by Robert M. Traxler
Republicans for the most part are against supporting Ukraine in their war with the Russian Federation. I disagree with my conservative friends.
The Russians are the enemy of my youth. We trained for a war with the Russians, our CPXes (command post exercises) were against the Russians, and we memorized the data on their weapons, command control and communications, ranges of crew served weapons, supply and services operations, every aspect of their military and civilian operations.
The dissolution of the Soviet Union brought a new way of thinking to our military and civilian establishments. China, Iran, and others became the threat.
A word of caution to our new conservative government: President Vladimir Putin of Russia has left no doubt that he intends to revive the grandeur and massive power of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). He has called the destruction of the USSR the greatest tragedy in the history of mankind or (person kind, as we must say for a month anyway).
Our government has allowed the Russian Federation to prosecute the war on the Ukraine by not stopping NATO members from helping the Russian war effort, selling gas and oil to Europe while we are funding the Ukraine. Just how stupid is that?
A reasonable and prudent person needs to ask why we are so ignorant as to directly and indirectly assist both sides. Our current government should pick a side and not play a game of tightrope walking.
If the Russians conquer Ukraine and its natural resources, it becomes 40 percent more capable in economic and military power. It is on the way to being reinstated as the most powerful military in Europe and the bad old days of the Cold War.
We seem to forget the costs of deterring a Warsaw Pact in dollars and American lives during the Cold War 1947 to 1989, the real longest war, not Afghanistan.
Ukraine is a natural buffer between NATO nations and the Russians and their allies; it being aligned even if not a member of NATO will make Europe and our allies a much safer place to do business.
China is, at three to one, rated the biggest threat to our nation in a recent survey of Americans. No denying they are economically the most direct threat to our way of life and our dependence on their manufacturing; it is scary as hell. Our dependency on medical and electronic components and end items is undeniably creating a supply line some 7,000 miles long and making us depend on them for our very way of life.
We should hope that the new government of President Donald Trump looks to becoming more independent from other nations.
We need to start with energy independence. The legacy media tell us we are not dependent on foreign oil. Well if that’s true, why are we supporting Venezuela and buying their oil,? Add in Saudi Arabia and others, and foreign suppliers of oil transported by tanker are burning 54,000 gallons of diesel per day for up to 49 days per trip. Think that one over, our environmental purist friends. Two and a half million gallons plus per trip. Still against American oil, fracking and pipelines?
Time will tell if we can set reasonable goals and objectives for our new government. Time will tell if we can use common sense in our policies and procedures, time will tell if we can stop playing both sides of most issues and start doing what is best for our nation and not others.
“Make America Great Again” and “America First” need to be the missions, not a disjointed confused policy quilt work with no direct goals or objectives. My opinion.
