The Mindless Boosterism of the 'Do More' Brigades

The Ukrainian government can ask for all kinds of things, but the U.S. and its allies are under no obligation to say yes if they don’t think it is an acceptable risk.

Michael McFaul thinks the U.S. and its allies should give a non-allied government whatever military capabilities and assistance they say they want:

Those of us standing on the sidelines need to stop pretending we know better than @ZelenskyyUa what he needs. Maybe he knows best? Who are we to tell him differently? So arrogant.

When another government requests military favors from the U.S. and its allies, the latter are the ones in the best position to know whether providing those favors makes sense for their own security. As the U.S. and its allies are the ones providing the favors, they also get to judge whether they think providing them will be effective and worth the potential risk. The Ukrainian government can ask for all kinds of things, but the U.S. and its allies are under no obligation to say yes if they don’t think it is an acceptable risk. The U.S. and NATO have already provided extensive support to Ukraine, and they continue to provide it, but that support is not and should not be limitless.