Dr. Dabbs – Why Ukraine Matters

Authors Will Dabbs
There are literally hundreds of these columns in circulation by now. Trust me, I love crafting them more than you enjoy reading them.

Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

Here’s a glimpse into the sausage factory that is my writing for GunsAmerica. I’ve been banging these columns out for years now. Crafting these things is the highlight of my week. It is indeed such a privilege. Thanks for acting interested–I literally couldn’t do it without you.

Some are pure history. Others focus on a certain gun or particular weapon system. Periodically I’ll slip in something that’s just a wee bit silly. And then some sport a thin patina of politics. It is the political columns that always stimulate the most discussion.

For me at least, the comments are the best part.

Comments Are the Best Part

I can’t wait for the commentary at the bottom. I read every word. I have had my grammar corrected, my history tweaked, my motives questioned, and my honor impugned. I do love it all. 

Today we are going to explore what I hope will be a fairly controversial subject. If you have opinions I’d love to read them down below. These are mine. Fortunately for me, I am unimportant so I can speak my mind without caring about offending anybody.

The War in Ukraine Represents a Unique Opportunity

Living with these things is the only world I have ever known.

I was born in 1966. I have lived under the threat of nuclear annihilation by the Russians ever since I first drew breath. Like-minded buddies and I used to design subterranean fallout shelters in the margins of our notebooks in High School. 

In 1989 the wall fell, and everything changed. For the first time in my life, we faced the possibility of a world not defined by the pervasive threat of nuclear war. Moreso than at any time since the end of WW2, there was hope and an expectation of a brighter, more peaceful future. And then Vladimir Putin happened.

Anatomy of a Monster

Vladimir Putin is 71 years old and has been the grand potentate of Russia for a quarter century. He’s not a terribly nice person.

Vladimir Putin began work as a foreign intelligence officer in 1975. He resigned from the KGB in 1991 and dove headfirst into politics. For a time he helmed the Federal Security Service (FSB, the successor to the KGB). Putin was appointed Prime Minister in the summer of 1999. 

Putin has had a stranglehold on power ever since, walking away with every election in which he has participated. He suspiciously won the most recent March 2024 plebiscite with 87.97% of the popular vote. Of course, his political enemies have a curious habit of falling out of windows, blowing up in airplanes, or being inexplicably contaminated with toxic Polonium-210. That might have something to do with it.

Perhaps He’s Compensating for Something…

President Obama caught a lot of flak for this picture. It’s plenty safe and all. It just doesn’t look terribly manly.

I will admit that there was a time when I thought Putin was kind of cool. While our own President Clinton was chasing interns and President Obama didn’t get within a hundred yards of a bicycle without donning one of those lame-looking helmets, Putin was burning meat with friends, pumping iron, flying an ultralight airplane, and wrangling polar bears.

I can’t much see President Biden doing something like this.
Putin went out hunting tigers with a dart gun while he was the sitting President of Russia. Right, wrong, or otherwise, that’s a pretty studly thing to do.
Vladimir Putin has long been a martial arts enthusiast. This dates back to his days as a KGB spy.

Megalomaniacal Nutjob

That’s not hyperbole. In 2013, he took a bathyscaphe to the seabed to explore the remains of the Russian naval frigate Oleg that sank in 1869. He went on expeditions to tranquilize Siberian tigers and polar bears before fitting them with radio collars. Putin holds a black belt in Judo and has authored a book on the subject titled, Judo: History, Theory, and Practice (3.9/5 on Goodreads). But, throughout it all, Vladimir Putin was actually a megalomaniacal nutjob.

Putin first showed his true colors in 1999 when he oversaw the Second Chechen War that claimed between 50,000 and 80,000 civilian lives. In 2014, he invaded Crimea, but President Obama didn’t really take him seriously. Thusly emboldened, in February of 2022 Putin massed some 180,000 combat troops on the border with Ukraine. 

Putin expected his invasion of Ukraine to be a walk in the park. It wasn’t.

His stated goals were to rid Ukraine of imaginary Nazis and create a buffer between Russia and NATO. His war plan had his triumphant forces marching victoriously through the streets of Kiev in three days. However, a certain Ukrainian television comedian had something to say about that.

Volodymyr Zelensky: The Archetypal Underdog

By all accounts, Volodymyr Zelensky loves his family and wants what’s best for them. That I can identify with.

Volodymyr Zelensky is 49 years old. He is married and has two kids. Zelensky is Jewish and had relatives who perished in the Holocaust. His grandfather was an infantry Colonel in the Red Army during WW2.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s comedy troupe, Kvartal 95, has been immensely popular in Ukraine. Some of their comedy sketches are pretty racy.

Zelensky began his show business career at age seventeen, forming a comedy troupe called Kvartal 95. Kvartal 95 was a sort-of Ukrainian Saturday Night Live. Most of the videos of Zelensky circulating on the Internet that make him look androgynous or show him in a compromising light are taken from Kvartal 95 comedy sketches. That’s why there is always laughter in the background.

Zelensky’s extensive filmography includes a voiceover as Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian dubbing of the two Paddington movies. He said the objective of Kvartal 95 was to, “Make the world a better place, a kinder and more joyful place with the help of those tools that we have, which are humor and creativity.”

A Weird Segue To President of Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelensky’s fake TV show about being President of Ukraine eventually got him elected President of Ukraine. That’s honestly pretty weird, but I did my part to help elect Donald Trump. We don’t have much room to talk.

What got seriously strange was his sitcom Servant of the People. This show runs on Netflix, and it is surreal. Zelensky plays a school teacher whose students surreptitiously get his name on the ballot for President of Ukraine. In the show, his pupils record him ranting against government corruption and oligarchs without his knowledge, post the video online, and, against all odds, get him elected President. What follows is an amusing fish-out-of-water trope wherein the humble schoolteacher tries to adapt to the trappings of power and run a country. The Ukrainian people loved it.

Zelensky is a shrewd businessman and a strategic thinker. In 2018, his television production company formed a new political party named, aptly enough, Servant of the People. In a classic example of life imitating art, Zelensky ran a low-key virtual campaign and won the presidency with 73% of the vote.

The War In Ukraine

The comedian-turned-politician has transformed into a remarkably charismatic wartime leader.

Zelensky’s political life has been defined by the Russian invasion. In the chaotic days following the initial assault, President Biden famously called Zelensky to offer safe passage for him and his family out of Ukraine on an American helicopter. Zelensky’s immortal response was, “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.”

In the subsequent two years, the United States has provided around $74 billion in total aid to Ukraine. $46.3 billion of that has been for weapons, training, and military support. That’s a pretty epic chunk of change, but let’s dissect that number for context.

Despite dumping $13.5 billion in cash into the impoverished nation of Haiti, the place remains an unlivable hellhole today. Legit, the power recently went out in Port-au-Prince because looters broke into the power stations and stole everything.

Since the 2010 earthquake, we have pumped some $13.5 billion into Haiti. That money is just gone. Haiti is a lawless failed state today. We sent $3 billion to Somalia, and I still can’t get too worked up about vacationing there. 

We spent $72.7 billion in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2020. In the two decades since 911 we dumped an eye-popping $8 trillion on the Global War on Terror while directly or indirectly killing nearly a million people. That’s $24,000 for every man, woman, and child in our country. The money we have spent in Ukraine is undeniably substantial, but it pales in comparison to some of Uncle Sam’s other boondoggles. However, what do we actually get for this not-insubstantial investment?

The Devil is Always in the Details

We’ve sent thousands of military vehicles to Ukraine in support of their war effort.

$46.3 billion sounds like a lot of money, because it is a lot of money. However, that figure is misleading. Much of that cash was actually spent ages ago.

