Letters to the Editor: Why defeat in Ukraine probably won’t signal U.S. weakness to Iran or China

To the editor: Bernard-Henri Levy is most certainly correct that Ukraine will continue to fight Russia’s occupation with or without U.S. military assistance. But he’s wrong to suggest that Ukraine is a make-or-break moment for global democracies or for U.S. power and influence around the world.

While Levy doesn’t state it outright, he seems to believe that a U.S. failure to send Kiev additional military aid will embolden authoritarian states such as Russia, China and Iran to test U.S. resolve in other theaters.

Theoretically, this could be true and shouldn’t be totally ruled out. Yet in reality, this isn’t how credibility works in international relations.

What the U.S. chooses to do in Ukraine tells us little about how the U.S. would act if China invaded Taiwan, Iran made the operational decision to acquire a nuclear weapon or Russia was reckless enough to attack a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member. These countries’ leaders can’t count on the U.S. acting the same way in all circumstances.

Not all crises in the world have the same stakes, and foreign policy isn’t a cookie-cutter enterprise.

Levy’s sentiment isn’t new. We heard it before when U.S. troops left Vietnam in 1975 and Afghanistan in 2021. But the world didn’t fall apart then, and it won’t fall apart based on what happens in Ukraine.

Daniel DePetris, New Rochelle, N.Y.

The writer is a fellow at Defense Priorities.

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To the editor: The blood of Ukrainians killed in Russia’s latest attacks is on congressional Republicans’ hands. Their pathetic leadership not only contributes to the massacre of Ukraine civilians, but it also emboldens our adversaries to capitalize on a U.S. lack of resolve and weakness.

Russia invaded Ukraine without provocation. Ukraine is fighting for its life, and Congress must immediately approve enough funding for Ukraine not only to defend itself, but also to engage in attacks inside Russia.

President Biden must take off the kid gloves and be far more proactive. Russia will respond with threats and bluster, but it is not about to get into a direct conflict with the U.S. and NATO.

If the people of Russia are made aware that Ukraine has no choice but to take a full-scale battle to Russia so it can adequately defend itself, Russian President Vladimir Putin may be forced to end the invasion.

Sid Pelston, Marina del Rey