It never ceases to amaze me how elected officials fail miserably, regardless of the country they serve. Nevertheless, every now and then, circumstances force certain leaders to step up to the plate and mobilize a nation. One of these leaders is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. His background would never have led anyone to believe he was capable of inspiring a country or confronting death head-on. But in the midst of a deadly and unprovoked war, he has shown that he is the leader Ukraine needed.

The contrast between Zelensky and President Joe Biden is unmistakable.

“Folly consists not in committing Folly, but in being incapable of concealing it. All men make mistakes, but the wise conceal the blunders they have made, while fools make them public. Reputation depends more on what is hidden than on what is seen. If you can’t be good, be careful.” —Baltasar Gracian

Biden is incapable of leading or of making a decision — any decision. He’s a fool, stumbling through life with a team of handlers who have no idea what they’re doing. Day after day, Zelensky confronts life-or-death decisions with no room for error. Now is the moment for leaders to take action to stop this war from spreading further. Biden is unwilling to rise to the occasion, exposing us all to great risk, as well as our allies.

Preventing the spread of war and Russian President Vladimir Putin from doing something even more impulsive and desperate demands action — a carefully planned and executed set of decisions to shift the paradigm. To grab the initiative and develop momentum, a decision-making matrix needs frequent judgements and review. Putin’s invasion is stalled, and the United States is doing nothing to stop him and put an end to the war. The press conference questions screamed for a competent president to simply step up and make a policy statement. Biden has no clue how to manage this; he is a man who is devoid of substance.

There are a few options that the United States has. First, we should not impose a no-fly zone. Second, we don’t need to station a single American service member in Ukraine. Biden must stop repeating what we won’t do, and actually do something! He should send A-10 squadrons to Poland, Hungary and Romania, all of which are close to Ukraine, fully armed with ordnance for air-to-ground strikes. He should reposition air refueling tankers, observation assets, AC-130 gunships and an EC-130 variant PSYOPS aircraft in Germany. A naval task force should be sent to the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas.

NATO soldiers are being moved to staging areas. We are deploying assets ahead of schedule to ensure NATO is ready if Putin makes another rash and reckless move. Putin has already threatened to use nuclear weapons, as well as maybe chemical weapons. Putin has already launched an attack on a Ukrainian facility near the Polish border and he has used thermobaric bombs — barbaric ordnance that deoxygenates the surrounding area and vaporizes any humans in its path. His invasion failed, and he committed uncountable war crimes by attacking entirely civilian targets with punitive artillery, rockets and ballistic missiles. His behavior is chaotic and undisciplined, and it has brought the Russian Army dishonor and ridicule; they were historically a recognized and effective combat force.

We must be ready to protect NATO partners at a moment’s notice because Putin’s conduct is so unpredictable, and we must keep pushing lethal aid into Ukraine. Putin is not a military strategist or a trained soldier. He was/is a KGB operative. He has no experience in ground combat; he’s using the Russian army as a hammer, destroying residential buildings, hospitals and even a movie theater filled with civilians seeking refuge from the bombardment. This level of brutality and barbaric use of military force in 2022 is unacceptable and must be addressed.

Both the United States and NATO have weapons and capabilities that can be swiftly deployed within Ukraine; Ukraine can use our planes, and we have highly skilled Afghan pilots who are by now likely all citizens of the United States. In a location like Ukraine, the A29B Super Tucano (a light attack aircraft) is an excellent platform to operate at night; Ukraine can attach Ukrainian flags to the tails of the A29B and begin nighttime attacks on Putin’s logistical convoys. Giving MiGs from Poland won’t deliver the outcomes they require in a timely manner; we must send them something practical — maybe drones that are armed or more surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles.

The United States is in a unique position to provide Ukraine with exactly what they require and what Zelensky is seeking. Nevertheless, because of our leadership, the entire world will be worse off until we have a leader in power who is prepared to puff out his chest and show mad men that he will not back down.

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