We have provided the Ukrainians with 31 M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks, 186 M2A2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, 300 obsolete M113 Armored Personnel Carriers, 157 Stryker vehicles, and about 2,000 Humvees along with a variety of other trucks and tracks. 

We sent them 180 M777 towed 155mm howitzers, 18 M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzers, and 20 of the famed 227mm HIMARS launchers. Ukraine has also received more than 2,000 Stinger missiles and a single Patriot battery which they have wielded as deftly as a surgeon’s scalpel.

Tactical Relativity for Ukraine

This is an aerial photo of M1 tanks in storage at the Sierra Army Depot. Trust me, we’ve got more than we need, and they’re already paid for.

There’s a lot of other stuff on the list, but most of the big-ticket items were surplus left over from the Cold War. We sent the Ukrainians those 31 Abrams tanks, but we still have roughly 3,000 more sitting idle in the desert over and above the 2,000 or so we maintain in active inventory. The same goes for Bradleys, Humvees, and dozens of other combat vehicle types. While those numbers sound astronomical, in a manner of speaking what we are really doing is cleaning out our basement. 

And that brings me to my main point. The United States spent enough on defense between the end of WW2 and the fall of the Iron Curtain to raze and rebuild every manmade structure in North America. We built all this stuff to fight the Russians in the first place. Thankfully we eventually just parked most of it in the desert waiting for a rainy day. Well, this is that rainy day.

Big Picture

Historically speaking, Ukraine has had a longstanding corruption problem. However, I’m not convinced this guy is just squeaky clean, either.

Yes, Ukraine has a corruption problem. However, that’s nothing compared to Afghanistan, Somalia, and dozens of other tinpot fiefdoms we have propped up in recent times. Heck, our own political leaders are hardly paragons of altruistic virtue themselves.

Money is tight in America, tighter than it has been in ages. I agree that it seems insane to pump billions into countries overseas while our own infrastructure crumbles and our countrymen live homeless on the streets. However, this is the chance we have been waiting for ever since 1945. We now have a once-in-a-century opportunity to drive a knife into the heart of the Russian bear without spilling a drop of American blood. We would actually be insane not to take advantage of it.

Putin did this all by his lonesome. His invasion of Ukraine will go down in history as the greatest geopolitical blunder of the modern age. And all because he underestimated a Ukrainian comedian and the people who voted him into office. 

READ MORE: Dipprasad Pun: A Remarkably Dangerous Little Man

The fight in Ukraine could indeed theoretically precipitate nuclear war. I certainly acknowledge that. However, the Russians have been threatening to nuke us every day for the last 75 years. I’m ready to get this done.

Ruminations On the War in Ukraine

Russia is paying in blood for every inch of stolen Ukrainian soil.

Depending upon what you read, Russia has already lost 3,000 tanks, 20 naval vessels, and 294 combat aircraft. US government sources say the Russians have suffered a mindboggling 315,000 troops killed or wounded. The Ukrainians purportedly killed 10,000 Russians in February 2024 alone. 

Now is not the time to falter. The Russian military was and is formidable, but the Ukrainians are currently bleeding them white. Zelensky is no saint, but I think we should give him absolutely anything he asks for. We didn’t start this war, but we may never get another opportunity like this.

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  • Dwane April 23, 2024, 9:58 am

    George Washington’s and Dwight Eisenhour’s words should be heeded.

  • B Fiut April 8, 2024, 4:01 pm

    Right on. You said it. Let’s not blow this once in a generation opportunity over political squabbling. Let’s get it done and shut the Russians down in a way it will take then a long time to come back.

  • Skyraider17 April 8, 2024, 8:59 am

    I am a long-time reader and admirer of your articles. Please keep them coming. Your work as a medical doctor provides a unique perspective on gun ballistics that isn’t found anywhere on the internet and is very educational. On the war in Ukraine however, I must respectfully disagree. I served on active duty in the Army from 1971-1974 and in the Naval Intelligence Reserve program from 1978 – 1996. The old Soviet Union was clearly our number one threat back then. No argument there. But today’s Russia is not the same as the former Soviet Union. I’m not Russian or Ukranian and have no family in either country and am just speaking for myself here. Eastern Europe has never been in the United States strategic national interest. What happens in Moldova, Romania, Albania, or Bulgaria doesn’t affect things much here in the United States. That’s partly why President Eisenhower didn’t intervene in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution when Russian tanks moved into Budapest. Turkish President Erdogan (who I’m no fan of) offered to sponsor peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in the Spring of 2022 and many were hopeful that Ukraine would declare it’s neutrality and a settlement could be reached, and it came close to succeeding. Unfortunately, thanks to Britain and the United States rushing in and promising President Zelenskky with unlimited, and in my opinion unobtainable, “we’re in it to win it” military support, we have the Verdun-like stalemate that we have today and approximately 500,000 dead Ukrainians. President Biden has made the political choice of fighting an extended proxy war with Russia that is now over two years old, yet he has never explained how this actually benefits the United States. And as you well know, Russia has more tactical nuclear weapons than we do so I would be careful what you ask for. President Biden has much invested in his Ukraine policy and his political legacy, and he can’t afford to change course before the upcoming November election. Sometimes as history has shown us however, we can be overtaken by events. Thank you very much. Respectfully, Greg

  • Gaylen Ray Morris April 7, 2024, 11:25 pm

    well said Dr. could not agree more.

  • Calvin Wing April 5, 2024, 11:36 am

    Dr Danna,
    Thank you for a most informative article.
    I quit following news coverage in the’60’s. Both of my parents worked in the production side of the media so I was privy to the tricks that media uses to sell the news to the public. (Craft is King) and (it doesn’t have to be true. It just needs to sound like it’s true.)

    What you said here will never make it to the mainstream media coverage.
    Now I’m wondering why the US isn’t loading up fleets of transport ships to transfer this surplus to the Ukraine? Does our surplus also include munitions?
    As an aside I lived in Hamilton MS in the late 70’s. Our house was less than 1/2 mile North of the Cur/Magee Chemical Plant. Our oldest son was born in Golden Triangle Regional Medical Center and immediately developed life threatening symptom. We were fortunate that one of the top Pediatric doctors had just moved back to Oxford. He immediately put our 4 week old boy in an oxygen tent and when he found out where we lived told us if we wanted our son to live we needed to move.
    We were in the process of buying a a lot and building a home but we shelved that plan. We quit our jobs and moved back to Kansas. Our son’s health improved and he made a full recovery.
    I still miss Mississippi and if it weren’t for 6 grandkids I would retire down there. You-all live in a beautiful and wonderful world down there.

  • David Martinez April 2, 2024, 12:23 am

    For Mark N. Who say he couldn’t find this on the net:
    Ukraine in top 3 of world’s child porn suppliers, Prosecutor General says
    Society & Culture
    June 02, 2021, 3:20
    According to the official, in 2020 and 2021, the police revealed about 300 facts of child porn dissemination
    KIEV, June 1. /TASS/. Ukraine is currently in top 3 largest suppliers of child porn in the world, Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova said during a meeting Tuesday.
    “According to the Internet Watch Foundation, Ukraine is among top-3 suppliers of child porn in the world. Shame,” Venediktova said.
    According to the official, in 2020 and 2021, the police revealed about 300 facts of child porn dissemination.
    “Every week, 5,000 devices upload this kind of porn,” the prosecutor added.
    She also noted that sexual violence against children is on the rise.
    According to Venediktova, in the majority of cases, sexual violence is carried out by people from children’s inner circle, and by relatives in 30% of all cases.
    Earlier, the Verkovna Rada tightened the punishment for production, dissemination and sale of child porn. Now, these crimes carry between 8 and 12 years in prison.
    Let whoever does your research that this and more only took me less than 2 minutes to find. The rest I leave to you to find.

