JD Vance's Forgotten Wars - WSJ Editorial [View all]
Vice President JD Vance is keen to defend his Friday performance in the Oval Office when he scolded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. But offending two of America’s most stalwart allies is an odd way to do it.
Speaking of President Trump’s proposed minerals deal with Kyiv, Mr. Vance told Fox News’s Sean Hannity: “If you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine. That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years.”
Europeans took this as a not-so-veiled jab at the United Kingdom and France, which are leading a European effort to offer Kyiv reassurance amid Mr. Trump’s pro-Russia negotiating strategy. That includes a proposal for a Franco-British peacekeeping force in Ukraine after a deal is signed to deter further Russian aggression.
It’s fair to debate whether that plan is a good idea, or a realistic one. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron admit the U.S. would need to backstop such a mission. But “hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”? British troops fought alongside Americans in Afghanistan and (with Mr. Vance) in Iraq for the entirety of those wars. Four hundred fifty-seven British troops lost their lives in Afghanistan, and 179 in Iraq. France didn’t join the Iraq war, but it sent 70,000 troops to Afghanistan over 13 years, 89 of whom were killed.
London and Paris need to bulk up their militaries after years of underinvestment in defense. Their American friends needn’t be shy about urging them on—we haven’t been. But every other recent U.S. Vice President has managed to do this without insulting them, which isn’t too much to ask.
The Vice President said Tuesday it was “absurdly dishonest” to claim he was referring to France and Britain in his comment. But Europeans have drawn a different conclusion, and after the last two weeks we understand why.
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