West must remain the arsenal of democracy in Ukraine

William Faulkner famously wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” The recent Republican presidential candidate debate proves that he was correct, as many participants demonstrated a profound misunderstanding of the current reality provoked by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Let’s review the past.

In September 1931, Imperial Japan seized Manchuria and annexed it. The world did nothing.

In January 1933, Adolf Hitler was named chancellor of Germany. He wasted no time in taking over the government of Germany and outlawing other political parties. His regime began its oppression of minorities and members of the outlawed political parties. Concentration camps were opened. The world did nothing.

In March 1936, Hitler marched troops into the Rhineland, which had been demilitarized as condition of Imperial Germany’s capitulation to the Treaty of Versailles. France and the United Kingdom were unprepared and did not respond to this defiant act of aggression.

In July 1937, Imperial Japan invaded China, with no strong resistance from the world, even as reports of hideous atrocities kept appearing.

In March 1938, Hitler annexed and militarily occupied the Federal State of Austria. The United Kingdom and France did not react forcibly again.

In September 1938, Hitler forcibly seized the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia, with the complicity of France and the United Kingdom.

In September 1939, Hitler invaded Poland and the world became involved in the most vicious war in history.

Up to the time that the Second World War began, the United States had followed an isolationist and non-interventionist policy. Recognizing that the U.S. would eventually be pulled into the war if Britain was defeated, President Roosevelt made his famous Arsenal of Democracy speech in December 1940, in which he pledged that the U.S. would support the warring democracies with weapons to resist the fascist countries.

The United States was propelled into the world war on December 7, 1941.

This series of slow, daring annexations with increasingly dangerous escalation is occurring again. It was begun by Vladimir Putin and the same international response pattern is developing.

Vladimir Putin became president of Russia in 1999.

In December 1999, Russia invaded and savaged Chechnya. The world looked on.

In August 2008, Russia invaded the Republic of Georgia and seized territory. The West responded by brokering a peace treaty that was greatly in Russia’s favor.

Vladimir Putin continued to accrue total power.

In February 2014, Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine and annexed it in March 2014. The attempted seizure of eastern Ukraine began in March 2014. The West responded with sanctions.

In February 2022, Putin invaded Ukraine with the expressed intention of annexing the country. This time, the West responded by supplying weapons as well as sanctions. Supplying weapons has helped Ukraine defend itself. This decision occurred without the occurrence of another world war as the reason to supply help.

On Wednesday August 23, it was déjà vu all over again. The profound ignorance of history and lack of critical thinking skills was on full display at the Republican presidential candidates debate. Calls for stopping supplies to Ukraine for domestic reasons, or trading land for peace, ignore what eventually happened when these options were tried in the 1930s. This time, the West has been the arsenal of democracy before a world war has started, and with the recognition that this is the better act against aggression. Putin will not stop with land he has seized thus far. He has made clear his intentions to annex the whole country, and has suggested that other now independent states, many of which are NATO members, should be brought back into control by Russia.

Any presidential or congressional hopeful who advocate stopping the support for Ukraine has no business being in our government.

The governor and the Florida Legislature want to sanitize history that is taught in our schools. Current events show that a lack of knowledge about history produces presidential candidates like we saw in Milwaukee.

Michael F. Finkel, M.D., of Naples practiced adult and child neurology for 40 years, including Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic appointments. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, a Fellow of the Florida Society of Neurology, and a retired member of the Child Neurology Society.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: West must remain the arsenal of democracy in Ukraine