Name:   MartiniMan - Subject:   New National Security threat Date:   2/15/2024 11:07:07 AM

Speaker Johnson opined that he released this statement to gin up more support for Ukraine, which is struggling in the House.  It's all politics all the time.  I have mixed feelings about the Ukraine aid given we know that some percentage of the money ends up in the pockets of Ukrainian kelptocrats and my understanding of history.  These border states stuck between Russia and the west have long been tugged back and forth in the name of security.  NATO wants to have Ukraine, et al on their side as a buffer against Russian aggression and Russia wants them under their control as a buffer against the west.  This was exactly what started WW1.....nothing new under the sun.

But my biggest objections are two fold: 1) We need to secure our own border before we start to worry about some buffer state in Europe; and 2) We are literally broke and every single dollar we give to Ukraine is borrowed and adds to our national debt.  I suppose a third one is the reality that there could have been a negotiated settlement but it was scuttled by Boris Johnson and Biden.