Hawks Need a Better 'Better Case' for Ukraine

If this is what making a “better case” looks like, the hawks are in big trouble.

Sen. Jim Risch reminds us that hawks really do make the most ill-informed arguments:

Other Republicans, particularly in the Senate, strongly support Ukraine and warn against U.S. wavering. Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Ukraine’s allies in the U.S. need to make a better case to the American people, starting by reminding them that America gave Ukraine security assurances in 1994 in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear arsenal.

“If indeed we breached that agreement with Ukraine [bold mine-DL], what do you think every one of our enemies—and more importantly, our allies—are going to say about America? ‘We can’t count on America,’” Risch said. “That has a domino effect [bold mine-DL]. It is greatly debilitating to the national security of the United States, not the least of which it’s going to set off a view by many countries that, ‘We can’t count on the United States. We need nuclear weapons.’ [bold mine-DL]”

The loudest supporters of providing military assistance to Ukraine are terrible advocates for their cause. Risch makes misleading claims about what the U.S. promised Ukraine almost thirty years ago, and then he jumps to absurd conclusions based on a discredited understanding of how credibility works in international relations. He even uses the phrase domino effect, so that his position will be associated with one of the dumbest Cold War theories. If this is what making a “better case” looks like, the hawks are in big trouble.