Sunday, May 29, 2022

Bill Crawford: Reagan: Isolation Will Never be Acceptable

 On June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord commenced, the U.S. led invasion at Normandy that would ultimately doom Hitler and free Europe. Since that time the U.S. has played a major role in sustaining Europe’s defense and freedom. This role was formalized on April 4, 1949, when the North Atlantic Treaty was signed. The resulting North Atlantic Treaty Organization had three purposes: (1) deterring Soviet expansionism; (2) forbidding the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent; and (3) encouraging European political integration. 

Mission accomplished…so far. A great stroke for freedom and peaceful Europe.

The NATO alliance held strong until one Donald J. Trump was elected President and became Commander-in-Chief of the United States’ military. Almost immediately, Trump began to pull away from NATO as he warmed up to Russian President Vladimir Putin. National security adviser John Bolton said he had to talk Trump out of exiting NATO in 2018. At a Heritage Foundation leadership conference in April the former President admitted he had threatened to not defend NATO allies from Russian aggression. That followed his praise in February for Putin’s strategy to take over part of the Ukraine, calling the move “genius.”  Trump has also encouraged his acolytes in the House and Senate to oppose supplying Ukraine funding and arms.

There should be little doubt Putin would have taken over Ukraine by now and begun to move on other former Soviet satellites had Trump remained President. Instead, the United States has worked with our European allies to not only arm and support Ukraine but also to strengthen NATO. 

Yet, Trump forces would readily move in the opposite direction. They see any international cooperation as harmful entanglements. Axios.com reported that Sen. Rand Paul, who led Senate opposition to helping Ukraine, “huddled” in his office with key influencers to plot isolationist strategy. “They included representatives from the Koch political network, Cato Institute, populist-oriented group American Moment and the American Conservative magazine.” 

So far Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and his leadership team have held off Paul and his allies. But with Republican nominees in several states poised to help Republicans take back the Senate and House in this year’s elections, the cadre of isolationist senators and representatives is expected to grow.

How they see us holding back the expansion of Russia and China without strong international alliances is hard to fathom. Putin’s intentions in Europe have been clear since he invaded Crimea in 2014. China makes no secret of its long term intentions to take over Taiwan and control sea routes vital to international commerce. 

President Ronald Reagan exposed the truth when he said, “We in America have learned bitter lessons from two world wars: It is better to be … ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We've learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.”

Remember that on June 6 as we honor the lives spent for freedom on D-Day.

“By your endurance you will gain your lives” – Luke 21:19.

Crawford is a syndicated columnist from Jackson


32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why is it that every 70 years or so the forces of darkness seem to march across Europe.

Anonymous said...

Putin did not declare war against any other country when Trump was president. He decided to declare war when the U.S. elected a weak president. Trump asked the other members of NATO to pay their share just like they promised.

Maybe in the futuer people will not let the news media elect our president.

Anonymous said...

This article does not mention an important part. That part is that Most other NATO countries do not hold up their part of the agreement and that USA is by far the largest contributor to NATO. Trump wanted those other countries to start making their full contribution and that maybe start paying USA for the protection we provide (almost for free).

Anonymous said...

If Trump was so friendly to Russia why did he bomb their allies in Syria? Why did trump get more contributions towards NATO than any other president? Why didn’t Russia invade Ukraine under Trumps watch?

The whatshisface writer of this article is remarkably incurious.

Anonymous said...

Guaranteed: 90% of MAGAts don’t know when & where the term “America First” originated. The 10% who do are completely fine with it, since they wish Hitler had prevailed anyway.

Anonymous said...

If Trump was so dovish towards Putin why did he expel more Russian diplomats from the US than any president since the Cold War?

Anonymous said...

Crawford is the ultimate boomer. “Blah blah Reagan good…blah blah Trump bad…blah blah Soviet Union evil. “

Reagan is irrelevant. Trump did more bad than good. The Soviet Union is dead. Get with the times or pipe down.

I can't wait to hear this said...

Tell us all knowing one, @ 12:35, where did the term, America First come from??

Anonymous said...

