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Author: Raine    Date: 12/22/2022 14:01:52

“Totalitarianism is once again threatening to sweep around the globe and President Volodymyr Zelensky stands on the front lines in the fight for democracy. Zelensky’s visit to America will strengthen the critical partnership between the two countries in this existential fight. Ukraine must be given the resources and funding support necessary to stand strong in the face of the larger Russian force.

“For nearly 250 years, the cause of freedom has been a cornerstone of the United States’ identity. The reaction by powerful MAGA voices in the Republican Party to criticize the visit and work at flipping U.S. support towards Russia is reckless and morally bankrupt. The GOP is no longer a party that supports democracy and individual freedom; it is enamored with authoritarianism and strongmen like Vladimir Putin because they have become blinded by the lure of governing by personality and fame. Like Putin, the MAGA GOP wants to stifle dissent, strangle their opposition, and consolidate power in the hands of their chosen few.

“Today is a reminder that preserving democracy is a global effort that requires sacrifice and vigilance. Let all Americans be inspired by the sacrifices of the Ukrainian people and use President Zelensky’s visit as an opportunity for the United States to renew its commitment to our own democratic institutions.”

The above is a partial statement from The Lincoln Project. As you know The President of Ukraine spoke in a rare joint session of Congress about his fight for democracy in his country. To my knowledge, the only other time a wartime leader spoke to a joint session was Churchill in 1941. In 1941, conservatives were embracing an 'America First' movement. There was little appetite to support another vast war "over the pond", as they say.

Having said that, while I commend the Lincoln project for where they are now, I would be remiss not to say that many of the folks who make up that group were the same ones who championed another war we funded. In the War in Iraq, the justification for invading was for freedom and democracy, or so we were told. However, unlike Ukraine, Iraq was not seeking the ideals of democracy. Also we were the chief invaders and we cajoled much of the world to bend to our will, only to find out it was a lie. The GOP continues to support that decade of war in the Middle East.

So now that we have a new majority coming to the House, the GOP wants to put a pause on helping Ukraine. They cite that it costs too much, and there should be perhaps strings attached while forgetting that over a decade ago, we were spending over 10.3 billion dollars a month in Iraq.
By 2014, the Congressional Research Service said that the U.S. had spent $1.6 trillion “for military operations, base support, weapons maintenance, training of Afghan and Iraq security forces, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care for the war operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks.” That worked out to about $10.3 billion a month.

But even that eye-watering sum misses the mark. The Costs of War Project has spent the past decade pawing through government documents to try to tote up the post-9/11 wars’ total cost. Its latest calculation, released in November, says the U.S. will have spent $5.4 trillion on the global war on terrorism by the end of the current 2020 fiscal year, along with an additional $1 trillion for veterans’ care beyond that. That’s about $20,000 per American.
It was very well archived by our own TriSec here every Tuesday. If we can fund an illegal war like Iraq, we can fund Ukraine.

I protested the Iraq war; hell, I made lifetime friends because of it. I even found my life partner. Ukraine is different. This is about actual freedom and liberty from fascism. Last night was inspiring, but also very unsettling. It brought the war into the living rooms of our country to those who do not marinate in social and political issues like we do. We are at a crossroads. I pray the GOP doesn't repeat the mistakes it made 80 years ago. We know how that turned out.

We can talk about the cost of war. I, for one, say give Ukraine everything they need. I want our troops to stay out of Ukraine and out of the battlefront in Europe. I hate war, I hate the military-industrial complex. While some have said war is a racket, this time I say the price of democracy and freedom has no price. What is happening there is everything our country stands for. France helped us gain our freedom from Britain, now is the time to truly pay it forward.

Liberté, égalité, fraternité. Slava Ukraine. Protect our troops.

&
Raine
 

3 comments (Latest Comment: 12/22/2022 19:14:09 by BobR)
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