In Brief: Arming Allies Does Not Make One a ‘Warmonger’
Some lawmakers — Republicans! — believe that if you send arms to U.S. allies, you’re somehow hungry for war to start.
“The Senate should say NO to the warmonger wishlist pushed through by Speaker Johnson.” —Senator Mike Lee days before the House passed aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and other foreign policy priorities
National Review’s Jim Geraghty has been to Ukraine more than once during the current war and has strong opinions about helping Ukraine’s defense and that of other allies. He also objects to Lee’s and others’ objections.
When you’re tossing the term “warmonger” at those who want to put weapons in the hands of our allies so they can defend themselves from the likes of Russia and China and Hamas and Iran, you’re determined to smear the heroes as the villains and tout the villains as the heroes.
Ukraine and Israel and Taiwan did not start any of these fights. Their only “crime” is existing and looking like awfully appealing targets to men such as Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, and Iranian ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Regarding Taiwan, Geraghty points out that “the current backlog of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan amounts to at least $19.17 billion.” He adds, “This is not U.S. aid, or U.S. donations of weapons. This is not stuff covered by the legislation that passed the House. These are weapons that the Taiwanese have already paid for, and that we have not yet shipped over to that island nation.” Taiwan certainly didn’t start recent aggression, but it has no choice other than to prepare for Chinese efforts at “reunification” — a false premise, Geraghty notes.
The fact that the likes of Senator Lee are labeling aid to Taiwan as part of the “warmonger wishlist” tells us two things. First, a whole lot of people who are insisting that we can’t help Ukraine because we must prioritize Taiwan will abandon Taiwan at the first opportunity. There are a whole bunch of head-in-the-sand isolationists who are posing as China hawks right now.
Second, a whole bunch of people who claim to be “tough on China” are strangely reticent about actually taking action that will hinder future Chinese aggression.
So, how does that fit with Ukraine or Israel? “The Taiwanese are telling the U.S. not to abandon Ukraine,” he says, “because they know Xi Jinping is watching the Ukraine war closely for signs that American resolve is short-lived.”
He concludes:
Lee calls for “negotiations for a peaceful solution” with Vladimir Putin.
Where is this nice, reasonable, easygoing, and levelheaded Putin that these guys see? The only Russian “peaceful solution” that’s ever been on the table was a disarmed Ukraine, where the Russian army could roll in and take over the rest of the country whenever it wanted. We would never take that deal; why would we ever tell the Ukrainians that they should accept vassal status? Ukraine’s hopes of avoiding another invasion would rest entirely on the promises of Vladimir Putin. I know this is going to shock you, but I think the former KGB colonel isn’t always an honest person!
Mike Lee is arguing for cutting off U.S. military assistance and negotiating with Putin, just weeks after Putin himself said he’s not interested in negotiating, because the U.S. has cut off military assistance. Whether Lee realizes it or not, he’s not calling for a “peaceful solution,” he’s calling for a unilateral Ukrainian surrender.
