When the dictatorial hand of Saddam Hussein outstretched itself toward the solitary nation of Kuwait, President George H.W. Bush famously declared in a powerful speech on the White House Lawn that “This aggression…will not stand.” The United Nations Security Council immediately passed a wave of sanctions waning Iraq’s influence in international bodies and the world economy, and President Bush and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher placed a call to the world that a grand coalition was to be formed to save the nation of Kuwait from Hussein’s unprovoked aggression. 

What followed was a coalition of thirty-seven nations, united in just cause against a brutal dictator. This sent a clear and powerful message: America would lead the free world against oppression abroad. Consequently, the first Gulf War was started and ended and Kuwait was liberated all in the span of one hundred hours.

Now, as I correctly predicted in my article published on February 11th, Vladimir Putin has invaded Ukraine and the Western world has gone from perpetuating peace through strength to a complete reverse of war through weakness. Joe Biden has eagerly, naively, and in an asinine manner completely diminished America’s energy independence, leading to Russia becoming the number one natural gas exporter and second-largest crude oil exporter. 

I am sure the Russians tremble with anger at the carbon emissions their tanks exude as they storm across the plains of Eastern Europe because harebrained John Kerry has said Russia must make sure they do not distract themselves from “combating climate change.” I am sure Vladimir Putin is roused every night seized with fear of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses.

However, unlike the spineless cowards on whom we spent $2.26 trillion arming Kabul, the Ukrainians have not fled their country and are holding their own quite impressively against the Russian hordes. Putin has met fierce resistance from soldiers and civilians alike, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has refused to be evacuated by the United States and has called for more ammunition – he has distributed 20,000 automatic weapons to his citizens.

The Ukrainians have fought back viciously against the Russian forces, often inflicting massive casualties through ambushes and more coordinated assaults. A Ukrainian pilot nicknamed the ‘Ghost of Kyiv’ reportedly downed six Russian aerial vehicles in thirty hours, making him the first Ukrainian ace since WWII.

And yet our action, as the leader of the Free World, has been lackluster, thoroughly disappointing, and concerning. Joe Biden has been projecting weakness since the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan and our adversaries now look eagerly at the next three years they have to run wild. 

Biden made the ultimate blunder when in a press conference on January 19th, he stated that, “I think what you’re going to see is that Russia will be held accountable if it invades. And it depends on what it does. It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do.” His failure to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine and uphold the promise of protection we granted them in 1994 in exchange for nuclear disarmament shows the worthlessness of this administration’s word.

Unfortunately, most Americans have no interest in challenging Putin now – despite the fact that it appears obvious, yet is disregarded, that we will be drawn into conflict with him at some point. When Vladimir Putin began threatening nuclear strikes – it should have drawn a proclamation from the three nuclear powers, the United States, United Kingdom, and the French Republic, that any nuclear attack on Ukraine or Europe would be met in kind. 

Threatening Finland and Sweden should have resulted in an immediate invitation to NATO for these two nations, and we must continue to ensure that everyone contributes the defense requirements expected of NATO countries – at minimum 2% of GDP. With these actions completed, we should also move a significant amount of our forces in Europe to the Baltics and Poland, so that we are not dependent on the whims of the Germans, who are dependent on Russian gas, to allow us access to provide relief to an ally.

We must switch our focus to defeating the communists in China and despots in Russia by re-emerging as the sole global power; by achieving energy independence and becoming the net exporter in every category – critically in nuclear, natural gas, and oil-based energy. Instead of a government focusing on COVID-related subjugation such as firing members of the armed forces who refuse to take the vaccine, fixating on federal mask mandates, and a stubborn refusal to let go of a beaten horse, we should instead focus our efforts and rhetoric on real issues. 

The United States purchases 538,000 barrels of oil a day paying, as of mid-February, 5.7 million to the Russian government on a daily basis. We should not be enriching our enemies, we should be flooding the global markets with American energy and crippling the oligarchs and companies that enable Vladimir Putin’s schemes.

Instead of splurging on reckless spending packages full of more big government welfare that would discourage work and feed inflation, crippling our already fragile economy, we should instead spend the trillion-dollar package on modernizing our navy – which would create thousands of union jobs that would contribute to a more broad tax base, generating more revenue for our spending. 

After leaving the Middle East, we must increase our defense spending to roughly 5% of our GDP to account for serious threats such as China, Iran, and Russia. There cannot be an acceptance of any ceiling of spending in the interest of America’s defense and security.

Lastly, we must also begin to accept that we are in a global crisis against two nations who do not see themselves content with being mere competitors of America, but who desire complete and utter domination of the world sphere. Mitt Romney proclaimed in 2012 that Russia was ‘our greatest geopolitical adversary’ and Democrats, especially President Obama, laughed hysterically. 

We are in a new cold war, and unlike the last one, Russia and China have both aligned against us, and we must learn to conjure our influence on nations such as India, Japan, and the Philippines in Asia to ensure that the influence of Beijing does not spread to our doorstep. We must end the ridiculous war on fossil fuels being perpetrated by this administration with its restrictions on drilling and leasing of federal land. If Republicans truly want to lower the price at the pump, secure our influence in the world and deter Putin, we should heed the words of an amusing Alaskan: “Drill baby drill!”