Photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Izabella Workman taken on August 12, 2021 over Ukraine. Nice photo Airman.
The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
I am strictly a Conservative and will not deny my bias towards Conservative viewpoints: pro-2A, pro free speech, pro free market. However, there is one Conservative/Republican trope I do not understand. Why are we always trying to pick fights in Eastern Europe?
To be clear, I understand the most common arguments: Russian civil liberty abuses, annexation of Crimea, and the list goes on. Now, we look at Ukraine. Russia has amassed between 100,000 and 200,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, with suspicions of Russian direct action already occurring In the country. On the flip side I dont think this is as one directional as everyone makes it out to be and it even harms the United States. My home country and my number one concern.
If we look back to the 80s when the Soviet Union was in Afghanistan, it is highly suspected that the U.S. provided aid to the Mujahideen. While the whole the story remains unclear, the speculation is fairly well known and clear. Some have even explained that this was an attempt to drag the Soviets into their own Vietnam.
Now we need to consider sources we have actual documentation for and not simple rumors. The National Security Archives are hosted by the George Washington University in D.C. and have been cited by the Library of Congress in regards to numerous matters. The European question is certainly one of them. At the bottom I include a link to the discussions and FOIA request. The context to these documents is the early 1990s and the plans to reunify Germany post-WWII. In these documents and in numerous breakdowns and summarization, the Bush administration made clear understanding to the situation of the Soviet Union and Secretary of State James Baker stated “The President and I have made clear that we seek no unilateral advantage in this process“ in addition to conditions where NATO wouldn’t expand “one inch eastward” of Germany post unification. (As a side note, I personally find it interesting that Gorbachev was referred to as President during these meetings, but that is not the point.)
Now, fast forward to a new President. Joe Biden has been President for less than a year and already has to deal with possibly the single most defining point of his Presidency. He has to deal with Putin. Many, Conservatives would suggest sanctions against Russia would simply solve this behavior; yet, the sanctions seem to have done very very little. As of Oct. 13th 2021, Putin drew upon European concerns over energy prices and how the Gazprom NordStream 2 pipeline would bring much needed aid from natural gas rich Russia. The NordStream 2 pipeline still remains uncertified and does not run.
Conversely, there is a part of this that concerns me much more than any other part, and it is a part very few people bothered to consider at all. On August 20th, 2021, the President issued an executive order that was directed at Russia to curb their military actions but had an added impact. The executive order was designated to stop importation of all ammo from Russia. Charles Brown is the owner of MKS Supply, one of the largest importers of Russian ammo and products in the U.S.. He estimates this may impact up to 40% of the market share of ammo in the U.S. (in response to comment from gunsandammo.com and the NRA) and others have speculated that Russian ammo may make up 20% of the world supply. Russian weapons exports are second only to the United States’s exports.
This comes at a particularly bad time for gun owners. At the beginning of 2020, ammo prices spiked in response to limitations from of the COVID pandemic and have hardly seem to come down. Ammo shortages and these price shocks were expanded by these new sanctions. And one of the large sources of relief came from the possible restart of the Remington Cor-Lokt factory. Yet that would need time to help stabilize the situation.
These are truly not tradition Conservative talking points, but in light of the current negotiations between Putin and Biden. These are some thoughts that our fellow Conservatives need to think about. This is not simply a threat of invasion from Russia and Putin on a power trip. This impacts more spheres of daily life than who the United States is going to aid militarily. It impacts us back at home as well.
And conclusively, it impacts what America’s word is truly worth. There are many who cite Thomas Edison’s supposed comments to Nikola Tesla about “American humor” yet it seems to me that America is again willing to go back on its words about concerns over Russian security and even so willing to screw over gun owners in America to do so.
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/16116-document-05-memorandum-conversation-between
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