No, America Is Not Deterring China With Our Ukraine War Effort

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I disagree with Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Senator Roger Wicker’s recent op-ed calling for even more support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. The op-ed’s argument for continued U.S. support for Ukraine is misguided and counterproductive. Rather than enhancing U.S. security and prosperity, our involvement in Ukraine is undermining both ours and NATO’s.

First, Ukraine does not matter to the United States and no case has been made in a concrete argument to the contrary. Ukraine is not even a formal ally of the United States nor is it a NATO member. The country is only of peripheral importance to our national interests and its security is not directly tied to our own. Putin’s statements about seeking the “collapse of Western hegemony” are a far cry from a credible military threat to the United States or even to NATO countries. The notion that our security and prosperity are dependent on Ukraine is a gross exaggeration.

Second, the U.S. investment in Ukraine is a waste of resources. The country is rife with corruption and has little to show for the billions of dollars the United States has poured into it. Moreover, the argument that U.S. investment in Ukraine has weakened Russia’s military is simply untrue. Putin has demonstrated that he will do whatever it takes to protect Russia’s interests in Ukraine, and the conflict there has only served to embolden him and strengthen his grip on power.

Third, the United States is not leading a transformation in Europe’s security architecture. Rather, our involvement in Ukraine has served to deepen the divisions within Europe and alienate key allies. The notion that Europe is somehow incapable of defending itself without U.S. assistance is insulting and ignores the fact that European nations have been working together to enhance their own security for decades.

Fourth, the idea that victory in Ukraine will somehow deter the Chinese Communist Party in the Indo-Pacific is pure fantasy. China’s interests in the region are vastly different from Russia’s interests in Ukraine, and there is no reason to believe that China will be deterred by U.S. involvement in Ukraine. Furthermore, we are being provocative by weakening ourselves through unwarranted and unreplenished military resource expenditures and increasing our already untenable $31 trillion plus debt at a time when banks are failing and the American people can’t even pay their own bills. In fact, China is so emboldened by our weakened state that President Xi met with President Putin just this week in Russia to show us its support and strengthen their agreement to support each other.

Moreover, the argument that providing Ukraine with more advanced weapons will somehow end the conflict is naive at best. Putin’s recent visit to Mariupol is a strong challenge to the western narrative that Ukraine is even winning. Increasingly arming Ukraine will only serve to further escalate the conflict and lead to even greater loss of life, including the lives of the Americans on the ground there. It is not a viable solution to the crisis.

Finally, the argument that U.S. political leaders owe the American people oversight of how their taxpayer dollars are being spent is disingenuous. The U. S. Congress failed to create an Inspector General to monitor and report on each expenditure on the ground. The reality is that U.S. involvement in Ukraine is driven by weak and unfounded geopolitical interests rather than a desire to protect American taxpayers.

In conclusion, the United States should put its leadership priorities into a diplomatic effort to end the conflict. Our deepening involvement in Ukraine is undermining our national security and prosperity, and it is time to refocus our attention on issues that are truly important to the United States.