Letting Putin go unchallenged is a bigger risk than engaging him in the skies over Ukraine, writes Stephen Tryon, a retired soldier and a former Senate Fellow who also served as the legislative aide for the Army’s senior general in the Pentagon.
President Joe Biden addresses a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday, June 14, 2021Nations don’t have friends; they have interests. Interests are legitimate to the extent they represent and advance the well-being of the people who comprise the nation. To defend and advance their legitimate interests, governments wield the elements of national power: diplomatic activity, informational resources, military force, and economic leverage.
For a free people with a democratic government, protecting the most basic human right — the right to life — of the people of other countries is a legitimate national interest when that basic human right is threatened by unprovoked, unjust aggression. Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is a clear example of unprovoked, unjust aggression.
NATO has the capability to provide some protection for the people of Ukraine without putting “boots on the ground” in Ukraine. The current position of the United States regarding a no-fly zone in Ukraine embraces a glaring non-sequitur. We are asked to believe that NATO cannot put fighters in the air over Ukraine without those fighters being shot down by air defense systems positioned inside Russia. But the NATO countries bordering Ukraine have the same air defense systems.
Clearly, using any weapon system to directly engage Russian forces risks Putin expanding the war to include attacks on NATO territory. The question is whether this risk is greater than the risk of allowing Putin to blatantly violate international borders and murder noncombatants in pursuit of an expansionist foreign policy.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Zelensky's 'normal' compromise on NATO unlikely to satisfy RussiaUkraine could survive without NATO membership, but giving up the military assistance could be its downfall.
Read more »
Biden Administration Remains Silent on Morocco’s Occupation of Western SaharaLacking principled opposition to illegal territorial expansion emboldens Putin’s war on Ukraine, says Stephen Zunes.
Read more »
US/NATO Officials: Belarus could 'soon' join the war in Ukraine and are already taking steps to do soBelarus could 'soon' join the war in Ukraine, US/NATO officials said on Monday tweeted a CNN reporter, and are already taking steps to do so. 'Putin n
Read more »
NATO: 7,000 to 15,000 Russian troops dead in UkraineUkraine is scarred, wounded, mourning its dead but far from beaten as it braces for a second month of bombing, combat, casualties and resistance.
Read more »
Live: Ukraine Rejects Russian Ultimatum To Surrender MariupolRussian court labels Meta an 'extremist' group in Facebook ban. Russia Ukraine
Read more »
Italy backs Ukraine joining EU after Zelensky gives up NATO'Italy wants Ukraine to join the EU,' Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Tuesday. 'Italy stands alongside Ukraine in this process.'
Read more »