  • David April 2, 2024, 12:20 am

    Ridiculous. GTFO of Ukraine and make them or Europe give us our billions back. What a boondoggle porkfest. We (the West) have sacrificed the young men of Ukraine to fight our dirty little proxy war against the big bad wolf, er, Bear. It’s comical except for the billions laundered and the millions of dead Ukrainians. Get off Russia’s front porch, live up to your agreements and take care of your own border, US.

  • Mark N. April 1, 2024, 11:23 pm

    I am not so concerned about driving a spike into the heart of Russian Bear as I am about driving a wooden stake into Putin’s. Putin is, as you say, a truly dangerous, sociopathic (and possibly psychopathic) megalomaniac who will stop at nothing to force his will on all who oppose him. Currently that is the Ukrainians (and members of his domestic elite who aren’t completely with the program–and their families in more than one case). Next will be Moldova, then Lithuania. Moldova is to Ukraine’s west, and Russia already has a foothold there in a break away province. Lithuania has the unfortunate circumstance of lying west of Belarus and north east of Kalinigrad, a province of Russia that Putin would like to rejoin to Mother Russia. The eastern plains of Poland are a major prize he seeks, as the gateway to the east–i.e. to Russia itself, lies there, and is also a major tank route for a Russian invasion of NATO. Have no doubt: Putin wants to reinstate the territorial scope of the USSR and its satellite states. Better to stop him now rather than later. Yes, we in the US (and the many members of the Republican Party) have a historical reluctance to engage in foreign wars, but after two world wars, Korea, and the current tensions in the Far East, we can see how American isolationism works out; it is a clarion call for all the would-be emperors to invade their weaker neighbors.

  • Frank April 1, 2024, 7:38 pm

    Hello again Will. I finally have a minute or two to sit in front of a real keyboard. As you know by now, you and I are practically neighbors in the hill country of North Central Mississippi. We are also both of the same vintage, and share many of the same experiences. I immensely enjoy reading your articles, and with me, most of your political statements are “preaching to the choir”. When it comes to the current situation in Ukraine however, we will have to respectfully disagree. I swore an oath to protect our Constitution, and am generally a free speech absolutist, so you needn’t fear that I will grab my keyboard/phone and run away because we have differing opinions. So… I’ll pen a few of the reasons why I believe that we (USA) have MANY more urgent needs/concerns to address than yet another European war.

    First of all, I’m happy to stipulate that Vladimir Putin is a dirtbag megalomaniac who would gladly expand Russia’s boundaries if he had the wherewithal to do so, but we should remember just how small the Russian economy really is. California’s economy dwarfs Russia’s, and Texas’ nearly equals it. The European Union’s economy is the second largest in the world, right behind the USA, hovering around $17 trillion in GDP. Russia’s GDP is only 1/10th of the EU’s at $1.7 trillion. This one consideration alone should suffice to dispel all the fearmongering that “Vlad’s” Russia will overrun Western Europe. In addition to economic might, many of the EU nations possess substantial military capabilities. So why are the Europeans sitting mostly idle waiting for the “Yanks” to once again bail their asses out of another European war? Even Poland admits that Ukraine is a European problem, and that the other EU countries should be upping their ante instead of simply waiting for more US aid. Coincidentally, the Poles are contributing around 4% of their GDP to NATO, while the majority of their neighbors can’t seem to come up with the requisite 2%.

    Secondly, with $32 trillion of debt, we can scarcely afford to send any American dollars overseas. That’s an unfathomable figure to almost everyone on the planet. Our drunken orgy of printing/spending fake money has far surpassed the insane for the imbecilic. As recently as Obama’s inauguration, our debt stood at $12 trillion, which was unmanageable even then. Racking up another $20 trillion in the last 16 years has now put us in the position of paying more in interest than we do on our OWN national defense. We’ve already bankrupted our children’s future with uncontrolled spending on mostly asinine projects passed with spurious, if any, justification. You tried to preempt any discussion of the money we’re wasting in Ukraine by claiming we’re just “cleaning out our basement”… sending equipment we’re not using anymore. Even if we assume for the moment that our mothballed materiel has no present or future value to US (though 155mm rounds don’t really depreciate), it costs real American dollars to put equipment back in serviceable condition, and transporting said equipment halfway around the world costs million$. In addition to anything that can be classed as military aid, we’ve taken on the expense of all of Ukraine’s infrastructure. We’re paying the salaries of all government employees and first responders. We’re paying to rebuild roads and bridges even in the midst of the conflict, and assisting, if not covering in its entirety, transport costs for Ukrainian officials of all stripes and many ordinary citizens. Yet all the preceding will pale in comparison to the hundreds of billion$ we’ll pour into the reconstruction and economic stabilization of any section of post-war Ukraine not under control of the Russians. The talking heads will once again assure us that we’re defending and/or building a Democracy, and once again it will be all BS.

    Thirdly, let’s consider the actual military threat posed by today’s Russia instead of just the oft-repeated warnings of Russia’s “Manifest Destiny” to steamroll through the former Soviet states and then Western Europe. There’s no doubt that Russia has significant (but finite) conventional and nuclear capabilities. Although Russia’s conventional forces should have completed all objectives in Ukraine months ago, those forces comprise ZERO threat to the United States and thusly an inconsequential threat to NATO members. The simple fact that Russia has become mired down in Ukraine, underscores that fact very well. The latest news indicates Russia will again turn to conscription to supplement ranks. The nuclear stockpile that Vlad may soon access, is a much more pressing concern… conceivably a worldwide concern. One of Vlad’s associates/confidants states publicly that he will eventually result to a nuclear strike if Western pressure continues unabated. Now I’m not asserting that we, or any other nation acquiesce entirely to Vlad’s ambitions for fear of a nuclear exchange, but no one seems to be at all interested in a diplomatic solution. There are seemingly no efforts to end this war other than through “complete victory” by one combatant or the other. Conversely, our State Department and elected officials are burning up the airlines and airwaves in efforts to prevent Israel from destroying the TRULY genocidal Hamas regime… even though that conflict is much younger than the hostilities in Ukraine, and will be decided much sooner.

    Lastly, let’s briefly consider where our skewed priorities currently lie in these United States. By Presidential proclamation, Easter or Resurrection Sunday has been usurped by “Transgender Visibility Day”. We insist that men be allowed to compete with women in team sports… and that they (men) can openly use the same locker rooms/showers as women. We not only condone, but encourage children to permanently mutilate their bodies by defining gender as a “choice”. We celebrate the sexualization of children as young as preschool by openly discussing homosexuality and/or having “Drag Queen Story Hour”. We can’t even take our kids to Disney World without seeing bearded men dressed as Fairy Godmothers! We have a black woman nominated to the Supreme Court not because she may be best qualified, but because she is a “WOMAN of color”. Yet in her own Senate Confirmation Hearings, she couldn’t even define the word “WOMAN”!

    We’ve bastardized law enforcement officers in this country by accusing them of systemic racism, and by completely upending the relationship of the legal system to perpetrator and victim. Victims are now not only denied consideration and protection under the law, they’re actually blamed for the actions of criminals. Automobile manufacturers are sued for making cars that are “too easy to steal”, and some inner-city political hacks want to hold the convenience store owners “accountable” when they (owners) are victims of crime. Shoplifters operate with impunity… and don’t try to stop one! Not only will you lose your job, but you’ll be charged with assault and/or sued by the shoplifter. Flash-Mob singing and dance routines have been replaced with Flash-Mob jewelry store smash and grabs. Elderly people in our cities are assaulted by mentally ill vagrants. Young women are sucker-punched for no reason.

