Wars: Support and Opposition, Then and Now

Why are so many conservatives opposed to the US support of Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion and war crimes against Ukraine?

There are a number of reasons:

• Many believe spending 100’s of billions adds to inflation and the national debt;
• Many believe if money is to be spent, a higher priority is securing our own border and solving domestic priorities
• Many believe that Ukraine is as corrupt as Russia and does not deserve our support; they fail to admit to shades of good and evil.
• Many believe the conflict is more akin to a civil war between the Ukraine region as a breakaway province of Russia and should be none of our business
• Many are leery of the US getting involved, spending billions over many years, and then clumsily withdrawing without anything much to show for the effort. This is the most likely outcome in Ukraine, given US policy of the past 70 years.

These concerns boil down to an “America First” preference among most conservatives.

It took the US being attacked at Pearl Harbor for American to become galvanized to the point of officially declaring war, first against Japan on December 8, and then Germany December 11, 1941.

A year prior to declaring war,

the America First Committee (AFC) was the foremost United States isolationist pressure group against American entry into World War II.^[1][2] Launched in September 1940, it surpassed 800,000 members in 450 chapters at its peak.^[3] The AFC principally supported isolationism for its own sake, and its coalition included many Midwesterners, Republicans, conservatives, socialists, students, and leading industrialists, but it was controversial for the anti-Semitic and pro-fascist views of some of its most prominent speakers, leaders, and members.^[4][5][6]

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/America_First_Committee

Today, much the same America First sentiment is common among conservatives and many Republicans. And Democrats and liberals continue to accuse “America First” conservatives of having fascist views.  Not  much has changed.

The Korean War was a UN action after North Korea, along with allies Russia and China, invaded South Korea. The US provided 90% of the military personnel in defense of the south. War was never officially declared by the United States, but at least South Korea prevailed after the attack from the North.

Vietnam was another undeclared war, ending in a hasty retreat, losing to North Vietnam which took over the South, a much worse outcome than the Korean war.

In both the Korean and Vietnam wars, the Democrats (Truman and then Johnson) were involved in the initial troop buildups.

Two things are noteworthy concerning the Vietnam war:

• Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater lost his election bid because he promoted either getting out or being in it to win (an interesting concept that has been ignored for 70 years).  The Democrats accused him of wanting to use nukes to win.
• Leftist groups, not primarily Republicans, were anti-war.   Radicals fostered anti-war protests, many violent, on college campuses throughout the nation.  At the same time many cities burned due to black rioters frustrated by their relative poverty.  Together, these events contributed to a hasty withdrawal that ended in US defeat.

Politicized war policy writers

Conflicts in the Middle East (Iraq and Afghanistan) were initiated as a result of the Islamist attacks of 9-11 during the Bush Republican presidency.  After 20 years, $2 trillion and over 6,000 US service members and US contractors, it too ended in a hasty exit, this time by a Democrat, Joe Biden.  And again, nothing to show for it except a greatly emboldened and strengthen Islamist fighting force.

The US has never lost a “declared” war.  All the other “special operations” (as Russia likes to call their non-declared efforts) have had mostly dismal results. 

In spite of Democrats being most often referred to as “the war party”, Republicans (mostly RINOs?) have had their share of war-mongering.  I suspect much of Republican war motivation is due to influence of the military/industrial lobbyists who join with Democrats in calling America First conservatives “Nazis” because of their desire to build up our own nation rather than meddle in foreign money pits.

Barry Goldwater had it right.  Go in it to win or stay out.

One of my favorite quotes:

“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”

Leftists and globalists will continue to attempt to discredit this truth.  Let’s not be “extreme”.  We might win – or even worse, we might offend someone.  Let’s remain “moderate” so we get our ass kicked.