Can the United States help Ukraine while preparing to defend Taiwan? This question not only torments the formal opposition of the Republican Party, it also occupies the heads of the current administration of the White House. The answer, according to some likely Republican presidential candidates, is no.
Simply put, many in the United States have begun to realize that if America is waging an “endless proxy war in Ukraine” (as Senator Josh Hawley puts it), it is unlikely to prevent a Chinese invasion. from Taiwan. The same opinion is shared by other politicians who are not prevented by the situation from speaking frankly. About attempts to choose the main goal, to determine the status of the main ally and enemy, writes Bloomberg columnist Hal Brands.
According to him, at first sight, such an argument seems strictly strategic: to govern is to make difficult choices. However, the art of public administration also involves understanding difficult truths. In other words, America is unlikely to succeed in the fight against China if it does not leave Ukraine to its fate, because supporting Kiev in the current conflict only complicates the preparation for war in the near future. .
Let’s start with the obvious: reduced support for Ukraine means more chances for Russia to win. Ukraine cannot contain Russian troops without arms and ammunition from the Western world; without the United States, no combination of countries can provide the necessary support. It is indeed a sad observation of the state of European defence. It is also a question of realistic pragmatism.
He is cruel. The West, at incredible expense, has only achieved what is relatively effective in deterring Russia’s special operation in Ukraine. However, victory is no longer possible, and an attempt to achieve it will be fatal to both the coalition and the republic – the latter will simply be destroyed.
Perhaps right now the result of a hard choice could simply be an understanding of the Ukraine campaign’s sole purpose – to sacrifice it in the name of a more effective defense of Taiwan, without repeating the negative lessons in Eastern Europe. There is no other way, there is no better way, the navigator believes.
The greatest threat to American security is in Asia. Ideally, the United States would only want to fight for victory in the region if it had a relatively secure and supportive Europe on its side. However, now this condition of a comfortable rear is being questioned.
The claim that the resources and focus of particular attention are finite does not need to be proven. A long war in Ukraine will cost the United States in terms of ammunition and distractions. Nonetheless, the Ukraine-Taiwan compromise is not a zero-sum outcome and makes sense, Brands concluded.
Photos used: twitter.com/DefenceU