    The situation on our southern border defies explanation or even description… even the term “invasion” is insufficient. We have absolutely no idea who’s coming into the US from over 160 other countries… most of them military aged males. They aren’t coming here for the same reasons the “huddled masses” came through Ellis Island. They’re coming with not only the permission of our government, but with its strong encouragement. NGOs are coached by our leaders to make asylum seekers of anyone looking to better themselves at someone else’s expense. Our tax dollars are pissed away on free phones, medical care, transportation, food, and lodging to people who don’t speak our language, don’t respect our laws, and don’t know our customs and culture. Even with known terrorists exploiting our border, no one is able to stem the tide of illegals. A sovereign state erects barriers, only to have the Federal government tear them down.

    In spite of all the above, good Doctor, you would have me be most concerned with “driving a stake through the heart of the Russian Bear”. Even if Vlad was driven from Ukraine bloodied and with his tail between his legs, it’s not going to change who/what he is, nor change the daily life of most Russian citizens. With Iran and China openly supporting his efforts, it’s quite unlikely that Vlad is going anywhere. Money and equipment alone will never expel the Russians. Ukraine has lost nearly an entire generation of men with the average age of their soldiers now in the mid to late forties, with no backfill available. Short of an influx of well trained, young bodies… Russia already has this one in the bag. So whose sons and daughters shall we send? The liberal mouthpiece Macron says he can’t rule out sending troops, and then changes his tune a day later. Will the self righteous Germans send their young people to fight? How about the Brits? I can answer that for you with historical certainty. If the US does any less than carry the ball all the way across the goal line, the Europeans will punt.

    Will, your reasoning for continued Ukrainian support seems to stem from having grown up under the Soviet “boogey-man”. That threat is what shaped the USA into THE undeniable Superpower. Perhaps we should be thankful for all the advances we made because of that threat. Times have changed however, and the USSR is no more. Don’t you think we should address our own problems now as opposed to taking on someone else’s? As far as genuine threats from foreign adversaries go, China and the hordes of Islamic terrorists funded by Iran, pose a much more significant threat than does Russia. Repurposing aid destined for Ukraine to rebuffing China and Iran would yield much more benefit to US. Thanks for the article, Will.

  • Lance April 1, 2024, 12:42 pm

    We’ve given Ukraine more money than we did to post WWII Europe (adjusted for inflation). Where has all the other dollars gone? I think we all have pretty good ideas. Any chance Putin and Zelensky are working together to dupe the West? Zelensky is notorious for crushing anyone who descents with his politics. Sounds a wee bit like Putin.

  • L. E. Hendricks March 28, 2024, 9:38 pm

    Most Americans have little or no understanding of the ramifications of this war. The out come of which will determine the fate of the free world for the next 50 to 100 years. This is not just the fight of the Ukrainian people, this is, in fact, the fight of the free world over the idealist communist philosophy and beliefs. The government we as Americans currently have is by no means perfect, if a perfect government even exists. It is the best hope we as free people have, of a peaceful future and world. People should have a look at an original “Startrek” where they looked atbthe woeprld as a post WWII where Nazi Germany was the Victor Prather than the degree world. Though this is fictional, it is very telling of what could be the furniture c if the would under a Communist dictator such as Putin.

  • Bill McReynolds March 27, 2024, 11:42 pm

    I’m a Republican by and large, but occasionally I break ranks and think for myself. The current “Stop wasting money in Ukraine” spiel that is being forwarded by the Republican party is short-sighted, if not actually foolishly stupid. I served 22 years in the Army, willing to die any day for my country and the LAST thing I want to see my country do is give Putin even a tiny, teensy, iota of a break. He needs to be put down like the rabid dog he is. Only then do we have a chance to have peace. I’m not saying there will be peace, but we’ll have a chance. If Putin wins in Ukraine, kiss all hope for peace goodby for the next seventy-five years. We could even lose the republic if enough of Europe falls.

  • Bob W March 26, 2024, 7:42 pm

    Hey Dabbs I love reading your articles. And I’m honored that you included my NY Jew comment in your article. That being said, when I was in the Army my brothers were being shot at in Viet Nam while I was in Germany training for the big Russian invasion. The one that never happened. As you said, now we finally have the opportunity to put that ass hole Putin in his place without any of our guys getting hurt. We have to keep up the fight even if it’s only with cash instead of bullets. Problem is that your red state buddies don’t agree with us and when the orange guy gets re elected, they will all let their buddy Putin take what ever he wants. Do what you can to get the word out to show how important this is. And guys, don’t comment on my comment. I really don’t give a shit if you agree with me or not.

    • James D March 26, 2024, 10:03 pm

      Your second to last sentence tells me you give a shit enough to ask readers not to comment…. Who does that? Funny. And your stupid Putin/red state/ orange man statement shows it’s people like you who are the real problem in this country…

      • Bob W March 26, 2024, 10:32 pm

        I’m not gonna get into a pissing contest but let’s get something straight as stupid as you may think it is. It’s the representatives in congress from red states (AKA Republicans) that want to hold up if not stop support for Ukraine. Trump loves Putin, he made the statement that when he’s elected he will pull us out of NATO and Putin can take over all of Europe. Trump uses a bronzer that makes him more orange than any other color. As far as me. Unlike some guys we know, when I got my draft notice during the Viet Nam war I served. It went where they sent me and did what I was told. I didn’t have bone spurs and even if I did I still would have served my country. I support and defend the Constitution of the U S against all enemies foreign and DOMESTIC. I fought fires in New York City (FDNY) for 34 years before I came down with my second cancer I got from the days I was fighting fires at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the weeks after that. I pay my taxes and help my friends, even the ones who don’t agree with my politics. And like you guys I like my guns to which I have many. So if I’m a problem in this country I wish there were more problems like me.

        • Dr. Bos! March 27, 2024, 1:10 pm

          Amen; Bob W.
          Fire those ‘forever’ politicians and take back our representative government.

  • Chad March 26, 2024, 6:21 pm

    You want to piss away your $$$$ on a corrupt government go for it quit advocating for the rest of us to do it as well 🇺🇸1st🖕🖕🖕Ukrain

  • Chip March 26, 2024, 12:12 pm

    Enjoyed your article and the comments from other readers. Age, education, working experience, living locations, and other factors such as family, morality, faith, etc influence my positions on the subject topic(s) a little differently. Born in 1947, many vets in family, raised in rural/suburban locations near military bases, ROTC in college, US Navy ‘68-‘72. International/commercial banker, FDIC, Farm Credit Administration. Bla, bla, bla.
    Anyway, Putin, like those before him are mean sociopaths/sobs which the world can do without. I really don’t think he is stupid enough to attack a NATO (yuck) country and risk his. Therefore, that crazy Ruskie bothers me much less than those other nutjobs that have no problem with killing their own countrymen and everyone else to stay in power. U-crane has tough people, but the govt is loaded with crooks.
    China and the murdering IRAN brethren outfits do give me uneasy feelings as does our own government. Foreign actors can be defeated through firepower in the sky and underwater. In the long run, we do have sufficient will to overcome threats to America and our freedom loving citizens, but nobody said it would be easy.

  • Stephen J Levinson March 26, 2024, 7:08 am

    Perhaps you might want to read “In The Midst of Civilized Europe” which details the many pogroms against the Jews. I think you will find that the Ukranians had a real penchant for murdering Jews, many more than Putin will ever achieve. Save your outrage and blame for your own people who were masters at murder.

