Last week, the world watched in horror as Vladimir Putin effectively declared war and launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Indeed, with Russia’s launch of the largest military operation in Europe since World War II more than 75 years ago, it has become abundantly clear that for decades the United States and our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies have seriously miscalculated the audacity and aggressiveness of this tyrannical bully and thug.
Since 1991, Ukraine has been a sovereign nation after it declared itself free from the Communist Soviet Union. However, since the first rise of Vladimir Putin to power in Russia in 1999, the world has observed his criminal and repressive regime grow and manipulate U.S. administrations of both parties. Putin has evaded the due critical attention of a succession of American presidents, first with surprising the Bush Administration by slicing off a piece of eastern Georgia in 2008. Then, the Obama Administration stood by and refused to provide support or impose serious sanctions on Russia in 2014 when Putin seized control of the Crimea Peninsula from Ukraine. President Trump himself experienced a unique relationship with Putin, one that was not free of critique, albeit under a stronger umbrella of national defense and foreign policy.
While Putin’s provocative behavior has spanned far beyond the last few months, the fact of the matter is his invasion of Ukraine happened under President Joe Biden’s watch. The world watches what America’s president does and acts accordingly. Although President Biden ran his campaign on being a foreign policy expert, as our Commander in Chief he has been asleep at the wheel. His self-claimed expertise was certainly missing in his bungled Afghanistan withdrawal and in his first budget, in which he proposed woefully insufficient funding for our national defense. President Biden then showed his short sightedness and naivete when he green lighted Russia’s Nord Stream II pipeline and directly undercut the American energy industry while strengthening Europe’s dependence on Russia.
Furthermore, President Biden has failed to influence world leaders outside of Europe, refusing to answer questions about discussions with China or India regarding Russian aggression. The United States should be the global arbiter of peace and stability during times of crisis. It is clear that these regional powers view the current leadership as lacking in the strength and conviction necessary to unite against Putin.
President Biden has projected unequivocal weakness to a watching world, and Ukraine is paying the price for that now. Indeed, Putin was amassing troops and blood on the Ukrainian border for months before initiating his invasion, in direct violation of international law. President Biden was right to announce swift and severe sanctions on Russia, which are important for holding Russian politicians and other elites accountable. However, it is clear that Russia is neither intimidated nor deterred.
Now, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the price of oil has already eclipsed $100 per barrel, the highest levels since 2014. President Biden has the ability to immediately address the rising price of oil by reversing his anti-American energy policies and allowing American companies to increase domestic oil and gas production. Not only is such a move helpful to protecting and strengthening our economy, but it protects our national security and lessens our reliance on adversarial foreign producers. Producing more oil and natural gas at home could also aid our friends and allies around the world as a friendly exporter.
The new rescheduled date for the Middle School/ High School Winter Formal is Friday, March 11, 6:00-9:00 pm. The Winter Formal will be held at the Pleasant Ridge School House in downtown Temple.
Unfortunately, at a time when our adversaries are becoming increasingly and alarmingly more aggressive, President Biden and many Democrats only very recently began to retreat from effective cuts in the current version of the annual defense appropriations bill. The vital defense appropriations legislation, if ultimately appropriately increased and enacted into law, would provide necessary resources and funding to help stand up to our adversaries, like Russia, while also sending support to our allies. This bill should also include large amounts of additional security assistance and related support for Ukraine.
We should do everything in our power to punish Putin and his criminal and repressive regime for the egregious act of aggression against an innocent neighbor. If he succeeds today, we will face further aggression from him and other likeminded countries tomorrow. But in order to fully accomplish this, the United States must prioritize our defense spending. It is unfortunate that President Biden has put funding and development of our national defense on the backburner during such a perilous time. Fortunately, the president has the opportunity to formalize a reversal on his approach to defense spending when he delivers his State of the Union and his proposed budget for fiscal year 2023 to Congress. And I hope he does just that.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is an unprovoked, naked act of aggression that is eerily reminiscent of what the world witnessed almost a century ago in the 1930s. The world was slow to unite to confront aggression in that era. It must not make the same mistake today. If Putin succeeds in dismantling Ukraine, he and others of his ilk all over the world will be tempted and emboldened to repeat his aggression against their innocent and weaker neighbors.