The Trump Russia scandal could soon turn to Trump vs. Russia
Cold War 2.0. Something that happened in the end of 2017 was that Trump sign a
major weapons deal with Ukraine. It was briefly covered in the news, but I
didn't think there was a strong enough emphasis on the importance of this
topic. Especially with the context that most of the weapons purchased are ones
that addresses the problems set by Russian separatists. This is a huge reply to
Crimea, in fact stronger than the Obama Administration. This was the first ever
commercial sale of weapons from America to Ukraine. Personally I don't believe
it will be the last, in fact, it could be the first of many. Last time I checked it was in recent history
that Russia kept buffer states between the Baltic's. It was only three and a
half years since the annexation of Crimea.
This strong
response to recent history can have some consequences, for which the United
States can very easily fall into the trap of a proxy war. If I was Putin I
would take this as a direct response, or even a threat. Putin might even
strengthen his already strong broader. Even with these consequences in mind of
becoming tenser in an already tense relationship we ought to examine if this is
a good decision or bad decision. In my opinion, it is a net good for both
Ukraine and America. I'll explain why
On one hand
I definitely see why Ukraine wants the weapons, the loss of a strategic point,
loss of life, and the ever fear that what if Putin wants more. Having one of
the three superpowers next to the broader would shake even the most confident
of nation when discussing anything militarily. The only thing that could
appease that situation would be if another superpower would have your back.
Which in the case of Ukraine they have American. So I can definitely see why
Ukraine wants weapons.
For
American Interests, speaking as an American I would like to also see they get
these weapons. One reason is that they are defensive weapons purchased after
Ukraine had lost land due to military conflict. Two, Ukraine has a very
strategic location in the Baltic's; to compromise any of its remaining territory
would be a failure to help our allies in their sovereignty. If Russia were to
take more land, in a hypothetical situation in Ukraine, they would have a
border with now central Europe, which could even pose more of a threat to
America’s allies. Therefore, I can see why a strong response is in order to
take that hypothetical off the table.
Third, it would be morally good to
help Ukraine in a further conflict with Russia, since Ukraine is a sovereign
nation, they has a right to defended itself and exist, and we ought to help our
allies. A similar argument would be the Israelis and Palestinians for
Israel. Since the Fall of the Soviet
Union Ukraine is pretty much a baby at this point, so it will need some extra
protection and support, especially since Russia had been our rivals in past
history. This includes weapons; in fact, I would send some military advisors
there to make sure that they know we support them.
This topic of Ukrainian arms is an
important one that should have frivolous debate because of the consequences of
failure. The importance of Ukraine is vital to that region and America’s
foreign affairs. However it should be noted that, it could be very possible
that Trump is doing this as a political move just to further the public talks
about any Russian collusion. I thought I should put this possibility out there
because I’ve gotten the perspective he will use any means to strengthen his
base, even if that means using foreign policy for his domestic approval.
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