  • K Jacobs March 25, 2024, 11:00 pm

    I think this is an outdated way to think about Russia. I’m 50 years old and currently serve this country. I’m no libtard, and I know right from wrong. China and Iran are bigger problems. We have more in common with Russia as Christians and of European descent than we do with China and Iran. Let’s secure our own border before we secure Ukraine’s border. And maybe we can give the military industrial complex a break for a bit….

  • Ken Freye March 25, 2024, 7:45 pm

    Czarist Russia was instrumental in causing WW1 and the Soviet Union was as responsible for WW2 as Nazi Germany (read “Stalin’s War”). Putin is trying to rebuild the Soviet empire and Ukraine (and Poland, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania) are necessary to do so. The best long game for the US is to push Russia out of Ukraine and Crimea and get Ukraine into NATO. If this can be done with paid for weapons and without US personnel, so much the better. I doubt that the clowns in Washington (either party) know history or can think beyond tomorrow so I am not expecting much.

  • Pop LeCorque March 25, 2024, 7:21 pm

    Thanks for the way you broke down how a lot of the aid was parsed out. That is just another example of how Biden is a bumbler because a smart man would have used that story to get the American people on his side. Oh, wait, I forgot. Bidens job is the keep Americans pitted against one another instead of aligned against a common enemy. Some people are curious about the Biden corruption connection to Ukraine via hunter and thinking that maybe there might be a plane load of cash or two among the used vehicles. Thoughts about that? Asking for a friend…..🤣

  • D Scholl March 25, 2024, 7:14 pm

    I agree!

  • Mitch Hiers March 25, 2024, 6:51 pm

    As a U.S. NAVSECGRU veteran of the cold war years myself, I agree 100% with your analysis in this article, Dr. Dabbs. Obama obviously didn’t have the cajones to stop anyone from “crossing a red line” in Syria, which let Vladimir Putin know that he could illegally annex Crimea from Ukraine during the Obamanista Occupation without any geopolitical repercussions whatsoever. Putin has clearly bitten off way more than he can chew with his invasion of Ukraine, though. Short of regular U.S. troops on the ground, I think we should provide Ukraine with anything and everything they need to finish off the Russians with extreme prejudice. No mercy should be shown; no quarter should be given — period. F@#k’em!

  • Concerned March 25, 2024, 6:45 pm

    I am amazed at the number of commenters who claim to be conservative yet slavishly parrot Russian agitprop. After the Maidan Revolution, not a coup, Ukraine passed laws that mandated Ukrainian as the official language. This is the genocide and murder you hear the Putin apologists scream about. The Minsk Accords were never enforced, never honored and died of neglect, not Ukrainian treachery. And please stop repeating the debunked tales that the US wanted to nukes or bio weapon labs in Ukraine.

    Spouting Russian agitprop (like quoting Tass about child porn) is NOT conservatism. It’s not finding a miraculous truth. It’s just dumb and leftist. Stop sullying conservatives with this nonsense.

    Dr. Dabbs I enjoyed this article as much as any of the others you have written. Please keep up the good work.

  • Jim March 25, 2024, 6:39 pm

    The thing I question , s there really any chance of the Ukraine winning even with our money and equipment? I truly do not think it is possible. That leaves either a cease fire or full out world War. Pick your poison.

  • Walleye March 25, 2024, 3:45 pm

    Does anyone think its wise for Biden and all of sycophants in congress to constantly be bragging about helping kill Russian soldiers in Ukraine every time they get in front of a TV camera?

    That will not go unnoticed and by Russia.

    What if Putin were to start bragging about sending arms to Iran and how pleased he is about helping kill US soldiers/sailors/airmen? What it he were to dial it up a notch, like $74B worth of weaponry to middle east terrorists?

    Also, isn’t odd that on March 3rd, the U.S. & Russia were able to set their differences aside for just long enough to hug & kiss and send a SpaceX rocket with a crew of three NASA astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut up to the International Space Station?

    • Mark N. April 1, 2024, 11:44 pm

      I guess you missed out on the Cold War, when we we were each at each other’s throats for five decades, even though it was US materiale that saved the Russian bacon after Hitler invaded. Putin was KGB during that era; there is no love lost there. In fact, Putin very much wants to go back there, only this time he wants to undermine democracy in Europe and gather it under Mother Russia’s protective wing from the evils of democracy. Perhaps you have noticed that Putin has no qualms about eliminating his rivals with prejudice?
      Last I checked, Iran was sending weapons to Russia, not the other way around. And yes, Iran is an existential threat (at least to the Sunni countries of the Middle east and to Israel), as is China. That does not invalidate the threat posed by Putin and his kleptocrats.

  • Roy Mehalik March 25, 2024, 3:28 pm

    I am a retired/disabled police officer, 41 years, mostly as the lone officer in rural townships in SW PA. Retired from one PD (piddly pension) & then began at another municipality. I was still working in 2015 when a nasty dose of A-fib way-laid me. I do a lot of reading now & feel Doc Dabbs’ writings are among the best. I don’t know where he gets the time. Keep up the good work.

  • Matt March 25, 2024, 3:07 pm

    I’m older than you and remember that the Soviets were our biggest enemy. Then Reagan. We hoped they would become a true democracy. But their heart just wasn’t in it.

    They are a secondary enemy at best now. And part of their animosity is due to our support for Ukraine.

    Account ability!!
    Until we have that I’m against sending another dime.
    You briefed over this. Yet it is the biggest reason not to send any $$.

    You want to give them what our military would never use I’m okay. As long as we know it’s not being resold.

    Knowing Biden, his administration and the corruption in Ukraine I suspect at least part of the money is being used to keep information out of the hands of people who funded the war effort with tax dollars. A Biden Crime Family bribery payment.

    Defend this country first. That’s not being done.

    Give up the real books on how the money was spent. And prove equipment was.or is being used in the war.

  • Hatchetman March 25, 2024, 2:47 pm

    I think with what we know right now, you’re spot on. Will more information come to light in future years that shows how truthful the propaganda of each side is? Almost certainly. All anyone can do right now is act on the best information they have available at the time. I just hope that we actually fund and spin-up production of replacement shells and consumables fast enough that we can get our own stocks refreshed in time for whichever looming global conflict flares up next.

    I really do enjoy your articles and look forward to them, I appreciate the effort and the perspective from your life experience.

  • Rokurota March 25, 2024, 1:40 pm

    Geopolitics is messy, and we ally with many countries whose values don’t align with ours (Saudi Arabia, for example), but whose interests do. If we let Putin get away with his invasion (as Obama did), we write a license for him and others to walk all over Europe, Israel, and other allies of ours. I am surprised at the lip service commenters here pay to Russian state media talking points—short of an imminent invasion of the Motherland, there is no rationalization for Putin’s actions that pass muster in my book. As for “forever wars,” lest we forget, we still have troops in Germany, Japan, and Korea keeping the peace. We should have left our 2500 troops in Afghanistan. These are not forever wars, these are necessary expressions of US political interests. Isolationism, non-intervention, objection to neverending wars—whatever you call it, it is unrealistic unless you’re happy letting another power (Russia, China) fill the vacuum. I know the muscular foreign policy of Reagan, Thatcher, JFK, and FDR is out of fashion. I’m with Dr. Dabbs in not letting the fear of “escalation” deter our assisting our allies and aligned interests.

