What Do We Do?

Russia has invaded Ukraine and even though we continue to see brave Ukrainians standing up and fighting back, the reality looks pretty bleak for that country. The democracies of the West and elsewhere are watching the tragic images day by day. The world condemns Putin. The world clucks it's collective tongues and calls Putin a war criminal. A terrorist. A really bad guy. The United Nations has condemned him loud and clear.

We see video of Ukrainian mothers holding their crying babies in their arms imploring us to help them, we see unground subways being used as bomb shelters crowded with people, we see vehicles bumper to bumper on the roads attempting to leave, hoping to get to the west. Meanwhile Russia marches onward. How to stop it?

The time for supplying Ukraine with arms to use against Russia has long passed. That should have happened years ago. Yes, sending defense weapons to them at this late stage will help them for a while, but it will be too little too late. The time for serious worldwide sanctions to have a deterrent effect on Russia is also passed. That should have happened a month ago. Anyone who suggests economic sanctions will stop Putin now sounds laughably ridiculous.

So, what now? It is as clear as day that the so-called free world has become impotent against tyrannical aggression from an enemy who possesses nuclear weapons and is willing to use them. No sane person wants a nuclear war that might very well spell the end of mankind. The trouble is, Putin does not appear to be sane. Western nations are fearful that any move of an aggressive nature against Putin would drive him to release nuclear bombs, of which the West would retaliate in kind. And then, well there you go.

What does America do at this point? Military experts, political pundits and others who offer their opinions on TV, social media, newspapers and news sites vary greatly. The pendulum swings from engaging the Russians in a full war to staying completely out of it. Do we jump in and save the world or do we maintain an isolationist pose and simply accept what happens?

I'm no military expert or political expert, or expert in world affairs. I'm not a think tank genius by any means, but I can think and I can reason. I know that if the world sits back and does nothing, if we "tsk-tsk" as we sit in front of our television sets watching one evil son of a bitch take over Ukraine, he won't stop there. Putin will realize that the West has become a paper tiger and he won't rest until he has reestablished the old Soviet Union.

I also know this, China, who has been patiently waiting to see what the West will do or not do with regards to Ukraine, will be emboldened by our lack of resolve. China will then hit Taiwan hard and recapture what they consider is theirs for the taking. They will soon after control all of Asia along with all of the world's economy.

Common sense tells us that one of the first things we should do is return to U.S.A. energy independence. Reopen the Keystone Pipeline, the ANWAR oil fields, and other oil sources to supply not only our country, but our European allies so we no longer have to depend on Russia (or anyone else) for oil. That's important because it knocks some of the wind out of Putin's revenue. What else can we do?

Do we move our troops into NATO countries that border Ukraine? Do we set up a no-fly zone? Do we bomb Russia? It seems obvious to me that we've got to push back in some meaningful fashion. We need to choke Putin in every way we can. We need to end his aggression. Do I want to see an atomic war break out? Of course not. But to do nothing is even worse than atom bombs.

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To do nothing as thousands of innocents are killed means we, who value freedom and democracy, have lost it all. It means that all of those brave men who have fought and died for our country since its inception have fought and died for nothing. It means we have allowed ourselves in the West to become nothing more than a joke footnote in human history. No, this threat cannot stand unchallenged.

We must act. The logistics and timing are crucial. How, to what extent, and when to engage this enemy depends on the brain trust of our best military minds and advisors. The outcome of that engagement depends on providence. And the resolve of our president.

After listening carefully to Biden's words concerning Ukraine Tuesday night, I don't believe the man has that resolve. There were no strong words for Putin, no definitive, help-is-on the-way commitments for Selenskyy and his people. Just the usual political pap spoken by a doddering bureaucrat who does what his handlers tell him to do. I'm afraid we're facing a very serious problem with a very unserious man.

By the way, the Jewish publication, Forward, reported that a "Russian missile hit Babi Yar, one of the most searing symbols of the Holocaust and Europe's largest mass grave of the era. There, not far from Kiev, the Nazis shot and killed 33,771 Jews over a 48-hour period in September 1941."

The missile killed at least 5 people Tuesday. It's probably just coincidence that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy happens to be that country's first Jewish president.

Although with a psychopath like Putin, you never know what motivates him.

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