What ignorant blather! Don’t be a useful idiot. Strength through weakness is not a plan. Crawford needs you to believe that 4 years of no war didn’t happen. The media portrayed and thinks Trump is crazy. Guess what, world leaders and bad actors did to and they feared his reaction. Therefore, they were reluctant/scared to F around and find out. Hence no wars. Same was true of Reagan and Kennedy (Cuban missiles). We now have a weak and cognitively challenged president. Bad actors know this. No one is saying Putin is a good guy. Few realize he was provoked by purposely “ leaked” NATO build up plans for the eastern and SE Ukrainian border. He had to react. If he wanted to take over Ukraine it would have happened in short order. Instead he is strategically removing their Nazi elements, military installations and bio labs. The American and global public have been deceived and distracted from Biden’s complete domestic failures. While the sheep think the wolf is Putin, the true wolf is inflation that is feeding on their finances and liberties.

Anonymous said...

12:35, you're a fool. Here, let me spoon feed you. "America First" had NOTHING to do with Hitler. A leftist myth, spread by you.

Here's one example: https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/holt-tank/

That's right. A US Tank, made in 1916, marked AMERICA FIRST on the side. OMG, HITLER!!!! Reeeeeeeeeehhhh! A few years too early, don't you think? And, on an American tank prototype, too. Odd that it's Hitler, right?

Further, there was a US Army tank involved in a major European combat op with "America First" on its side in WWII. What, were they "Nazi sympathizers" killing actual Nazis????

This stuff is all out there except the fact free MSDNC safe space.

Sort of "tanks" your anti Trump myth and slur on his supporters, right?

It's at worst an "isolationist" slogan of long history. Seems more like patriotism or common sense to normal people.

Don't violate Godwin's Law so much. This article was about isolationism and NATO, not your Rachel MadCow obsession.

Anonymous said...

Putin behaves the way he does because U.S. broke its promise not to expand NATO, and Putin sees NATO as a threat to Russian sovereignty. Putin has no designs of expanding into Europe as Hitler sought (1) to restore Germany to its pre-Versailles treaty borders and (2) Lebensraum in the East. Unfortunately, our politicians mostly work for the billionaires and defense contractors. The comments on this article explain why Mississippi has horrible warmongering representatives like Wicker, Hyde-Smith, and Michael Guest. All our representatives voted to send $40 billion to Ukraine, when massive budget deficits are a major cause of the high inflation that is hurting the working and middle class. Shameful that not one MS representative was included in the group of 11 Senators and 57 House members voting against this $40 billion. I guess I'll vote in the June 7 primary for one of Michael Guest's competitors, but it is probably a waste of time. Mississippi is a hopeless case but I'm probably stuck here the remainder of my life.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Trump is all about today's bottom line. Tomorrow will be somebody else's problem. Nato and political alliances will have some great relevance to our future national security but today they are just expenses we can cut. That's all that counts to Trump: Today's bottom line. Tomorrow I'll be gone. So who cares?

Anonymous said...

I have difficulty is discerning if Crawford is really dense or if he simply writes poor satire.

That guy that lives on the corner said...

What are you doing "time" for @1:42?? Last time I looked, the interstate system was wide open, leaving the state. Many airlines had planned departures from various airports in every direction. Being a guest of the MDOC is the only reason you are stuck here.

I just don't understand you, and others, that come on here and bitch about living in this marvelous state. If I had feelings like, you say, I would sell every thing I had, even taking a loss, and if need be catch a ride on an empty railcar to leave. Neighbor, life is too short to be as unhappy as you are because of location.

Sincerely, your neighbor.

Krusatyr said...

In addition to above foreign policy triumphs of Trump, he also caused moving Israel's Capitol to Jerusalem and enabled strategic alliances with Israel all across Middle East.

My grandfather had a boney little dog named Puppy Joe with more virtue, tricks and intelligence than that retrograde fool in the WH now, who is literally a destructive enemy of USA.

Anonymous said...

11:22 am Putin had already taken Crimea and didn't declare WAR on Ukraine but put in Russian military as " freedome fighters" before crossing the border with tanks
to free Russia speaking people from " Nazis". A large majority of Urkanines population speaks
Russian and well as Ukrainian.
How can you be so uninformed and gullible?

Anonymous said...