  • Tom March 25, 2024, 1:39 pm

    I read your article with great interest and while I generally agree with most of it, it’s well worth stepping back and looking at the even bigger picture of past history. The Ukrainians and Russians have been fighting each other in the Donbass off and on for hundreds and hundreds of years, all the way back to the various ‘Rus tribes. And they’ll likely be fighting long after all of us, Zelenskyy, Putin, Feeble Joe, Donald Trump, et al are dead and gone. That’s a given. So it naturally behooves us to choose our own path wisely. My greatest frustration with the situation lies in the fact that the Democrats, aided and abetted by Big Tech, are not only profiting from their own grift, but using their vast resources to divide, conquer, and consolidate ever more power in ways too numerous to count. There’s always going to have to be a balance between interventionism and isolationism, and honestly, this isn’t it. There’s so much more I could say, but I think you get the point.

  • Albert Laudel March 25, 2024, 1:29 pm

    I read all your articles and find them both informative and aligned with my thinking.

  • David Obradovich March 25, 2024, 12:47 pm

    I love your writing, forward the emailed GunsAmerica newsletter to friends. I have similar thoughts on Ukraine. The idea that we were going to put nuclear weapons in Ukraine seems far fetched. Russia and the USA had an agreement to defend Ukraine as a result of the fall of the Soviet Union when Ukraine gave up the nuclear weapons it had in it’s control, we both pledged to defend Ukraine, so we are obligated, not under Nato, but just our word back then. The idea that our CIA would fund an ISIS attack in Russia is plain stupid. We should have never been in this position to begin with, Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, that was the start, the talk of Ukraine joining Nato was the other factor contributing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
    Our undertakings in Afghanistan and Iraq were noble, the men involved were stellar, woman too, the whole effort was patially lost by the wavering inept leadership. Change, winnning a war takes the same commitment we did in WWII and failed to do every war since, it takes effort after the war. We succeeded in every battle as in Vietnam, the politicians lose the wars, but war works when done with a full commitment. Just do not let a democrat run things, they lack commitment and vision, except for a Marxist one. We fought for Jews once before and that war is not over. I thought the rest of your readers had better judgement. Keep up the great work, hope to meet you someday.

  • Robert March 25, 2024, 12:34 pm

    1. Remember history and what lead up to World War 1 the Balkans are a powder keg just waiting to go off.
    2. Where is the money and resources going? There seems to be no accountability.
    3. Our military is being depleted no matter what you say.
    4. Like it or not this conflict has brought China and Russa closer together and also insane North Korea this is a bad mix.
    5. Because of this conflict we are taking our eyes off of the Iranians and their nuclear aims they are the one that will use them.
    6. And if we do not take care of our own boarders and our own national security, how can we take care of what Europe should be concerned about.
    Dr.Dabbs i respect you and your intelligence and your opinions and these are mine, our country is a mess, and we are headed in the wrong direction.

    • Mark N. April 1, 2024, 11:52 pm

      If you want to talk about accountability, ask the Pentagon why it is that it has been unable to do an accounting for all of the money it receives and where it goes. I’ve heard it said that a full audit of the Pentagon is “impossible.” Yet you think that Ukraine, in the thick of a war for its survival, should be able to account for all the shells it has fired, all of the tanks, trucks, artillery pieces, bullets, uniforms, medical supplies that have been expended over the last two years? Very little of the money spent on Ukraine is cash to Ukraine; most of the cash goes to US defense contractors as payment for the supplies being shipped there.

      • Dwane April 23, 2024, 9:53 am

        Let’s add the “Federal Reserve” to the unaccountability and the supposedly 8000 tons of gold held by the U.S. Treasury. When was the last time these two were fully inventoried and audited? My opinion (like a phrase oft mentioned) is not worth much but I believe we are being gaslighted by those political and tech grifters.

  • Dr. Bos! March 25, 2024, 11:49 am

    Right on! Give Putin and his cronies what they deserve. Most republican congressmen need to heed your last several paragraphs and get off their collective asses. Everyone should send this to their congressmen!

    • Jeff Kyle March 25, 2024, 12:40 pm

      Dang, the comments are across the board! Everything from hate you to want to have your babies! Whenever entering into a political discourse, I believe the extreme comments for and or against need to be ignored. Take the comments that cover the middle of the conversation and you might come up with something that makes sense. So, first off, we need to fund Ukraine’s fight against the Russians. Not the totality of the support but enough that will cover the critical needs. Europe needs to get off their arses and take care of their own problems. Every time there’s a dust up in Europe, we get stuck with the bill. Regardless, if Ukraine falls, then Eastern Europe is going to be next.
      The best way to end the Russian threat is for the Ukrainians to win this war. The Russians keep yammering about slinging nukes. I don’t believe they are that stupid. They’ll get buried in radioactive fallout.
      Let’s get this stuff done. Send the money and the weapon systems to finish off the Bear once and for all.
      I enjoy your writing. It makes me think outside the box. Keep up the good work and let the fools go pound sand.
      SFMF

  • James March 25, 2024, 11:47 am

    Ok, the Libertarian in me says that this isn’t our fight. The observer of history in me remembers all the talk about how if America didn’t support South Vietnam against the evil Commies of North Vietnam that life as we know it would end. I really like my New Balance shoes that are made in Vietnam, they’re comfortable and last for years. Come to think of it, there’s a lot of stuff I buy today that is manufactured in Vietnam so my guess is American politicians were lying about the end of the world blah, blah, blah.

    In my career as a truck driver (31 years now) I have met people from all over the world and while most of them were pretty decent, I’ve met some real scumbags as well (like the Mexican “business man” who tried to sell me a young lady and her 3 kids for $300.00)

    Anyway I’m just glad that the decision on whether to continue supporting Ukraine or not isn’t up to me, because in this case, with everything that’s at stake, globally I’m all in on regimen change in Russia and might as well de-Ayatollah Iran at the same time.

  • Hub Whitt March 25, 2024, 11:41 am

    Love your writing! I’m a bit older than you, and I agree with everything you write above. Thank you for the humour! Hope to meet you one of these days.
    Hub

  • David March 25, 2024, 11:19 am

    Imaginary Nazi? Really? While Putin was tiger hunting and practicing Judo Ukraine was becoming a leader in child porn, that’s right. Ukraine was rank third in the world for creating and spreading child porn in all its forms. Russia use to have the same issue until Putin decided to put an end to it. While Putin was hunting down these perpetrators of child porn the Ukraine welcome them into their country. The year that Biden’s son was “ working “ for a company in Ukraine the war broke out. We all know the US was at the center of the start of the war.
    KIEV, June 1. /TASS/. Ukraine is currently in top 3 largest suppliers of child porn in the world, Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova said during a meeting Tuesday. My big question is why is Biden spending $Billions in American taxpayer money on people who do this?

    • Kane April 1, 2024, 1:10 am

      Reading through these your post gets my vote for the best one by far. Sure there were a few others that were good but most make me feel like there is no point and trying to persuade other Americans that they are being conned by dangerous Occultist-Globalists like George Soros, Antony Blinken (his mommy and daddy) a third rate comedian and a clueless greedy perverted senile old man is in charge of the US What could go wrong?

    • Mark N. April 2, 2024, 12:13 am

      Did she really say this? Or more likely was this more Russian propaganda–given the source of the information is TASS after all, and as no other such report is found on the internet. By the way, she was just fired.
      The US was at the center of the start of the war? Really? The war started in 2014 (Obama presidency) with the Russian invasion of the Donetsk and Crimea, and was entirely consistent with Putin’s declaration way back in 1987 that Ukraine was not a true state but merely a province of Russia. Russia has been engaged in a massive propaganda campaign from the very beginning when it said that its troops on Ukraine’s broader were merely there on a training exercise. there is one and only one reliable thing one can say about Russian state media: it lies about everything.

