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The president faces resistance in Congress to funding a weakened ally in a war against an enemy targeting Europe. Such was the case in 1941, when President Roosevelt confronted isolationists in the U.S. Senate over British support for Nazi Germany.
As the Russia-Ukraine war enters a critical year, Ukraine supporters face similar political opposition in the House of Representatives, where the speaker declared the Senate-passed funding bill dead on arrival. Like Britain in 1941, Ukraine is in a precarious position. Without further military aid, Ukraine will lose more and more territory, such as the recent fall of Advivka.
How can we resolve the impasse and help Ukraine? Among other things, former President Donald Trump proposed a workaround: turning the cost of arms transfers into loans. President Trump even clarified that the loan would be interest-free and would only be paid “if Ukraine becomes richer.”
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There is historical precedent for this. During a Caribbean cruise after his reelection in 1940, President Roosevelt conceived of a mechanism by which the United States could lend or lease military equipment and ammunition to countries deemed essential to the defense of the United States. He likened Lend Lease to lending a garden hose to his neighbor. The house was on fire. FDR allayed concerns about “foreign aid” by not treating this aid as a subsidy to Britain.
FDR had misbehaved with his political opponents before. FDR insisted on giving Britain 50 naval destroyers in exchange for the transfer of British bases in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic to the United States. What about the technology of trading?
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It is in America’s vital national interest to continue to allow Ukraine’s military to prevent a reborn President Putin from threatening NATO and drawing us into war. Given these interests, and given that Ukraine is fighting for its survival, the case for a loan seems like a tough one.
Churchill likened Lend Lease to “a sheriff collecting the last possessions of a helpless debtor.” But without new military aid, Ukraine’s prospects will dim.
FDR’s operations to help provide guides for the British Army.
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We should use that creativity, take President Trump’s ideas, and accept the answer as yes.
Let’s seize victory.
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