Fighting The Forgotten War
Ukraine's Struggle for Survival in a Chaotic Time (and America's Struggle to Deliver)
Almost 250 years ago, the thirteen colonies of British America banded together to fight the greatest military power of the 18th century.
By all conventional accounts, the “math” was not on the colonists’ side. England could draw men and supplies from a vast empire that stretched across the globe (hence, the expression “the sun never sets on the British Empire”). The Americans, on the other hand, faced almost-constant recruitment and reenlistment shortfalls. England had one of the most disciplined armies in the world; America had a ragtag group lacking even a definitive uniform.
As you might imagine, then, the French government was skeptical when America came to beg it for help. The French foreign minister, the Comte de Vergennes, may have thought that French support would have been “a fraction of what it would take to turn the tide in [America’s] favor.” After all, to them, General Washington was merely a figure who “seemed to proceed from defeat to defeat.” French taxpayers should not once again pay the price for “failure abroad.”
Besides, did the French really think that “hundreds of thousands of young” Americans were going to war “with a song in their heart?” Morale would inevitably falter when Americans faced the “basic mathematical realities”—and the necessity of negotiating a settlement with hated Great Britain.
In all, the American army seemed destined to fail in its quest for the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Nota bene, J.D. Vance. Ukraine’s struggle against the new wannabe Russian Empire has always been linked with our own. Every argument Vance marshalled against new funding for Ukraine in his latest New York Times opinion piece could have been more plausibly used against the American Revolution. France had much more reason to abandon us during our hour of need than J.D. Vance Republicans have to abandon Ukraine. No, not because Russia, China and Iran have joined forces in an unprecedented, dangerous, and erratic new era of great-power politics (think, for instance, of the latest news about Iran’s drone strikes against Israel). And no, not even because “the enemies of our enemies are more than half our friends.”
Ultimately, we ought to help Ukraine on principle. They are fighting for the same rights we aspired to 250 years ago. Ukrainians have the right to govern themselves and not become prey to a fanatical Russian dictator intent on finishing the centuries-long Russian project to stamp out Ukrainian culture and identity.
They have the right to pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” just like other nations have. They have the right to live on their lands without having to worry about being blown up by Russian landmines.
They have the right and duty to resist a systematic campaign of terror against their people. They have the right and duty to speak out against the mass slaughter of Ukrainians in towns like Bucha. They have the right and duty to keep more Ukrainian children from falling victim to Russia’s forced relocation/ethnic cleansing program. Finally, Ukrainians have the right and the duty to protect themselves against an army of Russian convicts, many of whom later commit crimes against fellow Russians once they return home.
For 2 years, we have agreed that Ukraine deserves our help. For 2 years, we have worked tirelessly to distribute the aid and supplies that Ukrainians need to continue their just war. For 2 years, we have said that Ukraine should decide when and where this war ends.
Our past record of firm support has yielded great success. Ukraine held off the mighty Russian army. It launched counteroffensives that repelled Russian invaders off Ukrainian land. It pioneered new tactics of drone warfare, which have devastated Russian forces in the Black Sea. Most important of all, not a single drop of blood from an American soldier has been shed. The Ukrainians have led the fight for both their futures and the futures of representative democracies all across the world. A Ukrainian victory will undoubtedly send an encouraging message to Taiwan and to every other small nation surrounded by big, aggressive, hateful, and autocratic neighbors.
In our best moments, we have come to the aid of countries like Ukraine to uphold our founding principles. Many Cold War conflicts throughout the years were fought on much shakier grounds. But in Ukraine, the moral contrast could not be clearer, nor could the stakes be any higher.
Yet Republicans have thrown the poor Ukrainians to Russian wolves. Where is their sense of decency? Where are their principles? Sorry, I forget. People like J.D. Vance do not have principles. Why else would he and his fellow Republicans force people like Ukraine’s “Mad Max” to desperately “trawl swamps and minefields for shells”?
America is better than that. America is better than J.D. Vance, and it is better than Marjorie Taylor-Greene. The American public will never accept Trump’s secret plan to pressure Ukraine to yield to Putin. Because that is not who we are.
As The Washington Post might say, Ukrainian democracy dies in darkness. Now more than ever, we must make sure the American people remember those fighting the forgotten war.