      • Kane April 2, 2024, 10:14 am

        The Russians would probably mark the begining of the current US war on their regional intrests much before 2014 and way beyond the overthrow of duly elected Viktor Yanukovych. The NATO overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic and the Sebian leaders subsequent suspicious death while in custody would more likely be the event Russia would note. Back in 1996 the crimial US POTUS Clinton had signed the War Crimes Act. One of the legal consequences of that Act was that any US Military Member could be called called before the Hague at their own expense and be forced to defend themselves for their any war deployment in which they were involved. Clinton always hated the US Military and had no concern for the US Military Members that might get caught up in the international legal trials.

        Here is another case of irony that shows what worthless hypocrite Clinton was/is and will always. While Milosevic was being held in custody for war crimes, the Serbian leader used Clinton’s War Crimes Act to call Clinton (former CiC) to testify in the Hague. And as Shakespeare might have said of Clinton , “hoisted on his own petard,” (blow himself up with his own bomb). Well Clinton did NOT want to face the scruting while the Hague would be forced to hear the defense case made by Milosevic and the NATO bombings conducted under Clinton. After all, many thought that Clinton plunged the US into a factional war to divert attention from the case of Monica Lewinski. Such a glorious US Historical facts you have failed to consider..

        Maybe it does NOT matter to you but the Russian-Serbian friendship goes back well beyond WWI through Communism. The Russians and Ukrainians have had a long history also and both groups are not delineated by borders that globalists draftsman have drawn up to suit their explotative agends. Putin has legimate regional and historical interests. The US claims regional intrests far more dubious than the ones Putin claims in the Ukraine.

        The US under FDR and his overt Communist VP Wallace celebrated when the Ukraine was under the Communist yoke. The US never objected as the great Christian populations that were murdered under Stalin. The US never cared when Russian and Ukrainian girls were being sent to Tel Aviv as sexual slaves. The US did everything possible to save and build up the Communist regime in China (MFN status) while the states of the former USSR were treated like pariahs, EXPLAIN those US objectives behing those FACTS???

        Of course many Ukrainians have sided with the Globalist Soros, the Blinkens (perverted “open society”) and against Russia. Thus the Ukraine cut off water from the Crimea in 2014 and not restored until 2020. Yep Putin is a scary bad axctor but so are the US leaders. There was no attempt at a negociations because the occultists in the US wanted this death tango. The globalists like Soros want to continue to sell of Ukrainian farm lands to international finance and promote global homosexuality (fake “open society” real police state) while the US State media lies about everything. .

  • DR March 25, 2024, 11:10 am

    I think I you are right, and I’m astonished at the narrow mindedness and short vision demonstrated in some of the other comments.

    Recall that after the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was left in possession of a nuclear arsenal which they voluntarily gave up in return for assurances of protection and sovereign recognition. Perhaps they now wish they had decided differently.

    Putin wants to reconstitute the Soviet empire, with vassal slave states, and Russia has a long and deep tradition of abusing them – the Holodomor was real, and stories of atrocities committed by Russian troops more recently in Ukraine are horrific and consistent.

    As for “Europe can take care of itself” if we’d done that in WW2 the world would look much different now and it would be much, much worse. The Ukrainians are doing their own fighting, and they are willing to fight – giving them weapons to defend themselves and expel Russians is both extremely cost effective and the right thing to do.

    Russia will not stop if it is appeased (have we not learned that simple lesson from WW2, of appeasing power-hungry dictators?). Other hostile nations are watching – Iran, China, North Korea – and their actions indicate their mindset.

    We should wholeheartedly support Ukraine, and give them weapons they need to fight and win.

  • Bob March 25, 2024, 10:36 am

    Yeah, not a big fan of Zelensky the CIA puppet, or the corruption pre and post 2014. Will, if I had a 20 year old Hi Point with 180,000 rounds thru it, and told you it’s better than an L85A1 bullpup over here, or a Jennings .22 over there, that still wouldn’t make the Hi Point a great gun (I like Hi Point) . I get it, nobody likes Putin (I don’t either) , but saying Ukraine is better than those others you mention is irrelavent. If you want to take Russia’s military power ( and Putin) away, find another way.

  • ebd10 March 25, 2024, 10:25 am

    “Cleaning out our basement” is good for us in that, it allows us to send old equipment abroad to help Ukraine, thereby making us look good on the world stage, it clears the way to buy new stuff which, in turn, helps our economy, and it allows us to see real world performance without costing American lives.

    However, Doc, you’ve overlooked some obvious details; the BILLIONS of dollars sent to Ukraine have disappeared without any accounting of where they went. Moreover, this war is just another in an endless string of inter-European wars that end up costing thousands of lives, billions of dollars and accomplishing…not much. To be clear, Ukraine isn’t worth one American life. Send material? Sure. Send troops? No way.

  • Paul March 25, 2024, 10:18 am

    In 2014 the US supported a coup in Ukraine that put in the current anti-Russian regime. The US has admitted to creating biological weapons labs and a dozen CIA bases in Ukraine.

    It seems to me that Russia’s invasion was sparked by the US State Depts. attempts to create a new cold war.

    Many Americans died fighting in Vietnam based on the domino theory – now we buy sneakers made in communist Vietnam.

  • Frank March 25, 2024, 10:14 am

    Hi, Will. My response to this article is going to require a keyboard… not this tiny pocket gadget. On the road with a tight schedule today. Stay tuned.

  • Steve March 25, 2024, 10:12 am

    Will, After years of delightful reading of your columns; anticipating their appearance here even, this boggled my mind. I have a dear friend, a Ukranian Jewish immigrant, naturalized U.S. citizen, and Army (ours) veteran who could take this puff-piece apart and turn it to ashes. She loves our USA and is a great patriot. And her actual ground-truth knowledge of Ukraine refutes everything you have said here minus some obvious Putin facts. I have often forwarded your great stories to her because she loves history. But now I’m not sure how she will react to your name being on this ignorant, yes ignorant, article. I will send it to her anyway and perhaps she may school you on the realities of Ukraine from a perspective more knowledgable than your own. Will, THERE ARE STREETS THROUGHOUT UKRAINE HONORING NAZIS, FOR GOD’S SAKE! Zelensky is a Jew like George Soros is a Jew. A traitor to his Jewishness. And while Zelensky buys more houses in safer countries and his wife buys more jewelry with U.S. taxpayer dollars, this vastly corrupt CIA puppet plays our Congress like a fiddle. I’m so shocked I just don’t know what else to say.

  • Peter Hoveland March 25, 2024, 9:50 am

    Thank you Dr. Dabbs for saying what needed to be said, and thank you Guns America for having the courage to publish this article. This article truly helps to reassure me that the fight against communism is not dead.

  • MIke Nevins March 25, 2024, 9:01 am

    Yeah, I could not disagree with you more. You forgot to mention the primary reason Russia invaded Ukraine. The fact that NATO was planning on installing nukes there. This is akin to the Cuban missile crises only for Russia. I not a Russian fan, but Zelensky is an installed president made possible by the CIA, just like Biden is in America. So as bad as Putin may be, we should not be funding a never ending war just like Afghanistan and we should NEVER send our troops to fight for Ukraine. But with our current corrupt administration, I fear that is exactly what is coming. There is a reason why I did not even know your name based on your assessment of Ukraine.

  • Russ March 25, 2024, 8:59 am

    I am shocked at this….Zelensky was a puppet of the CIA…we installed him and drove out the real head of the country….Guns America you should be ashamed of this just like MSM

  • Jake March 25, 2024, 8:58 am

    Sorry Doc. You are absolutely full of it supporting Ukraine. This all started because NATO broke the Minsk agreement. Ukraine has been murdering ethnic Russians on the border with Russia for at least ten years. Russia had enough and did something about it.
    Do you think Putin would sit like some pathetic knob while his country was being overrun by all the filth the third world and his enemies could send to his border? Ever hear of neocons Doc?

