Pat Buchanan

: By Pat Buchanan; Published: 18 March 2022

Speaking to Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for many things from the United States.

He wants us to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine. He wants the Soviet-era MiGs that NATO allies (from their Warsaw Pact days) have in their arsenals. He wants Russian-made S-300 antiaircraft systems in NATO inventories transferred to Kyiv.

He wants the U.S. to sanction every Russian official who does not repudiate this war on Ukraine. He wants all U.S. companies to pull out of Russia. He wants all Russian-made goods kept out of U.S. markets.

In short, Zelenskyy wants the U.S. as a full-fledged ally in Ukraine's war against the Russian invaders.

: By Pat Buchanan; Published: 17 March 2022

In an interview with Reuters, Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman for decades, made a startling offer. Moscow could end the Ukraine war immediately, said Peskov, if four conditions were met.

Ukraine should cease all military action, recognize Crimea as part of Russia, accept the independence of the Luhansk and Donetsk separatist enclaves, and enact a constitutional commitment to "neutrality," which would prevent Ukraine from ever joining NATO.

Were this to be done, said Peskov, the war "will stop in a moment."

As this would restore the situation in Ukraine to the "status quo ante" that existed before Putin ordered the invasion, Peskov's offer seemed not to be believable.

: By Pat Buchanan; Published: 11 March 2022

When several NATO nations revealed that they had dozens of Russian-made MiG-29s, the idea arose to fly them to Ukraine and turn them over to Ukrainian pilots familiar with the MiGs.

America would provide F-16s to replace the MiGs.

Poland had an even better idea. Warsaw would fly its 27 MiG fighter jets to the U.S. Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. The planes would be turned over to the Americans there, repainted and flown to Ukraine.

How to get the MiGs to Ukraine's pilots would be left to the Americans.

: By Pat Buchanan; Published: 08 March 2022

After Friday's NATO summit refused to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the allies' failure to "close the skies" to Russian military aircraft gives "a green light for further bombing of Ukrainian cities."

"All the people who will die starting from this day will ... die because of you," said Zelensky to NATO, "because of your weakness."

Zelensky's indictment of NATO for cowardice came after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ruled out a no-fly zone:

"NATO is not party to the conflict. NATO is a defensive alliance. ... We don't seek war, conflict with Russia. ... We should not have NATO planes operating over Ukrainian airspace or NATO troops on Ukrainian territory."

: By Pat Buchanan; Published: 06 March 2022

When Hungarian rebels arose in 1956 to overthrow the Communist regime imposed by Joseph Stalin, President Dwight Eisenhower refused to send U.S. forces to aid the Hungarians.

Ike would not take America to war with Russia over a small country in Central Europe.

While the Hungarians were heroic and inspirational, Hungary was neither a member of NATO nor a vital U.S. interest. Moreover, it was on the Soviet side of the Yalta line dividing Europe, and agreed to by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill at Yalta in 1945.

For similar reasons today, President Joe Biden has refused to send U.S. troops, ships or planes to attack Russian forces invading Ukraine.

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Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of a new book, "Nixon's White House Wars: The Battles That Made and Broke a President and Divided America Forever." To find out more about Patrick Buchanan and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators website at www.creators.com.
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