Join the War Party as a Progressive “Restrainer”

Ro Khanna and his ilk have suddenly forgotten that restraint doesn’t stop at the Dnieper. The post Progressive ‘Restrainers’ Join the War Party appeared first on The American Conservative.

Rep. Ro Khanna (a California Democrat) spoke this week on her podcast bad faith. She was joined by Briahna Joy Grey, a redoubtable American woman in foreign policy circles. With the great powers, the burden is more on the United States than it does to another great power.

Khanna believes that the Biden administration’s engagement in Ukraine has been “judicious.” He also believes that it is very consistent with the policy recommended last October by the ill-fated Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Advertisement

Joe Biden, peacemaker. Who knew?

Khanna was among the few representatives who understood, and even rarer, made an effort, what was really happening in eastern Ukraine back before Trump’s bogeyman destroyed the brains of progressive liberals. Khanna was even able to voice his disapproval of the U.S. government’s involvement in the “rehabilitation and spread of Neo-Nazis” in Ukraine. This was undoubtedly due to the influence of his chief foreign-policy aide, who is now a pro-restraint advocacy organization.

Khanna has had the opportunity to hire foreign policy experts to his team in the years since. Instead of doing so, he chose to go the traditional route. His current chief of staff is connected to the prointerventionist think tank CNAS.

This is what Vermont’s Senator Bernie Sanders does: he pretends ignorance about Ukraine when asked. He did this in a BBC interview, where he lamely said, “It’s no issue that I have been heavily involved in, however, I support the president’s actions.”

His ignorance may not be completely feigned. A friend of mine, who is now sadly gone, visited D.C. in the lead-up to Sanders’ 2016 campaign to discuss economic issues with Sanders. Was he critical of the progressive standard bearer or was he just a naive? “An idiot.”

Advertisement

Progressive restrainers are now weak at the knees in support of President Zelensky of Ukraine and are willing to fight for this war. Worse, progressive restrainers are trying to convince others and themselves that the U.S. is a dog in the conflict. This fight amounts to a dispute about borders.

These “restrainers”, as they are called, have repeatedly downplayed significant risks of escalation, huge and burdensome economic cost to us and our European allies, as well the real process of global economy’s dedollarization. They also fail to recognize that the world has changed under their feet, partly due to President Biden’s refusal of negotiations prior to the Russian invasion in February.

Europe is far from united over the conflict. China just launched a new era in multipolarity by brokering the reestablishment diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. True, the war has effectively isolated Russia from Western civilization. The West, as defined by Europe and Anglosphere, is now isolated from the rest. This is Halford Mackinder’s nightmare becoming a reality. Russia and China, thanks to the contingencies in war, are well on their way to consolidating control over the “world island” Eurasia.

Did those who started the process under Obama, accelerated under Biden by the same claque climbers, and careerists, of pushing Russia into China’s orbit, not realize that this could have the potential to backfire spectacularly.

However, there is a veritable parade claiming to be progressive “restrainers”. They have, just like Trump’s mainstream liberals, joined hands with some of the most reckless elements in Washington, including the Clinton-aligned military interventionsists and the neoconservatives.

If someone says something like, “I was against Vietnam, Iraq, and American overreach generally, but now I have a moral imperative for Ukraine and defeat Russia,” actual advocates for foreign policy restraint need to take notice and remember that Rushmore line: “With friends such as you, who needs friends?”

More Stories

Read More
Stay informed by joining TruthRow

24/7 coverage from 1000+ journalists. Subscriber-exclusive events. Unmatched political and international news.

You can cancel anytime