https://www.eda.admin.ch/deza/en/home/countries/ukraine.html#:~:text=Switzerland%20supports%20Ukraine%20on%20its,democracy%20and%20strengthen%20local%20governance.
For those who whine Europe is not paying its fair share in NATO wake up. Both France and Germany just signed treaties to send billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine. This is on top of the European Union pledging $54 billion to keep the civil side of Ukraine afloat. The average contribution per NATO member is 2% They see the danger even if MAGA does not. However, that does not show how much in dollars have been contributed to Ukraine in weapons, financial, and humanitarian aid in addition to their 2% of GDP commitment to their own militaries. Next to the USA, Germany is the largest contributor of military aid. https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/
If Russia senses US commitment to the Ukraine war is denied, and there is dissension among other NATO allies, he may think the coast is clear to move into the Baltics. That would indeed trigger NATO's mutual defense treaty. Even if Trump were elected n 2024, he could not unilaterally pull out of NATO per recent legislation passed by Congress, but he could do a lot of damage by slow walking or stonewalling weapons supplies, as war wages in Europe, until the American public cannot stand seeing the carnage and demands involvement, as it always has. Don't think Trump could do that? He has not even been elected yet, and he has ordered his flunkies in the House and the Senate to do just that. ..sabotage military aid to Ukraine.. Even old time GOP hawks clicked their heels and saluted their dear leader.
NATO feels that it cannot keep Russia at bay because the US is the arsenal of the West, and the gap of sucth a loss they cannot fill in time to stave off the Russian bear's invasion of the Baltics and Poland. Germany is just opening new facilities to manufacture weapons now.
What a bunch of fools the isolationist wing of the MAGA movement is as they follow their leader down a destructive path https://apnews.com/article/germany-france-ukraine-zelenskyy-security-eefc83817062c5bb5d7a9e16a276aeaf
Mike Turner's ill-timed political maneuver on the same day Navalny dies only serves to remind those who seem to be unable to understand who America's enemies are or not: He may have intended to try to blame Biden for being asleep at the national defense wheel while the MAGA isolationists want to take America's hands off the wheel entirely with the vote on Ukraine aid is on the table at the same time.
At the same time, Speaker Mike Johnson Tuberville's Ukraine aid. The House goes in recess and leaves the bill in limbo. Perhaps, he too, will face reality, but for now, he cares nothing about the security interests of the US as he echoes the American Firsters of the 1930's. https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2024/02/15/johnson-intended-to-stop-ukraine-aid-not-pass-an-immigration-bill/?sh=6857f7076e86..(In case you forgot:https://www.npr.org/2023/12/19/1220492250/tuberville-drops-blockade-military-promotions)