@2:01 PM Unfortunately, Mr. Trump has not been our president for about 18 months.

The current president is a soon to be octogenarian who can't find his buttocks with both hands. When his mouth moves it is because people behind the curtain are pulling his strings, and there is a spin doctor nearby for his inevitable gaffes. Oh, and no formal presser in how many months?

The scary part is if the 25th Amendment were invoked it would be President Harris, who would possibly appoint pro-baby killer Pelosi as the VP. We would be doomed.

Anonymous said...

2:45 PM. The reason I stay in Mississippi is very simple. I have lived in several other states but in Mississippi I am in the small group with a three digit IQ. Not many like that in Mississippi.

That guy that lives on the corner said...

You, my friend, are hanging with the wrong people if you believe that.

One more thing, I have found over the years that people that have to bring up their intelligence, such as you, aren't very intelligent. Oh, now I see why you can't leave.

Anonymous said...

You are stuck here because you have a three digit IQ??? Hahahahaha, alright if you say so.

Anonymous said...

List of your tax dollars at work, so we can get new goodies in the stock pile. Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and the politicians wish to thank you for support of the current thing.


Over 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems;
Over 5,500 Javelin anti-armor systems;
Over 14,000 other anti-armor systems;
Over 700 Switchblade Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems;
90 155mm Howitzers and 184,000 155mm artillery rounds;
72 Tactical Vehicles to tow 155mm Howitzers;
16 Mi-17 helicopters;
Hundreds of Armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles;
200 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers;
Over 7,000 small arms;
Over 50,000,000 rounds of ammunition;
75,000 sets of body armor and helmets;
Laser-guided rocket systems;
Puma Unmanned Aerial Systems;
Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems;
Unmanned Coastal Defense Vessels;
17 counter-artillery radars;
Four counter-mortar radars;
Two air surveillance radars;
M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel munitions;
C-4 explosives and demolition equipment for obstacle clearing;
Tactical secure communications systems;
Night vision devices, thermal imagery systems, optics, and laser rangefinders;
Commercial satellite imagery services;
Explosive ordnance disposal protective gear;
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear protective equipment;
Medical supplies to include first aid kits;
Electronic jamming equipment;
Field equipment and spare parts.

Anonymous said...

@8:24 Good Lord, find a hobby.

Anonymous said...

Not “isolationist,” Crawford. You’d be accurate to say instead “non-interventionist.” If you even want to be accurate.

Anonymous said...

Our government buys their missile defense systems from the same people that they buy their missiles.

Anonymous said...

Kingfish you should be ashamed that you let so many make fools of themselves by their commentary.

Anonymous said...

Yikes. Some of you folks are really out there. It’s pretty simple really. NATO was formed because Stalin lied his ass off and said he would allow free elections in Eastern Europe after WWII. He didn’t. Instead he threatened war and demanded all of Germany. The West said fuck that and formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Saying Putin was scared of NATO expansion is bullshit. Russia covers 12 time zones. Just how much fucking land do you need? Putin simply saw it as an obstacle to his plan to reform the economic disaster that was the Soviet Union, control Germany the Mediterranean and possibly the Middle East. It’s about oil people. He who control’s the world’s oil controls the world. Hello!

Dirty Harry said...

@11:37, give us a link where we, those who are really out there, can read the words of Stalin, and see where he promised free elections. Go ahead, make my day.

Anonymous said...

6:33 PM, I am not stuck here because of my three digit IQ. It just makes me feel better when I know I am smarter than over 90% of the people.

Anonymous said...

@5:18, give it up dude or whatever, the more you post, the stupider you sound. You went from self confessing being "stuck here", your words not mine, to being "stuck here" because of a three digit IQ, to being "stuck here" by choice. It looks as if @ 6:30 was correct. Just give it up. I may have lost IQ points putting all that in a post.

Anonymous said...

When Putin invaded and took Crimea, Obama did send blankets.

Anonymous said...

7:58 PM, Do you think both posts belong to the same person? Do you know anyone with a 132 Iq? Do you know anyone stuck here in Mississippi? Do you think there is only one person in the state of Mississippi that could have those two things in common?

Archie Bunker said...

Oh, gees, Edith, @1:50, another one.



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