    • Kane April 1, 2024, 1:14 am

      Great post

  • Dave Sticha March 25, 2024, 8:45 am

    Thank you for your columns so far, I’ve enjoyed them because they do a great job of balancing fact with the human element. But you’ve crossed a line with this article and I will not follow you across that line. You’ve chosen a political stance and pushed it on me as a part of your writing. You’ve mixed politics with your job, Kind of like Bid Light. You’ve abused the trust I’ve placed in your hands. After writing this note I intend to unsubscribe from GunsAmerica immediately.

    • Mark S LaCasse March 25, 2024, 12:47 pm

      So, Like a good Liberal Democrat because you happen to disagree with one thing a person does or says you walk away. Well then….see ya.

      • Dave Sticha March 25, 2024, 2:16 pm

        Nice try. I’m guessing you are the disinformation officer assigned to discredit conservative responses. The Left politicizes everything. It’s how propaganda works. And I’m disappointed that Dr Dabbs has become a part of it. Eternal war is one of the central goals of totalitarian states. Read 1984

        • Mark S LaCasse March 25, 2024, 4:46 pm

          Wrong. I did not agree or disagree with you or Dr. Dabbs. My point was and is that just because you disagree with one opinion of a person is no reason to completely shut them down. That is what is wrong with the world today. People have decided that if another does not think and act and agree with every single thing that they do then they are the enemy. I have read Dr Dabbs for years, do I agree with everything he says, no. Neither do I agree with everything my best friend in this world says and believes but there is no one else I would rather have at my back if things go south…No One. Your response to that article was just like a good liberal Democrat, think, act and say what I want or you’re the enemy. Oh and for the record I am also a conservative, and worked at and owned gun shops for over 40 years, also a Life Member of NRA,

          • Dave March 25, 2024, 5:22 pm

            Another nice try.
            Your first attempt to discredit my honest, reasonable, and calmly stated opinion was to immediately label me as someone not to be trusted (a liberal oh no!) and then attempt to invalidate my opinion by attributing it to childish motivations (just walk away baby).
            That didn’t work so this time you position yourself as being more trustworthy and believable (that is conservative) then I am and use that position to again reduce my opinion to childish motives, and therefore not worth considering.
            Nicely done. If you are not a disinformation source then you are a very limited (that is dumb) AI algorithm.
            My opinion stated above stands. Based on Dabbs column on supporting Ukraine I no longer trust him and, therefore, will not bother reading anymore of his columns. Kind of like not watching CNN anymore. It doesn’t mean I’m childish or acting like a liberal, it just means I don’t trust them any more to tell the truth.
            BTW thank you for giving me a platform to show others how the left works these days. I hope at least one person starts looking critically at posts and responses on Facebook and elsewhere and starts wondering if conservative authors are purposely being marginalized.

    • Dean P March 25, 2024, 2:24 pm

      Really?!? This is too much like the liberal mindset these days. What happened to being in disagreement with someone without throwing temper tantrum? Whether I agree or disagree, I can still respect that the author has an opinion and the nuts to put it in print.

      Thank you, Will, for continuing to write articles that spark interest in history and guns.

      • Dave March 25, 2024, 4:00 pm

        More disinformation. You can tell when they accuse anybody that disagrees with using the same tactics which that themselves use. Like when they accuse Trump of killing democracy. And they redefine reasonable and calm responses in extreme terms, like “temper tantrum”. Name calling works.
        Zelensky was installed by the Obama admin for the specific purpose of starting war with Russia. Google Valerie Plame. And Dr Dabbs, either willingly or through ignorance, is playing right along.

  • JP Jones March 25, 2024, 8:44 am

    I truly hope that Ukraine triumphs over its oppressor. Remember Ukraine is not a NATO alliance country. Hopefully that will change. Money is the military might which the US has. This dosen’t change that our Seniors still struggle with lower Soc. Security payouts for 2024. Amid out of control inflation and healthcare cost. Let’s take care of those that contributed to build America into the greatest country on Earth

  • Eric March 25, 2024, 8:09 am

    Here here! Thank you Dr. Dabbs. Appreciate you standing up for what is right. It almost makes up for your support of Trump. You also never mentioned how much Trump cuddled up to Putin – just a past reference to Obama not checking him in the Crimea. So baby steps, but in the right direction. Again, nice work.

  • Solo March 25, 2024, 7:39 am

    To bad Trump wants to hand Ukraine over to Putin……….

  • 21tango March 25, 2024, 7:36 am

    That is a European war. Europe is more than just a capable opponent for Russia. They have become way to reliant on American dollars. Is Europe gonna come help secure our borders and take out the drug cartels? We are losing 150,000 people a year to a out of control drug epidemic. Europe needs to step up or Ukraine needs to have peace talks with Russia. Either way the latest polls show support for Ukraine has peaked and is now on the decline in the USA.

  • Rolf Steiner March 25, 2024, 7:25 am

    You can’t trust anything your see, hear or read nowadays… Everything is biased in some way in favor of or against someone. If true that Ukraine and the American deep state is involved in the Moscow attack, as the Russians claim, Putin knows the gravity of the situation and he will not risk NATO involvement out of emotions. He’s a calculating strategist. He would recognize that he is being provoked by the the U.S. in an attempt to justify more spending for Ukraine, or worse, direct US/NATO intervention, which only the Americans want not the European countries, who are only contributing to Ukraine because of Biden’s extortions. Europe has no stomach for war. This will not escalate beyond Ukraine’s borders.

    I will grant it is seemingly obvious, that some organized entity could have used dumb Tajik patsies as proxies to carry out the Moscow attack—textbook spook behavior—including the claims that “allegedly,” Ukraine trying to assist the terrorist in their escape.

    The evidence seemingly suggests this attack was organized by Western Intelligence services [but] evidence can be manufactured. Like I always say: “You can’t trust neither side when everyone is fighting for the promised land.”

    The truth could be that be Ukraine-CIA, MI6, MOSSAD, or some other spook entity behind attack, they all serve the same globalist masters, and share the same goal of bringing all countries under the WEF’s new world order by any means necessary.

    • Doug Reich March 25, 2024, 10:59 am

      Ditto.

    • MojoRising March 25, 2024, 11:31 am

      Once again, Dr Dabbs puts together another entertaining and thought-provoking article for Guns America. Dabbs is right, this is the best opportunity we’ve had in 30 years to bleed the tyrant Putin and his kleptocracy dry without exposing too many of our American/NATO brethren to harm. Moving surplus US equipment and arms into the front lines of Ukraine is the smart play and this strategy needs to be better advertised by the current limp-wristed administration. Putin will continue to threaten to use (or actually use) his nuclear arsenal regardless of how many conventional weapons we give Ukraine. As long as Ukrainians are willing to fight, we need to continue to feed the war machine in their favor. And, yes, this should not be allowed to escalate beyond Ukraine’s and Russia’s borders. If…and that’s a big IF… Ukraine had something to do with the recent Moscow theater attack using proxies, it’s a brilliant stroke on their part regardless of how Putin spins it or responds to it. Realistically, its highly unlikely that the US intel community had anything to do with planning it considering how weak and conflict-adverse our bumbling command-in-chief and his leftist advisors have proven to be. We’ve projected weakness in the foreign affairs arena since 2020 and our enemies and allies alike have taken notice. That’s how and when wars get started…

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