By Donald Kirk
WASHINGTON — The debate in the U.S. Congress over more funds for more arms for Ukraine evokes unpleasant memories. In 1975, as the “North” Vietnamese were roaring to victory over “South” Vietnam, the Congress refused to approve more appropriations for arms that the South badly needed for a last-ditch defense of at least the Saigon region.
The old Saigon regime, bereft of American troops and air support, may have been beyond salvation, but Washington ever since has had to deal with charges and claims of betrayal of friends and allies. The case of Afghanistan, which fell to the Taliban in August 2021, is a classic case in point, but now we’re confronted by Ukraine.
As Russia’s troops suffered from poor morale, dwindling ammunition and undying hostility at the hands of the Ukrainians, supported by NATO arms and ammunition, President Putin always knew he had an ace in the hole. Eventually, he figured, NATO’s most committed, richest member would lose interest and then give up.
That’s what’s in danger of happening now. Republican members of Congress are not all that committed to Ukraine and believe they have an excellent bargaining tool. Let’s balk at voting for more appropriations for Ukraine while demanding that President Biden pledge to close America’s porous southern border with Mexico. What a great way, they’re saying, to staunch the flow of illegal migrants into the U.S.
In essence, we’re talking about two very different kinds of invasions.
There’s the Russian assault on Ukraine, in which Putin refuses to give up his dream of conquering a huge, wheat-rich largely agricultural region that’s been periodically under Russia’s thumb from the day of Tsarist rule through to the Soviet era. Then there’s the invasion of the U.S. by hordes of largely Hispanic people from the impoverished nations of Central and South America in search of a better life.
The great difference, of course, is that the Russians are fully armed while the folks from south of the American border with Mexico are unarmed, impoverished and desperate. That’s not to say they should all be given a free pass into the land of milk and honey, but Republican malcontents, against America’s best interests, have no business mixing up the topics in a malicious bargaining game that’s against all sides, notably both Ukrainians and Hispanics.
The bargaining has implications far beyond either Ukraine or America’s southern borders. Think of all the other countries that Washington is committed to defend on the periphery of China beginning with South Korea, then Japan and Taiwan, and going around to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, including Israel, fighting terrorism in Gaza.
How sure can we be sure that Washington would live up to its long and deeply entrenched treaty deals with South Korea and Japan? American potentates are forever talking about the “ironclad” commitment to the defense of both countries, but nothing is certain in American politics. What if, by some awful circumstance, Donald Trump gets to return to the White House after all the damage he did to American foreign policy during his previous four years on the job? There’s no doubt, with Trump in charge, the U.S. would withdraw still more of its 28,500 troops now in South Korea while Trump hammered away at demands that Korea contribute several billion dollars a year for the privilege of hosting American bases, including Camp Humphreys, America’s largest overseas base and nearby Osan Air Base.
That would not be all. Trump’s betrayal of American interests, and America's allies, would extend to Japan, from which he would pull most of America’s 50,000 troops while demanding that Japan, like Korea, vastly increase its share of the upkeep of America’s bases, notably Kadena, from which American fighter, recon and transport planes fly throughout the region.
Trump’s infatuation with dictators – not just Putin but China’s President Xi and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un – would doubtless mean he wouldn’t go to war with any of them in defense of America’s allies. Senior military officers to whom I’ve spoken think he would have long since abandoned Ukraine to Putin and fear he would want to pursue his love for Kim by letting down South Korea too. Nor would he rush to Taiwan’s defense against Xi’s People’s Liberation Army.
All of which is highly disturbing when you consider these troublesome Republicans, thinking nothing of abandoning Ukraine, rank among Trump’s stalwart friends and allies. We can only hope they come to their senses and realize it’s not a good idea for Washington to go on letting down its allies nearly half a century since the fall of the South Korean regime for which Americans had been fighting and dying for ten years.
Donald Kirk (kirkdon4343@gmail.com) writes about war and peace from Washington and Seoul.
Sticking by our allies
21
0
21.12.2023
By Donald Kirk WASHINGTON — The debate in the U.S. Congress over more funds for more arms for Ukraine evokes unpleasant memories. In 1975, as the “North” Vietnamese were roaring to victory over “South” Vietnam, the Congress refused to approve more appropriations for arms that the South badly needed for a last-ditch defense of at least the Saigon region.
The old Saigon regime, bereft of American troops and air support, may have been beyond salvation, but Washington ever since has had to deal with charges and claims of betrayal of friends and allies. The case of Afghanistan, which fell to the Taliban in August 2021, is a classic case in point, but now we’re confronted by Ukraine.
As Russia’s troops suffered from poor morale, dwindling ammunition and undying hostility at the hands of the Ukrainians, supported by NATO arms and ammunition, President Putin always knew he had an ace in the hole. Eventually, he figured, NATO’s most committed, richest member would lose interest and then give up.
That’s what’s in danger of happening now. Republican members of Congress are not all that committed to Ukraine and believe they have an excellent bargaining tool. Let’s balk at voting for more........
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