UKRAINE: WHAT IS OUR MISSION / WHY ARE WE THERE? THE BEST & THE BRIGHTEST vs. THE WORST & THE DUMBEST

Vol. II | Issue. 153 | March 20, 2023

When England stood alone at the onset of WWII and all of Europe had been swallowed up by the Nazi conflagration that enveloped the continent, it still remained a gargantuan task to move the American people towards the understanding that America had an existential stake in the outcome of the Nazi takeover of Europe. Just 21 years after WWI, "The War to end all Wars", Europe was at it again… America was still in the death grip of the Great Depression when The War officially started in 1939, and most Americans, while concerned with The War’s outcome, were not even close to being convinced that we should enter The War.

President Franklin Roosevelt saw the existential conundrum that the U.S. would be faced with in the event that England, which was fighting alone, was defeated. FDR knew, however, that he needed to make haste slowly in getting Americans ready to fight a war that he knew to be inevitable. FDR did everything he could to convince the American people that we needed to show up and totally support the Brits in their death struggle with Hitler. But even then, FDR, “The Great Communicator”, had to use his every gift and power of persuasion to convince the American people that our support would be limited to war-fighting matériel, and that "no American Boys would be sent to fight and die” on foreign soil. Of course, he knew that not be the case, but also knew that a nation that was "ill-clad, ill-fed” due to the deprivations of the Great Depression, would never fight in a foreign war, on foreign soil, unless they were forced to do so.

The first significant step towards helping England stand on its own was FDR's "Lend Lease Act", where the U.S. loaned England, rather than sell (England was broke at the time), military supplies for use in the fight against Germany. Then on December 7, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor happened and America was at War. Even though it was the Japanese that bombed Pearl Harbor that forced us into the War, the Nazis on the other side of the pond decided to declare war on the United States, and America had no choice but to be all in and fight for her life on a global scale.

A long-standing principle of American Policy, established by none less than George Washington, was that America should avoid foreign wars at all costs. Even after four years of World War and unconditional support for our allies, the Brits were required to pay us back for all of the matériel "Loaned and Leased” to them and for any and all financial support granted to the during The War. England was broke after The War, so the payback came in the form of special preferences regarding import and export duties, trade preferences, and the long-term granting of Leases for strategic military based in territories controlled by the British Empire. The WWII payback of the U.S. largesse that was extended to the British stood for the proposition that even with the most existentially urgent circumstances, the U.S. did not give out blank checks… Even to its closest allies. 

In his 1972 book, “The Best and the Brightest”, David Halberstam catalogs and conveys the story of how the U.S. became mired in Vietnam. The book, through Halberstam’s meticulous research and narration, makes clear that even with, or perhaps, especially with "The Best and the Brightest" at the helm (i.e. McNamara, The Bundy Brothers, and many others who served bravely in WWII, went to the best schools, and served honorably in public service) we were led into a War with goals for American victory (which proved to be unattainable) in a country and region of the world that they did not understand, fighting an enemy called Nationalism which defeated the French (let’s face it, who hasn’t beaten them) at Điện Biên Phủ in 1954.

The “Best and the Brightest” crowd of the 1960s at least had their pet theory, first articulated by Dwight Eisenhower, called the "Domino Theory"  that very simply conveyed to the American People: "We must support any and every country in the world that is faced with the threat of a communist takeover... If we fail to do so, then every neighboring country will begin to fall just like dominoes...”

The “Best and the Brightest” crowd were essentially President John Kennedy’s Knights of the Round Table. They truly were a gifted group, by any standard of post-WWII, 20th-century analysis. Virtually every one of them had served in WWII, with many in very dangerous forms of Military service. They were living in an era where America was a nation of unparalleled economic power and had the hubris to believe that the American colossus, with its power and reach, had no limits. However, even with all of the lying to the American public, certainly, until the Tet Offensive in 1968, the vast majority of Americans at least believed that their leaders had a plan and that their exit strategy was an attainable victory. 

So much for the “Best and the Brightest"…

Now to the question: Why are we supporting Ukraine to the tune of billions of dollars? What is our strategic goal and why are we footing the bill for this? 

• Ukraine is not a democracy in any form, but a Potemkin Village of Democracy.

• Zelensky, who in so many ways, appears to be an admirable figure fighting for the independence of his country must be watched carefully so he does not game America into an endless mire of spendthrift blank checks.

However, aside from the usual bromides and cliches from Joe Biden that we are “Standing up to Russian Tyranny”, “Fighting to Save Democracy”, and “Fighting to Save a Sovereign Nation”, Biden and his administration of the “Worst and the Dumbest” collection of Progressives, Social Workers, and Radical Leftists of all stripes have never conveyed in any way to the American Public:

• What our vital strategic interest in doling out billions of dollars is?

• Why are the depletion of our military stockpiles and the risk of a Nuclear War with Russia in our national interests? Not to mention the fact that this conflict has strengthened the Russia/China axis exponentially.

• Why has America failed to demand that Europe foot the lion's share of the bill to protect its own backyard?

The Biden Administration and its “Worst and the Dumbest” team of National Security incompetents have formulated policies that have conveyed no explanation to the American Public as to why we have given a blank check to the Defense of Ukraine, requiring nothing in return from Ukraine. 

While I do believe that helping Ukraine to the extent that we can formulate a clear understanding as to why it is in America’s strategic interests to do so, we need the “Worst and the Dumbest” to articulate to us their plan, and to call upon the EU to pay for the lion's share that is going on at their doorstep.

Just like FDR with his Lend-Lease Program that he extended to England in its hour of dire need, Ukraine and the EU can’t just have a blank U.S. check… They should at some point be forced to pay the freight for their own defense.

There is a vast difference between the “Best and Brightest” of the JFK era vs the “Worst and the Dumbest” in the Joe Biden era. The Best and the Brightest were the best and the brightest with a failed plan. The Worst and the Dumbest of the Joe Biden regime have no plan at all except for the unlimited funding of the war in Ukraine with the American taxpayer picking up the tab… Not even to mention the failure to consider a catastrophic Nuclear war with Russia.

-Emes