The Two Sides of Ron DeSantis on National Security – WSJ

On Friday on CNBC the Governor was asked to clarify his position on Ukraine, after these pages suggested he was ducking the real questions and opposing a blank check that no one is offering.

First of all, he said, they have done a blank check. When you re having U.S. tax dollars fund the pensions and salaries of Ukrainian bureaucrats, that is a blank check, especially when we have so many problems here in the United States.

He s ostensibly talking about economic aid to Ukraine, and the Governor may have missed that the European Union is moving forward with a multiyear ¬50 billion fund for Ukraine s economy. This refutes the canard that Europe isn t chipping in. But because European militaries are weak, the U.S. will have to shoulder more of the weapons burden for Ukraine to have a chance of defeating Russia.

Gov. DeSantis and Republicans in Congress could argue that further aid should focus on lethality donating long-range missiles at scale and revving up production lines for long-range fires. Try listening to Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton. But the blank check line is cover for a deeper GOP confusion on Ukraine. The $300 million for Ukraine that more than 100 House Republicans voted to strip out of a spending bill recently was marked for a fund procuring American equipment and ammo.

via www.wsj.com

The WSJ is right about Ukraine as usual. We should concentrate on getting the Ukrainians the weapons that they need. The F-16s, the long range missiles, the artillery shells. China will not be deterred by US floundering in Ukraine. I hope to God we get this right or right-ish.