By Erik Dolson
Once the New York Times accepted Russian victory in the Ukraine war, it was inevitable that the Biden administration would follow.
" ‘We're not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that strike into Russia,’ Biden told reporters after arriving back at the White House after a weekend in Delaware,” according to news outlet Reuters.
More damn muddling. Putin pounds Ukrainian troops into meat and Ukrainian cities into rubble with rockets shipped from Russia, bombs from fighters flying from Russia, and cruise missiles from ships sailing from Russian ports. In response, Biden tells Putin that Russian losses will be limited to what Putin chooses to send into battle.
Ukraine has indicated no desire to take Russian land. I’m not so cynical (yet) as to believe Joe Biden, or anyone in his administration, would hope for a long, drawn out conflict to cause deeper damage to Russia regardless of the cost to the people of Ukraine. But it is not where the bombs fall that trigger a wider escalation; it is simply whether Putin believes he is losing.
The rapes and murders of Putin’s war are not accidental. They are tactical, a warning common to warriors and street fighters. Fear is just another weapon Putin uses. In response, a basic of self defense is to disrupt your enemy’s ability to go on offense. To do so, the U.S. should give Ukraine what it needs to decisively turn the tide, and that may involve sinking a few more Russian ships, destroying railroads and ammunition depots inside of Russia.
The West has to increase not just the possibility of Ukraine victory, but also the potential losses to Russia. Putin, and those around him, should face uncertainty that they will win and that even if they do, the cost will be acceptable.
There has been no more clear-cut conflict since WWII. Russia will wage war and commit atrocities until Putin and his generals face destruction by doing so. Anything less than a commitment to victory by the West guarantees defeat. We must give Ukraine what it needs to win.
Biden will ship the MLRS but with restrictions added as soon as they can be done to remove the ability to strike into Russia. We allowed use of the fancy 155 guns in Ukraine but disabled parts of the fire control system. I suspect the Israelis know how to bypass those restrictions if Ukraine asks.
But Putin must be forced to withdraw in the end. The West cannot afford appeasement again or the aggression will not stop. One wonders how much pain Russia can absorb.
Biden is a doddering fool and has no intestinal fortitude for the tough calls. Remember, he opposed the bin Laden raid, no matter how he tried to spin it later. That was before his mental faculties deteriorated to the degree we see currently. What a sorry state of affairs.