Some have argued that Ukraine's struggle to survive is none of our business. In fact, the faster Ukraine falls, the faster we can all get back to swilling Russian oil while nibbling on tea sandwiches made with ex-Ukrainian wheat.
The weapons spigot must be set carefully in the off position, they say, sanctions removed, a hearty handshake—or bear hug—shared by Putin, Biden, Macron, Zelensky. Negotiations must immediately be held to reward the invader with just a sliver of the invadee: a little Luhansk, a bit of Donetsk, whole heaping helping of Crimea, and why not a smidgeon of Kherson?
What could go wrong?
History, they point out, has clearly taught us that empires on the move like to retreat immediately after a victory. Hell, at least half of them just simply pick up and go home, apologizing for any inconvenience caused to the losers.
Again, and again, that lesson rings down through the ages. The Assyrians, who never left Nineveh without an invitation. The Persians who were such homebodies that Persepolis was paved solely in mud, no hint of greatness to be found among ruins of clay. Alexander, who famously called for peace with the Persians and stayed home.
Who can forget Attila the Homebody?
The British knocked politely on India's door, were told the Moghul emperor was not available, turned around, hopped onto their ships, and left. The United States would happily have kept all its treaties with the Indians, if the United States existed, but it didn't and doesn't because the British and Dutch had no interest in empire.
Closer to the present day, Adolf Hitler and his merry band of Nazis wanted just a tiny bite of the Sudetenland and then back to Berlin for strudel. (With apologies to Godwin.)
Appeasement, they say, is most definitely the way to go.
And even if Russia is slightly, perhaps even a bitsy encouraged by the world allowing it to keep its prizes, surely that's OK? Surely, Russia has no designs on other parts of the former Soviet Union. No score to settle with NATO.
And having learned there are no consequences for conquest, they say, surely China would immediately allow Taiwan full autonomy and a seat at the United Nations. Hey! Why not put them on the Security Council?
Let's say you don't find the entire weight of human history persuasive, that's still no reason to protect allies from enemies, flawed democracies from vicious strongmen.
After all, the United States owes Ukraine nothing, they say. Did you know some of the Ukrainians aided the Nazis 80 years ago? Did you know some Ukrainians are racists and still have the gall to fight the invaders?
(Did you know that two of our closest NATO allies—Germany, Italy—were the very Fount of Fascism 80 years ago?)
For myself, I would argue that Ukraine is worth saving. It's a corrupt nation that has been caught between Moscow and the West since the Soviets faded away in 1991, but damn are they trying. It's hard not to see President Volodymyr Zelensky as a bit special in his green T-shirt, with his firmly set jaw. And it's hard not to be amazed by what his military—with our help—has accomplished. But even if you want to lay their success at our feet, it's important to remember that HIMARS or no HIMARS, it's Ukrainians doing the dying.
Still, it doesn't matter who they are, the neighborhood in which they live, their haircuts or drink of choice. A sovereign nation is just that: Sovereign.
Peace without a full Russian withdrawal from Ukraine is nothing but an engraved invitation to future invasions.
Russia must feel the pain. Russia must lose on the battlefield or see Russian President Vladimir Putin overthrown, whichever comes first. And that's despite the Russian leader's nuclear threats.
The guessing game over whether Putin will use a nuke makes all of this scarier, but not scarier than when he holds the bomb over us as he invades Latvia, Estonia...
And don't forget, China can act under cover of The Bomb, too.
Give up on beating Russia back and welcome to the state of Nature. Even more than today, it will be strong versus weak, simple existence only by right of conquest, and for all of us, absolute rulers appointed by God and by themselves.
Jason Fields is a deputy opinion editor at Newsweek.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
