General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAlexander Vindman in WaPo: How NATO and the West Can Up Their Game in Ukraine--Right Now
"...The West has far more room to maneuver than it appears to grasp. Above all, the United States and its allies must be creative and proactive in crafting a broad new strategy for Ukraine to replace decades of failed policy in the region. Successive administrations have mistakenly prioritized engagement with Russia at the expense of regional deterrence, security and stability. Simultaneously, the United States has played down cooperation with sincere and willing partners, such as Ukraine, for fear of derailing the tenuous relationship with Moscow.
For a generation, placating the Kremlin without applying the tools of hard power became standard operating procedure. Now we and above all Ukrainians are paying the price for this mistake.
Starting today, however, the United States and its allies can begin forming a special relationship with Ukraine. This partnership could be grounded in the existing NATO-Ukraine Commission the decision-making body responsible for developing the NATO-Ukraine relationship and other existing institutions. The cornerstone of this approach would be a new version of the Marshall Plan to rebuild Ukraines economy and a 21st-century version of the Lend-Lease Act to support the heroic efforts of Ukrainian soldiers with much-needed lethal aid, including more antitank weapons, powerful air defense systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. UAVs in particular would be capable of striking military targets on Russian and Belarusian territory that are involved in the current offensive, such as cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and Russian aircraft. Meanwhile, a NATO Membership Action Plan should remain on the table for Ukraine, and the West should support Ukraines ongoing efforts to integrate with the European Union.
Funding for this bold new venture would need to be orders of magnitude higher than President Bidens recent pledge of $350 million. The United States should aim to spend billions on security assistance and tens of billions on economic aid. Only help on that scale will have a demonstrable impact..."
More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/28/nato-and-west-need-to-upgrade-relationship-to-ukraine/
orwell
(7,754 posts)...in a situation this unstable with a leader that is acting irrationally.
If they really want to militarily engage, and I don't believe the risk/reward benefits are there, they could use a pretext of a NATO slight such as a cyber attack on a NATO country or an errant attack on a NATO country's ship. Once again, I think they need a clear line to commit NATO air or ground assets. If not, the countries you are putting in harm's way will not buy in.
I prefer giving the Ukrainians the advanced weapons they need to fight this by themselves.
The Turkish Drones seem to be stopping some of these armored columns....
msongs
(67,199 posts)electric_blue68
(14,623 posts)Torchlight
(3,236 posts)Irish_Dem
(45,654 posts)Time to re-think western policy.
TomSlick
(11,035 posts)Tyrants can never be appeased.
Sogo
(4,967 posts)to forestall the current advancement on Kyiv, but what do I know?