Robin Horsfall
Tipping Point?
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." (W S Churchill)
Today might be the tipping point in the Russo/Ukraine war. The US House of representatives voted for the 61 billion dollar aid package to Ukraine, the deal must now be signed off by the Senate and the President.
This decision is akin to Churchill's reaction when Adolf Hitler declared war on the USA in 1941. Churchill wrote in his memoirs that only then could he be completely sure the allies would win.
Now at last, we can we be certain Ukraine will win. With the USA, NATO, the UK, Europe and most of the UN supporting them Ukraine cannot lose. Russia, cannot sell or transport a large portion of its oil and gas, cannot refine its crude, cannot function on the world banking system, has a currency that is coinsidered worthless, climbing inflation and an army that is running out of men and materiel.
Russia hoped to wear Ukraine down and coerced proxies in various governments across the world to enable that strategy. The most important of all being the USA. Russia has failed because the moderate Republicans in Congress finally overwhelmed the extremists they refer to privately as 'The Crazies'. This important stance was combined with the sound and solid bipartisan approach of Democrats. This is the way democracies are supposed to function. United in the aim to do what is decent and best for the free world, not what is best for their wallets.
Perhaps one advantage that has come from the USA procrastinating is that it has forced the rest of the world (especially the UK) to realise how inadequate their armed forces are? Our dependency on the USA for defence must be measured by our ability to defend ourselves standing alone as we did in the South Atlantic in 1982.
91 Billion from the USA
100 Billion over five years from NATO
Billions more from the UK, Europe, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil and many others.
F16s
More Patriot air defences from Europe,
More Drones, ammunition, food, fuel and medical care.
More victories for Ukraine.
The one thing Ukraine has not yet asked us for is our men. We might have to reconsider our position in that regard in the coming months if we are to ensure that Putin comes to the negotiation table and agrees to take his armies home.
Ultimately from all this, there is an old lesson for our leaders to learn again.
To prevent a war one must always be prepared for one!
Slava Ukraini!
Who Dares Shares!
Robin Horsfall