Many polls show that support for Ukraine is dwindling among conservatives. However, a letter published by the conservative foreign policy group Vandenberg Coalition of more than 100 conservative generals, national security experts, former members of Congress, and academics encourages congressional Republicans to support Ukraine.

The letter is timely as it follows the House GOP's decision to curtail funding to Kyiv. While it is understandable that many conservatives resist supporting Ukraine altogether, that is not in the best interest of U.S. national security.

Among the national security consultants signed are former Trump administration officials like Russian Ambassador John Sullivan, former VA secretary Robert Wilkie, and former Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger.

The opening paragraph reads: "As conservatives, we are committed to the principle advanced by all Republican presidents since Eisenhower that the best way to keep America safe is to keep America strong.” He continues, "America’s material support to Ukraine is degrading the war machine of Russia… Efforts to stop our aid to Ukraine could lead to a Russian battlefield victory, with catastrophic effects for American security. Putin would eye the next stage of the Russian empire’s restoration, and China would have a green light to take Taiwan.”

The letter criticizes the Biden Administration for "half measures that have cost lives and time."  While many on the populist Right believe that aid to Ukraine drives up our deficits and contributes to the national debt when that money could spent domestically, the numbers do not support this claim.

Since the start of the war in 2022, the U.S. has authorized $113 billion in military aid to Ukraine. Simply put, that is $900 per household, which seems like a lot; however, that is a small sum compared to domestic spending programs. The CARES Act passed in 2020 due to the pandemic cost $2 trillion, roughly $15,600 for every household. The total U.S. debt is around $33 trillion. That cost per household is around $256,000. The $900 billion for Ukraine only makes 1 percent of debt per household.

COVID spending was around $5 trillion, which is more significant than Ukraine's spending per household. The total defense budget is $816.7 billion, and U.S. spending for Ukraine is less than 10 percent of that budget. For context, European countries surrounding Ukraine, like Latvia, Estonia, and Norway, are making more significant financial commitments related to their economy. It is a good bargain, considering we are not sending American troops or raising taxes on American families.

A good portion of U.S. aid provides intelligence, military training, and defense weaponry. Providing Ukraine with abundant arms allows the U.S. to outsource unused military assets like F-16s and tanks and replenish its arsenal with new, state-of-the-art weaponry, which provides jobs for our manufacturing sector and helps with the U.S. supply chain to strengthen the economy. So Ukraine keeps knocking out our mutual foe, Russia, while the U.S. can maintain its top spot worldwide.

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Trump Administration Carrie Filipetti believes that the Vandenberg Coalition, of which she is the executive director, did the right thing by publishing a letter supporting Ukraine aid. It shows that a conservative win in 2024 will not give Putin “a green light for continued assault.”

Historically, it is Republican administrations that have succeeded at deterring totalitarian aggression on the world stage with military aid. Fifty years ago, President Richard Nixon intervened in the Yom Kippur War, which saw Israel beat Egypt. It resulted in the largest airlift in U.S. history and brought U.S. nuclear forces to DEFCON 3 to keep Soviet Russia from interfering. The war lasted 18 days and cost the U.S. less than $3 billion while Israel kept all its territory.

Similarly, President Reagan introduced the Reagan Doctrine to aid those willing to fight against Soviet aggression. When Soviet Russia invaded Afghanistan, the Reagan Administration provided the Afghans what would be now $11 billion adjusted for inflation, which enmeshed the Soviet army in a quagmire and led to the USSR’s eventual dissolution without America firing a bullet.

If the U.S. supports the Ukrainian people and provides the needed funding, Russia will retreat from occupied cities and lose the war. Republicans in Congress and the leading Republican candidates for 2024 must remember that support for Ukraine does not reinforce a Biden foreign-policy initiative but underlines his lack of coherent strategy and American weakness, allowing aggression to succeed. Republicans must own the aid issue to Ukraine to show that they can be for America First and against totalitarianism abroad.

Image: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine