‘Give Diplomacy a Chance’: GOP Congresswoman Nancy Mace Comes Out Against Sending US Troops to War in Ukraine
Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina is warning against a possible U.S. war with Russia over its looming invasion of Ukraine.
The Republican observed in a recent Post and Courier op-ed, “Washington is beating the war drums again — this time for a war in Ukraine that Congress hasn’t authorized and the American people don’t want.”
Mace says the U.S. has no national interest in this fight. She also questioned why Washington leaders are so eager to protect Ukraine’s border when securing the U.S.’s southern border should be the priority.
“The U.S. military should not yet be inserted into Ukraine to defend Ukraine’s border with Russia when we have our own border to worry about,” Mace wrote.
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“But instead of focusing on the issue of national security on our southern border, the Biden administration has decided to put 8,500 troops on heightened alert for a possible deployment to Eastern Europe,” she noted.
Former President Donald Trump has made this same point.
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Mace had hoped the Biden administration would be smarter than to deploy troops to the region.
“I was hopeful President Biden would lead with greater diplomacy and show restraint in foreign affairs,” Mace wrote. “As someone who represents a district with multiple military bases and who has several family members in the military, I know well the profound personal impact the decision to ramp up to war footing has on the lives of our military service members.”
The libertarian-leaning congresswoman also observed, “The Constitution states that Congress alone has the authority to decide if we go to war. Unfortunately, from Syria to Somalia to Niger, Republicans and Democrats alike have played a role in eroding Congress’ authority.”
Mace said that not only is Ukraine not worth risking American lives, China is a potential foe we should be focused on.
“Regardless of whether we think Ukraine should become a NATO member, is it really worth one drop of American blood?” asked Mace. “And if we enter that war, what might China do to our friends and allies in the Indo-Pacific region while our attention is turned elsewhere?”
That said, Mace does have sympathy for the plight of the Ukranian people in the face of unwarranted Russian aggression.
“A real solution is to give diplomacy a chance,” she suggested. “Keep Ukraine out of NATO, urge Putin to respect international boundaries and issue a credible threat: If Russia invades Ukraine, then the United States and Europe will embargo all Russian fossil fuels.”
Mace’s warning against US military intervention into Ukraine echoes what other conservatives, including popular Fox News’ host Tucker Carlson, have said about Ukraine not being worth American sacrifice. This contrasts with the Washington establishment, including many Republican politicians, who seem eager for military action in the region on behalf of Ukraine.
Politico reported this week on neoconservative-leaning Republicans pushing for war being irritated by Carlson’s nightly anti-war monologues.
Mace also joins fellow liberty Republican Sen. Rand Paul in saying no war over Ukraine.
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Paul wrote in an op-ed in late January, “It is no secret that I have had a lot of foreign policy disagreements with the bipartisan War Caucus in Washington D.C. during my time in office. From Iraq to Syria, and Yemen to Afghanistan, it seems that there is always a war they want to be in.”
“I was heartened when President Trump spoke of stopping our ‘endless wars’ and I was hoping for more restraint from President Biden,” Paul said. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t his history and it doesn’t seem to be his current direction. The endless wars are ramping up again even as I write today.”
Paul cited the dangerousness of the current military build-up, similar to Mace.
“The war-as-first-resort crowd, including the Biden Administration, put 8,500 troops on heightened alert for possible deployment to Eastern Europe,” Paul wrote. “Folly best describes the idea of sending a small contingent off to a potentially big war. This mistake was made in Syria and elsewhere in recent years…”
“Ukraine should not and cannot be our problem to solve,” Paul insisted. “It is not our place to defend them in a struggle with their longtime adversary, Russia.”
“There is no national security interest for the United States,” the senator said.
It sounds like Nancy Mace, and many other “America First” Republicans, agree.
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