Congress Must Support Allies
Generals, Admirals and Ambassadors Say Congress Must Act to Protect U.S. National Security by Approving Aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan Immediately
By Major General Jeffrey E. Phillips, US Army (Retired)
Americans are witnessing history, a fight in Washington that could either prevent or encourage outbreak of world war that could consume their children and threaten our nation. Sound like hyperbole? In 1938, much of the nation was oblivious to the threat rising in Europe and Asia that did shortly lead to world war. World wars are not “things of the past.”
“As the United States Congress fails to sustain support for Ukraine, North Korea, China, and Iran are expanding their support for Russia. The abandonment of Kyiv would be a gift to the Moscow–Tehran–Beijing–Pyongyang axis of aggressors,” said one of the nation’s few authentic strategic voices, retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, former national security advisor as the congressional deal to fund Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan foundered amid infighting.
“Allies and partners would lose trust in America as those aggressors are emboldened. The result could be cascading conflicts even more costly than the interconnected wars in Ukraine and across the Middle East. It is past time for Congress to make the right choice.”
The single most important responsibility of the federal government is the security of the nation. McMaster, in unvarnished terms correctly identified the growing threat to our security – and by “security” one might substitute “way of life”: the rise of enemies with the power alone or combined to end that way of life.
Illegal immigration, important as it is, disruptive and destructive as it has become along the border and elsewhere, is not an existential danger to the nation. A war precipitated by Russian expansionism, or a Tehran or a North Korea, which creates the opening, for example, for Beijing to launch across the Taiwan Strait, could easily, so easily, launch world war. The combinations are dizzying, and the potential of their occurrence increases with American withdrawal from the scene.
The squabble in Washington must end; Congress and the President must place their priority on national security; if that means that immigration or any other issue takes a second-row seat, so be it.
The bill now facing defeat would fund military aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. Israel is a staunch ally. In its justified fight to defeat Hamas, Prime Minister Netanyahu has mismanaged the war with unnecessary brutality. That does not moot Israel’s need to subdue the threat to its existence. Long after Netanyahu is gone, there will be an Israel and we will need it as an ally in a portion of the world that was, is, and for the foreseeable future, will be unstable and dangerous.
Ukraine’s pluck and performance have won it admiration. Whether that luster will outlive its current president, Ukraine is destroying Russian military capability and eroding Putin’s power, reducing Putin’s options to act elsewhere. The Ukrainians are hastening the day when Putin’s advancing age and stalemate will end his reign of terror. Prompted by our example and a belated recognition of their own peril, Europe is finally acting like a responsible power. To end funding and reverse the example will not just prolong Putin’s decline, but, given our yearslong expression of support, be unethical.
While Ukraine is not producing the spectacular triumphs of yesterday, victory in war is never preordained: their fight is showing results and should be sustained. The aid now stalled would fund weapon supplies for Taiwan and allies in the Pacific at a time China is increasingly acting like a nation that considers itself at war.
“Beijing is increasingly combining growing military power with its economic, technological, and diplomatic influence to strengthen CCP rule, secure what it views as its sovereign territory and regional preeminence, and pursue global influence,” according to the 2023 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community. The report continued, “Beijing is accelerating the development of key capabilities that it believes the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) needs to confront the United States in a large-scale, sustained conflict.” A conquered and occupied Taiwan is just one less strategic asset for us. We have committed to Taiwan’s freedom for strategic reasons. What is our word worth?
A significant part of the national security community, including the retired generals, admirals, and ambassadors of the American College of National Security Leaders, as well at the Reserve Organization of America, think that the aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan is vital to U.S. national security. We must not let other priorities, such as immigration, eclipse the first priority. Our leaders in the Congress and the White House must, as does any combat leader, grasp the true priority, look to “1938,” or risk a contemporary version of its reprise.
Maj. Gen. Jeffrey E. Phillips retired in 2016 following 37 years with the U.S. Army. His service includes Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Iraqi Freedom. He shares in the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize awarded that year to the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization. He directs the Reserve Organization of America and is a fellow at the American College of National Security Leaders