Yes, America First Conservative, You Should Care About Ukraine

The Conservative Case

The media's coverage of the Ukraine war has been so emotive that, I fear, many conservatives have instinctually disregarded it as "liberal bullshit" and adopted contrarian and isolationist views. While the Kremlin lies constantly, almost so often that it is a surprise when they do tell the truth, even if they were right to describe the Jewish Vladimir Zelensky as the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler himself (obviously, he has more in common with Churchill in my mind than Hitler), we would still be morally and practically obligated to aid Ukraine for the following reasons:

1) Nuclear Nonproliferation:

 The US made security promises to Ukraine (as did Russia) when she gave up her nuclear stockpile. If these promises are not upheld, nuclear nonproliferation will become a distant memory. There will be a mad dash on the part of vulnerable countries to obtain their own nuclear stockpiles---and no country will ever voluntarily give them up again. (One can partly blame Bush and Iraq for this situation, but this will definitely be the final nail in the idea's coffin.) Somehow the public debate over Ukraine simply pretends that these guarantees were never made: Both the media and pundits alike never seem to mention this. It is bizarre to see people act as if something that happened in 1996 were the Treaty of Westphalia. We made these promises not all that long ago, and we should feel honor bound to keep them. And even if honor meant nothing to us, we should keep them in order to assure other countries that they can feel secure within their borders despite not having their own nuclear weapons. But if you want dozens of "Pakistan-India" situations to pop up, dozens of nuclear wars in waiting, well, I can at least say that your Libertarian embrace of anarchism is heartfelt. May you fare well in the post-apocalyptic battles to come, road warrior. https://www.armscontrol.org/facts.../Ukraine-Nuclear-Weapons

2) The Security of Our NATO Allies:

It is highly likely that Putin's expansionist aims are not limited to Ukraine. If Ukraine loses this war, we will have to spend vast sums over the coming decades guarding Europe, all at a time when those resources will be needed to deter an increasingly aggressive and erratic China. A new iron curtain will descend over Europe---and with it will come the costs of Cold War era European security.

3) Ukraine: China’s Canary in the Coalmine for Taiwan

It is not an accident that Russia waited till the Olympics were over to begin their assault on Ukraine---the attack was carried out with China's permission, and China obviously asked for this favor so as not to distract from "People's Most Glorious Olympics." It is clear to me that China was anxious to see the West's reaction to Putin's aggression. If the West did nothing, Xi would conclude that they would also not rally to defend Taiwan. If, however, the West acted to defend Ukraine, Xi would reassess his plans regarding Taiwan.

The economic importance of Taiwan as the world's semi-conductor manufacturing hub should not be lost on anyone. Indeed, it is so important that Xi might have been wrong in using Ukraine as a litmus test though Ukraine does produce 10% of the world's wheat supply. [There are blog posts by "aggies" suggesting that this wheat shortage is "no big deal." What all of these "analyses" seem to forget is transportation. Ukraine does not just make a lot of wheat, it makes it in the place where it can be most easily moved to other locales that don't have huge agricultural capacity, like North Africa. If Russia becomes North Africa's main source of food, this will give Russia partial control over their oil---and, in turn, China as Russia's ally. This is not an acceptable geopolitical outcome.] If China, even temporarily, gets a stranglehold on the World's semiconductor supply, it will have serious economic and geopolitical consequences---it would essentially give China the power to do to the West what we are currently doing to Russia.

So, yes, there are reasons to favor supporting Ukraine even if you are a conservative with isolationist tendencies. In summary they are: Nukes and China. Even if the Kremlin's bullshit about "Nazis" were true, we would all have to hold our noses and help. But rest assured, the Kremlin is lying---even the famed Asov Battalion is more accurately described as fervent nationalist than as Nazis; they adopted Nazi symbols more to troll Russians than out of antisemitic sentiment, as is evidenced by IDF veterans joining their ranks. Ukraine is a country that saw its fair share of fighting in WWII and Nazi atrocities. While Banderites did cooperate with Nazis, they were a fringe movement; and they were motivated more by the idea that the enemy of my enemy is my friend than out of any sincere admiration for their ideology; one must remember that the Holodomor had happened not that many years before. For the vast majority of Ukrainians, hostility to Nazism is as much a part of their psyche as it is the Russian. Russia's Nazi aspersions are designed to humiliate and dehumanize the Ukrainians while tapping into Russia's sentiments surrounding "the Great Patriotic War." None of us should be stupid enough to believe that Zelensky is that fabled creature of myth, "the Jew Nazi." If you think that is what he is, I have a part of the Brooklyn Bridge to sell you.