Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Ukraine is in a state of disarray with the president of the country, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a major dispute, during an active war, with his senior military commander, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
And Zaluzhnyi is claiming the president by-passes the chain of command by maintaining parallel communication lines with chiefs of some military branches, including Ground Forces Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi and Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk.
Adding to this morass is the fact that Ukraine finds itself out of money, men, material and time.
Additionally, Zelensky’s hold on government remains precarious at best, with odds makers eying his ability to hold on to power.
While the Biden administration has cobbled together a package of financial aid to keep the war in Ukraine going, some members of Congress are asking if it makes sense to send more money to aid a country involved in an internal conflict, when that country should be focused on the conflict raging on the battlefield.
Congress is not only showing reluctance to vote for the Ukraine package, but has indicated it will definitely will vote “No.”
In an effort to save the Ukraine deal and persuade Congress to vote for approval, the president, the Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council John Kirby and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have all make statements supporting the proposed legislation.
Although the Biden statement was fairly vanilla, dragging out the, “fight them there so we don’t have to fight them here” trope, both Kirby and Austin statements have caused me some concern.
Kirby noted that, “America will not only spend money, but also shed its own blood. American boots would very much have to be involved if Mr. Putin is allowed to have this strategic victory in Ukraine and then perhaps goes after one of our NATO allies.”
Austin went further, telling senators that, “We’ll send your uncles, cousins and sons to fight Russia.”
The secretary of defense knows that in order to “send your uncles, cousins and sons to fight Russia,” the draft would have to be re-activated. Although my experience in high-level geopolitics is greatly limited, there is one thing I know for sure:
Before Lloyd Austin sends the uncles, cousins and sons of Congress to fight Russia, he will send our uncles, cousins and sons to fight Russia.
Rube Render is a former Clovis city commissioner and former chair of the Curry County Republican Party. Contact him:
