Op-Ed: Risch Breaks with Trump on Ukraine
By Chuck Malloy • August 1, 2023Don’t get Idaho Sen. Jim Risch started on Ukraine.
On second thought, do. That is, if you want to see energy, passion, and a dose of common sense. Risch, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, turned a breakout session of the recent Aspen Security Forum into quite a show, and received some generous applause from global leaders in the audience.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, who shared the stage with Risch, needled the Idaho senator for displaying “low energy and limited passion” with Risch’s remarks about Ukraine. The animosity between Republicans and Democrats, that we keep hearing about, was not on full display on this day. Risch and Coons have been friends and colleagues for a long time, and they happen to agree that the U.S. should support Ukraine’s fight against Putin and Russia.
For those who may be scoring at home, Risch made the boldest statement of the session.
“The war is over as far as who’s lost,” he said. “Russia has lost. The Ukrainians haven’t won, but Russia has lost. Their objective was to occupy that country. They are never going to occupy that country. (The Ukrainians) will fight with sticks and stones in the streets, which Putin has now figured out and the rest of the world has figured out.”
Wow! Political leaders in the U.S. know something about lost causes – the withdrawal of troops in Vietnam during the ‘70s … leaving Iraq almost 20 years after President George W. Bush proclaimed that the mission was accomplished … and the embarrassing retreat from Afghanistan. Risch, for one, doesn’t want to add Ukraine to the Hall of Shame, and he offers a nice reality check to the situation.
There is some bipartisan resistance to continuing support for Ukraine. Even some Republicans in the presidential race, including former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have raised doubts about continuing support for Ukraine. Trump says he will pull U.S. support for Ukraine if he wins the presidency, which puts Risch in an awkward position. Risch avoided public disagreements with Trump during his four years in office – and the Idaho senator’s stance on Ukraine is clearly at odds with the Republican frontrunner.
For the moment, Risch and Coons – as voices of reason — are telling their colleagues that now is not the time to pull away.
“We have not only a moral obligation to do this, we’ve got a legal obligation to do this,” Risch said. “One of the most important reasons is if you think Xi (China’s leader) isn’t watching every single thing that goes on as far as our commitment to the see this though, you’re badly mistaken. He is watching this – and I have reason to believe that for a fact – very, very closely, and watching every utterance that comes out of the United States Congress, out of the administration, and out of the American people as to what kind of a stomach we’ve got to see this thing through.”
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Risch says give Ukrainians cluster bombs and all the ammunition they need, short of nuclear weapons.
“I’m tired of hearing about escalation,” he said. “If you don’t escalate, you’re going to lose. I want Putin to wake up in the morning worried about what he’s going to do that’s going to cause us to escalate, instead of us wringing our hands and saying, ‘we can’t do that.’”
As Risch sees it, the U.S. should do everything in its power to stop Putin. When it’s over, he says, the Russians should pay.
“It’s easy to say ‘oh, this is Putin’s war.’ I have no doubt that when Putin’s gone, Russia’s going to say that this was his war, it was a terrible mistake, we had nothing to do with it,” Risch said. “The Ukrainians are not going to buy that. They’re going to insist that the Russian people pay the price for this.”
First, Putin will have to admit defeat – which is a tall order. It’s safe to say that the Russian dictator won’t be reading memos from Risch anytime soon.
Chuck Malloy is a long-time Idaho journalist and columnist. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com
This Op-Ed was submitted by Chuck Malloy. Op-Eds do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of those at the Idaho Dispatch.
Tags: Aspen Security Forum, Democrats, Donald Trump, Republicans, Ron DeSantis, Russia, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Chris Coons, Senator Jim Risch, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin
There is no US interest in arming Ukrainian people, we need to stop sending billions of hard earned tax dollars to this cause. I am in complete disagreement with Risch on this matter!
I gave up on Risch long ago. Just establishment drool non stop. The article writer is dead wrong too. Russia is on the right side of history in this one. Our “leadership” is nothing but demons
Risch is dishonest regarding Russia/Ukraine. Russia never wanted to occupy Ukraine and anyone asserting such a claim is ignorant at best.
What is Puttin’s rationale for starting this war if it’s not for Ukraine occupying?
Are you aware of the genocide that has been going on in Ukraine since 2014? The Ukrainian people are from the same stock as the Russian people. Remember their shared history. The illegitimate government (installed with the help of our intelligence services) has demonized, then victimized their Russian fellow citizens as the “enemy of the people.” Now it is trying to become one of the last countries bordering Russia to join NATO. The only other country is Belorussia that is not in NATO. Just what did you expect Russia to do in the face of this threat? Wait for a Pearl Harbor style attack? We didn’t accept missiles in Cuba but we expect the Russians to accept more and more NATO nations at its border. Remember, Zelenski is a puppet of the WEF globalist elites. Biden and his handlers are hell-bent on starting WWIII and we are waving flags of support. Wake up! Just what American interests are served by such “foriegn entanglements”, as George Washington warned about?
