Last week, U.S. lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene – a former crossfit instructor who managed to ascend to the House of Representatives – defended Jack Teixeria, the Air National Guardsman arrested by the FBI for allegedly leaking national security documents. A staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, she lauded Teixeria for being “white, male, christian and anti-war.”
Greene further suggested that the leaker – who has violated countless laws, including the Espionage Act, and potentially compromised national security – was essentially a hero as he exposed U.S. involvement in Ukraine. The same line of reasoning was essentially offered by Fox News host Tucker Carlson as well.
Of course, it should not have come as a surprise.
Neither Greene nor Carlson has remotely supported the sending of aid to Ukraine. In fact, they’ve both made their case clear that they’re against it, arguing this isn’t our fight.
Carlson had even at one point suggested the U.S. should support Russia’s annexation of Ukraine to gain an ally against China. Greene is hardly alone, as other pro-Trump lawmakers have also questioned the aid being sent to Kyiv.
Reagan Must Be Turning in His Grave
What happened to the legacy of President Ronald Reagan who defeated the Soviet Union during the Cold War? Moscow was the capital of the Evil Empire!
Now in fairness, those pro-Trump lawmakers will argue this isn’t the same thing. Russia isn’t the Soviet Union they’ll say, and they’ll further suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin had valid security concerns. They’ll also say the old “Neo-Con” and “Globalist” way of thinking is outdated.
They’re wrong.
The Neo-Con/Globalist Republicans were right in the 20th century and they’re right now. It is sad that former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming has been branded a RINO (Republic In Name Only), as she is correct in warning about the direction that the MAGA movement is taking America. This isn’t about “Making America Great Again,” it is about taking an isolationist policy that didn’t work in the past, and would destroy America now!
Lessons From History
Isolationism failed to keep America out of the First World War. It then failed to keep America out of the Second World War. We can’t return to an isolationist policy now.
Simply put, by not supporting Ukraine now, America risks being dragged into a Third World War. How Greene, Carlson, and others can’t see this is simply mind-boggling. The fact that Russia invaded Ukraine on trumped-up grounds is proof that Putin can’t be trusted. He demanded NATO be scaled back – why was that?
NATO has no plans to invade Russia. It never has, and never will.
But NATO ensures that Russia won’t annex Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania or attempt to expand its influence in Eastern Europe. That’s what Putin doesn’t like. He wanted NATO scaled back so that he would have free rein to invade those nations – likely on a similar trumped-up pretext. And eventually, Europe would be at war, and the United States would be drawn in.
Those who say NATO had no business expanding eastward must not care what a democratic state wants or desires! The three Baltic States – which have been subjugated more than once by Moscow – don’t want to see history repeated. They absolutely had the right to join NATO regardless of what Putin or anyone else outside their countries may think. That is why the Baltic States have been so eager to support Ukraine.
Investment in Ukraine is Investment in Our Future
The other thing that the anti-Ukraine crowd complains about is the cost. They should look at this as an investment in our nation’s future.
The United States currently spends hundreds of billions on defense, and as long as we want to remain the “land of the free,” we’re going to have to keep spending that money to deter near-peer adversaries such as Russia and China. That fact won’t change if Russia takes over Ukraine, and in fact, it would likely only get worse.
Moreover, the aid we’re sending to Ukraine is just a fraction of our annual defense budget, and it is weakening Russia far more than it is hurting us in America.
Russia has lost thousands of tanks and other vehicles, and possibly more than 100,000 of its soldiers. More importantly, it has seen the loss of general officers, isolated Russia from Europe and united NATO in no time since the early days of the Cold War.
This isn’t just Ukraine or even Europe’s fight. This is about ensuring that Putin isn’t able to realize his dream of reestablishing the Soviet Union. For what is truly a fraction of our defense budget, we’ve ensured that one of our biggest threats has been seriously weakened for a generation, and we’ve done it by not having to send thousands of U.S. troops to a distant land to fight in a war.
That’s simply beyond priceless.
Teixeria may be white, Christian, and anti-war. He’s also someone who has endangered our security. He didn’t share the documents as a whistleblower but as someone to show off. He should expect to spend the next 20 or more years in prison for his high crimes!
Author Experience and Expertise:
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
