Ted Dwyer in "Spectator Australia" has asked why Australia has bet the house on the U.S./NATO involvement in Ukraine.

There are few innocent parties in Ukraine today — an undeclared civil war has been simmering for this whole century.

Since the Mongol destruction of Kiev in 1240, almost everyone has invaded Ukraine — its flat fertile lands and mineral resources attract plunderers.  Russia's Catherine the Great annexed the Crimea in 1783 and established the Black Sea Fleet.  Ukraine was one of the founding Soviet Republics in 1922, and Russian is the mother tongue for several areas of Ukraine.  Modern Ukraine was founded in 1992, when the Soviet Union collapsed, but Russian areas like Luhansk and Donetsk refused to be a part of Ukraine.  They said they "were and always would be Russian."

Russia has seen NATO as a threat for decades — it has expanded from its 12 founders in 1949 to 30 members plus 40 "Security Partners" today — always creeping closer to Russia.

Australia has no vital interests in Ukraine and should not get embroiled in a messy foreign quarrel.  Sending Australian bushmasters into Ukraine will prove as futile as sending the British Light Brigade into Crimea against Russia in 1854.

What is happening in Ukraine today is absolutely awful, but it will not be helped by sending more weapons.

There are only two possible solutions — total defeat of one side, or separation of the warring parties.  We need to remember the lessons of the two Koreas, the two Irelands, the two Chinas, and India and the two Pakistans — partition may be the only humane way of bringing peace to Ukraine.

Tit-for-tat harassment of "oligarchs" on both sides helps nothing — just sells newspapers.

Australian politicians have made enemies of two very powerful nations, one of whom is our biggest customer.  These two Eurasian giants, Russia and China, control all the vast resource-rich lands from the Black Sea to the Sea of Japan.  They have entered a formal alliance, and they have potent allies.  And unlike the green-power warriors "defending" Australia, they have nuclear weapons and use powerful and reliable nuclear energy.

Both Russia and China are key members of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and of the new G8, which comprises China, India, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Iran, and Turkey.

Australia, USA, and the U.K. have always been friends and allies, and this will continue.  But sometimes friends do foolish things, and they should be warned.  Getting involved in a complex and largely domestic dispute in Ukraine is one of those times.

As Ted Dwyer says, "Australia now has a target on its back."

While Aukus is distracted by Ukraine, China is making no secret of its aggressive intentions to invade peaceful, democratic, and united Taiwan.  Their treatment of dissidents in Hong Kong shows what they plan for Taiwan.

Taiwan deserves Australia's support.  Ukraine is an ocean too far.

And unless we dump Net Zero Nonsense, we will soon be defenseless in a hostile world.

Image: Publicdomainvectors.org.

Image: Publicdomainvectors.org.