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Dirt in a Ukrainian Sandstorm
“The American people want to know!”
The speaker was a Republican congressman, and he was mansplaining what justified threatening the Ukrainian president with having to face Russian tanks without American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles.
The Javelins, once they have the infrared signature of a target, will pursue the target without further guidance and attack a tank from the top, where the armor is thinnest. The real boon to the infantryman confronting a tank is the feature it shares with the Israeli Spike: “fire and forget.” I use the scare quotes because I’m skeptical that somebody who has just fired a Spike or a Javelin really forgets it, but the ability to take cover or move on to acquire another target is no doubt appreciated.
In addition to the Javelins, the Ukrainian president wanted direct and public contact with the American president, preferably a face-to-face visit. The objective was to advise the world that U.S. policy to take the Ukrainian side against Russia had not changed.
Why would anybody think otherwise?
First, there was the mysterious change in the Republican Party platform from pro-Ukraine to pro-Russia. No Republican convention delegate serving on the platform committee would own up to causing or even favoring the change. Post-convention theories…
