THE WAR – OVERNIGHT:  The Ukraine war is less than two weeks old, and, for a media-run generation, that seems like a long time.  You mean, it ain't over yet?  Did someone win?  What's on the next channel?

Two weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, we were just starting to salvage what was left.

But even after two weeks, several things are clear:  One, the Western nations were far too late in supplying the Ukrainians, and that may doom the mission.

Two, we are losing.  Despite all the proper hype about the brave Ukrainian people, the Red Army is, bit by bit, overwhelming them.  It's the same old story.  Please remember the Americans at Bataan, in the Philippines, at the start of World War II.  They were brave too.  And they, too, were let down.  ("We're the battling bastards of Bataan.  No mama, no papa, and no Uncle Sam.") Douglas MacArthur, who commanded those troops, once said that all military disaster start with two words: "too late."  In Ukraine, we are again too late.

So what will happen when it's over, and the Russian flag flies over Ukraine?  Some showmen are saying we will never deal with Putin again, and will continue to stand, or sit, with the Ukrainian people.  Don't count on it. While the Ukrainian remnant is shoveling rubble from destroyed cities, the "realists" among us will be saying that we should just call Ukraine a bad experience, and "move on."  That's what usually takes place. Idealism comes with a price, and it's a price few these days are willing to pay.  Moscow shredded the Hungarian uprising of 1956.  We moved on.  Moscow put down the Czech revolution of 1968.  We moved on again. 

Only when Ronald Reagan ordered a massive defense buildup in 1981 did things start to change.  Reagan's policy:  "We win, they lose."  The sophisticates and tofu chefs of the time were horrified by such language.  But he applied it, and the old Soviet Union started to crumble without firing a shot.

Joe Biden ain't no Ronald Reagan.  And Kamala Harris...well, let's just skip that. 

We face an uncertain future made more uncertain by weakness in Washington.  Will the next Ronald Reagan please stand up.

March 4, 2022