We Can’t Protect Ukraine and Taiwan – Orange County Register

Today, as Russia piles up 125,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, and China sends hundreds of fighter jets into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone, the United States faces a stark new reality; The political balance of power is back with a vengeance. American foreign policy needs to adapt and reflect the world as it is, not as we would like it to be.

If done the other way, the best leads to madness, even the worst tragedy.

It is no secret that the “rules-based” liberal international order that has defined US foreign policy since the end of the Cold War is being fiercely challenged by Russia and China. However, that order has always been entwined with the fact that the United States established itself as the sole superpower in the world after the collapse of the Soviet Union. With no other great power able to check its behavior, the United States can shape the rules of the road, act where it wants, when it wants, and how it wants without fear. great consequences.

The fact that this is no longer true is a hard pill to swallow for many officials in Washington DC, who have spent the past 30 years enjoying a career of influence while every major foreign policy decision has been made. mistake. The current administration, which is filled with such established figures, is now facing a reality check after rhetorically retreating into a corner on two fronts.

President Biden has repeatedly stated his intention to defend “Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity” of Ukraine, and in October 2021, declared the United States committed to defending Taiwan. However, both statements are not true. Biden has stated that he will not send US troops to Ukraine, and the White House quickly clarify the President’s statement regarding Taiwan, claiming that he omitted.

While the United States does not want to see Russia or China invade their neighbors, the reality is that neither Ukraine nor Taiwan warrants sacrificing the lives of American service members or risking a nuclear war. . By contrast, the fallacy does little to undermine America’s credibility in defending its real core strategic interests, including de facto treaty allies in Europe and Asia.

A clear imbalance in political will and military capabilities is evident in both the Ukraine and Taiwan crises. When deciding to go to war, a nation must have the determination to kill others and understand that its own citizens will be killed. After twenty years of “low intensity” conflict in the Middle East, the American public is no longer keen on a conventional — let alone nuclear — war with another great power. The United States has no obligation to defend Ukraine or Taiwan because it does not maintain defense treaties with either side. In fact, the US doesn’t even officially recognize Taiwan as an independent country – which would make the prospect of risking World War III over it an absurd proposition.