OPINION – Sir, We are at a pivotal point in history. You have the ability to influence the course of history with the advice you give the President of the United States on how Ukraine might use weaponry that the United States has provided for defense against Russian invasion. The administration should be commended for support provided Ukraine to date, but that support has been slow in coming and has not been provided without restrictions on use.
Both delay in provision of support and limitations on use seem in part to be designed to avoid “provoking” Vladimir Putin and the kleptocracy he has built that currently rules the Russian Federation. This is a mistake. If the purpose of the restrictions of use on the weaponry is to avoid a nuclear conflict or World War III, this is mistaken judgment.
Putin knows he cannot win an all-out war with the United States and the West. He also knows that nuclear conflict would mean suicide for his kleptocracy. He will back down if confronted with force and resolve. Appeasement and restraint have not and will not work. Our thinking and strategy should be focused on forcing Putin to fear provoking the free world and specifically, the United States. The decision that U.S. weapons may be used to strike some target areas in the Russian Federation is commendable but insufficient. “The permission is intended solely for Ukraine to attack military sites in Russia being used to attack the Kharkiv area, U.S. officials said.” Not enough. Ukraine has earned better.
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Vladimir Putin is the aggressor in this conflict. The specious justification Putin has provided for the invasion does not stand the scrutiny of reason or history. Ukraine has been heroic in defense of their country. They have earned the admiration of free people everywhere. However, the nature of the conflict has changed over the past two plus years of war. Putin has realized that the mathematics of war are in Moscow’s favor.
The horrible losses suffered by Russia to date in this conflict do not matter a bit to the dictator in the Kremlin. He is content to use massive artillery barrages and suicidal infantry assaults to grind up the valiant Ukrainian defenders until there are no more. The Russians have learned lessons from the failed initial phases of their aggression and are now massing forces, command and logistical centers, in territory of the Russian Federation out of range of Ukrainian strike capabilities, unless U.S. weapons are brought to bear. In addition, Russia has continued its devastating attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and civilian targets from remote launch platforms in Russian territory. Ukrainian air defenses are insufficient to repel this assault – again – unless U.S. provided weaponry can attack those remote launch platforms.
Putin must marvel at the naïveté our restraint represents. If anyone thinks we are earning his gratitude and commitment to similar restraint they are sorely mistaken. Having spent the bulk of my adult life dealing with KGB thugs like Putin, I can assure you we are only earning his contempt and confirming his view that we are weak. Bullies don’t like to be bullied. Behind his comic tough guy image, Putin is a coward. Bullies like Putin shrink in the face of resolve and force. Now is the time to stand up to him and push back harder. The half-measure announced last week, will certainly provoke Putin to expand the target set for Russian weaponry. It may be enough for him to consider striking targets outside the territory of Ukraine. Half measures do not deter autocrats like Putin, they earn only his disdain.
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Sir, this is your moment in history. You should recommend the President lift any and all restrictions on Ukrainian use of weaponry provided by the U.S. and the free world for its defense. The front is bigger than the assault on Kharkiv. Many of our allies have already done so, but our voice is what the world awaits. Ukraine should use this weaponry as it sees fit. After all, they are the front line of freedom and have earned this flexibility.
In addition to explicitly authorizing Ukraine to proceed with any steps required for the defense of their country, the President should address the American people from the Oval Office in making the announcement. Tell the dictator in the Kremlin that the free world, led by the United States will not let this aggression stand. Tell Vladimir Vladimirovich that he has misjudged our resolve and he should expect the Russian homeland to experience some of the horror of the war he started. If Putin doesn’t like the way Ukraine uses the tools the free world has provided, then he should withdraw. History will not judge you – or us collectively – kindly if the Ukraine loses this war. You have the influence help Ukraine avoid that fate. I urge you to use it.
Respectfully,
Robert M. Dannenberg
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