Time for a brief look back into history: In the two world wars in the first half of the 20th century, the United States of America was the best ally a country could have. “The Americans” were the proverbial cavalry coming over the hill to rescue the good guys from the bad guys. The “good guys” were people who wanted to live in freedom in their own countries. The “bad guys” were malevolent, imperialistic tyrants who sought to conquer and enslave other nations. We fought those enemies of human rights with the single-minded goal of soundly defeating them. We accomplished that worthy goal and came out of World War II having obliterated German, Italian, and Japanese militarism. Alas, war-weary, the decision was made to end combat without thwarting Soviet Russia’s imperialistic designs — a fateful decision for which we are paying a price today.
Since World War II, we seem to have forgotten that wars are fought to be won. Our leaders lost moral clarity over 50 years ago during the Vietnam War. They failed to define “victory.” Consequently, our military forces became bogged down in a ghastly war of attrition. After years of needlessly wasting lives, the Americans got fed up with the futility of it all. President Nixon pulled our troops out, and the Democratic congress even stopped supplying desperately needed weapons to our erstwhile allies, ensuring their total defeat.
During the Vietnam War, the dreadful term “no-win wars” entered our national vocabulary. Since then, fighting no-win wars seems to have become the default modus operandi of the U.S. military. True, we won the Cold War. But when it comes to actual troops on the ground, we still haven’t recovered the ability to define victory and then to achieve it (see Iraq and Afghanistan). We (or our political leaders, at least) seem to have abandoned the traditional American view of war as a contest between right and wrong, good and evil, with decisive military victory as the unambiguous goal. (READ MORE: Countering the Criticisms Aimed at Ronald Reagan)
Today, our leaders’ rhetoric remains largely unchanged — they still pay lip service to the U.S. being on the side of freedom and national self-determination — but actual policies tell a different story. We express sympathy and support for Ukraine and Israel as they fight back against ruthless aggressors, but our actual support for them is tentative and equivocal. The message boils down to this: We sure are sorry about what has been happening to you, but we don’t want you to achieve a clearcut victory over your aggressors.
Apparently, official Washington’s fixation on “no-win wars” extends to American allies. We don’t want them to win, and so we criticize their military strategies, oppose their objectives, and withhold crucial military aid. (In the case of Israel, we even call for regime change.) Frankly, the whole sordid business reeks of treachery and betrayal.
The Ukrainians and Israelis have clear visions of what would constitute a victory for them: Ukraine seeks to drive all Russian occupiers back into Russia; Israel seeks to degrade the ability of Hamas to launch additional terrorist waves of atrocities in Israel against Jewish (and American) civilians. Yet, until recently Joe Biden told the valiant Ukrainians that they are not to strike Russian assets that are inside Russia. He has pressured the Israelis to grant a ceasefire to Hamas that would give the terrorists time to organize their next murderous offensive. (READ MORE: America’s Foreign Policy Utopians Ignore Culture)
Biden’s policy toward Israel makes the most sense when viewed through the cynical lens of politics. Israeli lives and safety are nothing to Biden compared to his desire to be re-elected. He needs the votes of Arab sympathizers in states like Michigan, and he is perfectly willing to trade the lives of our allies for votes. Biden doesn’t have either the patriotism or the spine to say to pro-Hamas voters, “The United States opposes genocide, period. If you can’t accept that Jews have the same right to live that you do, then you should go back to the countries you came from.”
But what can explain his attempts to rein in the Ukrainians? Is there any realistic quid pro quo that Vladimir Putin might concede in exchange for America putting the brakes on Ukrainian fighters? None whatsoever. Biden openly expressed his desire that the Ukrainians refrain from striking Russia’s domestic oil-producing infrastructure because he doesn’t want oil prices to soar during an election year. If that is how shallow Biden’s support of Ukraine is, then Ukraine’s prospects for survival are dim. Putin must be chortling in the Kremlin.
Surely, as we remember with gratitude the heroism of millions of American servicemen who laid down their lives in the service of noble moral principles, it is distressing to see an American political establishment today that is averse to fighting evil in the name of good and remains stuck in a no-win-war mentality. The whole world must doubt whether the U.S. can be a reliable and trustworthy ally.
