A deadly gambit over Ukraine military assistance

I’m astounded by the careless way House Speaker Mike Johnson treats the precious lives of young men and women who serve in our armed forces, especially those stationed at military bases in Louisiana.

No American wants the see the US and its young men and women sucked into another gruesome war in Europe. But that outcome is much more likely if the US House doesn’t approve more military assistance to Ukraine.

If Ukraine falls, Vladimir Putin won’t stop with Ukraine. Before long, he’ll train his sights on the former Baltic states. And that probably means a war between the West and Russia.

The best way to make sure our sons and daughters are not called to fight in Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania is to help Ukraine all we can.

Our wavering — mostly the House GOP and Donald Trump — only encourages Putin to keep pressing his attacks on Ukraine.

If Trump is elected this November, the game will be over. Trump will hand Ukraine over to Putin and that will increase the likelihood of a conflict that could destroy NATO or require our entry into another war to save Europe.

I agree with the editorial in Tuesday’s Baton Rouge Advocate:

This comment by Stuart Stevens, the former GOP media consultant who helped run Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, sums it up well:

Veteran journalist and political operative Robert Mann holds the Manship chair in mass communication and journalism at Louisiana State University. This article originally appeared on his Substack blog, Something Like the Truth. It is republished here with permission.