Guest Op-Ed By Rep. Paul Gosar
During a rare press conference appearance last week, Joe Biden came out of hiding and green-lighted a Russian invasion of Ukraine. During the question-and-answer-session, Joe Biden created a full-blown international incident when, paraphrasing, he openly said he would be okay with Russia making a “minor incursion” into Ukraine.
Russia continues to amass a military buildup along Ukraine’s eastern border, something it has done for years, but this time appears to be more provocative. In response, the ever-wrong Biden State Department has instructed the families of American diplomats in Ukraine to leave the country and authorized some embassy staff members to also depart, warning that an invasion could come at any time. No other country evacuated staff or family. This was perceived by allies and enemies alike, as a great sign of weakness by Mr. Biden.
The Afghanistan defeat and withdrawal is still fresh in the minds of Americans. Biden abandoned thousands of citizens and $84 billion worth of top military weapons to the Taliban. It remains a humiliating defeat for America, and leaders around the world know that under Biden, our country has a failed military leadership. Our troops are the best. Our leadership is the worst. It is a bad combination.
Additionally, the Pentagon has placed 8,500 American troops on “heightened preparedness to deploy” to eastern Europe as tensions grow on the Russian border of Ukraine. Military interventionists push for war, as if we don’t remember the 7,000 dead American military members in Afghanistan and Iraq, and over 30,000 military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan that have committed suicide since returning home. Additionally, 8,000 American military contractors, almost all veterans, died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
CBS News reported in August 2021 that we spent $2.2 trillion on these wars plus another “$6.5 trillion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan” in interest. And now the Biden administration is threatening to get us involved in a lengthy, dangerous and expensive war 5,000 miles away where there is no reason to be there. How many good American soldiers are we to sacrifice there only to retreat in another humiliating defeat?
To be clear, what is happening in Russia is concerning. But it is a problem for Russia, the Ukraine, and eastern Europe. Let me also be perfectly clear: not one American soldier should be shipped across the world to fight to protect the Russian-Ukrainian border. Not one American soldier should die there and not one American bullet should be fired there.
We just lost the war in Afghanistan to sandal-wearing goat herders. I assure you the Russian military is no joke either. Let’s be honest, Joe Biden doesn’t have the acuity to navigate this conflict and the same clowns at the Pentagon urging American intervention in Ukraine are utilizing the same stupid Rules of Engagement that caused losses in Viet Nam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Biden’s political advisors are itching to change the conversation from his abysmal record here at home and a failed socialist agenda.
Joe Biden should be more focused on domestic issues, such as the immigration crisis and the invasion taking place along our own southern border. Thanks to Joe Biden, our borders remain open and we have been under a sustained and successful attack from those illegally entering the country in record numbers. Nearly two million illegal aliens have been caught attempting to cross the border since Joe Biden took office, many with criminal records and others who are potential terrorists. It’s rich hearing Mr. Biden discuss border integrity for Ukraine while our own southern border is wide open. Getting involved in a military situation with no U.S. interest is America Last, not America First.