Is Risch this dumb or dishonest? Either way, we lose with a fool or a snake.
Money laundering, bribery,, biolabs, child trafficking, ya, let’s support ukraine with everything we’ve got. Rich is just another common Rino.
Preach it!
you nailed it!
100%
Risch should retire. He is just another rhino in republican clothes. Why doesn’t he go over there and fight if he believes it’s the right thing to do? Most Republicans I know think he is worthless.
Risch was headed to Davos, until he learned that it would be viewed badly for him. But he wanted to be there. Bad sign.
It’s all about priorities, and putting billions of American dollars in Ukraine is not in our interest.
Risch happily threw our legitimate President under the bus when the election was stolen. He still supports the steal. He is a RINO / Neo-Con / Deep State traitor. Of course he supports the globalist war against Russia. Idaho deserves much better than this clown.
Amen!
Don’t get me started on pussy “journalists” like Chuck Malloy. Why this news outlet publishes his blather is beyond me.
We shouldn’t be wasting any money on Ukraine. Russia is NOT going to lose this fight. The ethnic Russians in Ukraine want to be part of Russia.
Agreed! Chuck Malloy is nothing but a hack. He should not have a platform on this site as we are not interested in liars! What a waste of my time! The District of Criminals is so populated we should just move the wall there and lock all of them up! Never to return! Council on Foreign Relations is an organization that has destroyed this country and Risch was leader of it during Trump’s Presidency!
Thanks Jim for honoring our moral commitment to Ukraine. Putin has lost the war and Russia should be held accountable for the unnecessary destruction of civilian targets and Russian war crimes. Senator Risch is not as liberal as some of his critics.
I’m sorry, did you mean to say Russia has lost the war in Ukraine? That is just not factually true. Think about it. Russia has no chance of losing a war against Ukraine any more than the US would lose a war with Mexico. This is a proxy war the global elites are using to cover their criminal enterprises in Ukraine and start WWIII. In the process, the Ukrainian people are devastated. Keep poking the nuclear armed bear, Brandon.
Here are some inconvenient facts about Ukraine:
1) The CIA and FBI listed Ukraine as #1 on the list of most corrupt countries in the world. Yep – even over such stalwarts as China.
2) The Democratic Party has been doing business in Ukraine for >20 years. And it wasn’t just the Bidens. The DNC Chair got caught in Ukraine. Couple that with #1 and…
3) Zelensky’s prior job (before becoming President of Ukraine) was as porn star and comedian. How does someone like that become President? See #1, #2.
4) Zelensky is a full-blown Fascist. This has been exposed even as mainstream media were instructed to only take photos of Ukrainian soldiers from a preferred side so as to hide the insignia on their uniforms.
5) Ukraine has lost >80% of its fighting force. Those who say Russia has lost are usually ignorant of this fact. The only thing keeping Ukraine in this is NATO weaponry.
6) The US CIA admitted in a Senate hearing that they were operating at least EIGHT covert “medical research facilities” in Ukraine. In reality these were biowarfare labs, some not more than 50 miles from Russia’s border. And we have fits when China attempts to build them in Cuba…
7) NATO was warned repeatedly 20 years ago that if the US meddled in Ukraine or offered them NATO protection Russia would go to war.
8) Obama ignored Putin’s original occupation of the Crimea (Northern Ukraine). Why are Democrats so hell-bent on fighting Putin now?
9) As a result of our funding of Ukraine, the US is now critically low on land warfare munitions. Which benefits China in a potential invasion of Taiwan…
Risch is wrong. We need to drop out of this fight. We should have never been in it in the first place.
Where is Risch in defense of US borders? Our debt continues to escalate. Our strategic oil supplies used for domestic purposes. Our arms and ammunition donated to a foreign war that has sent Russia toward a China partnership. Meanwhile, illegal aliens, many of which are cartel criminals, flood our country…bankrupting cities and services meant for citizens.
Joe Biden is corrupted by his Ukraine dealings, this cannot be hidden any longer. Applause by the globalists for Risch?…. I see as a sign of the Senator’s loyalties and it is not America.
The only American ‘interests’ in Ukraine are bio labs and money laundering ….
Not ONE single American should die over that …….
Risch is compromised or dumber than he_ll… Send HIS kids over ……
No sane American could support Ukraine, with its fascist puppet government installed via Color Revolution and its open acceptance and alliance with Naziism and Nazi military units.
Only three reasons Risch would support them:
1) He truly is an idiot and gets all of his ‘news’ from CNN.
2) He is owned by his bankrollers in the defense industry.
3) Risch has…(ahem)…’business interests’ in Ukraine that we are not aware of YET.
There is no rational or logical reason for our current government to be so obsessed with Ukraine, a country on the other side of the planet, the most corrupt country on the planet, and a country that harbors no visible strategic no economic importance to the U.S. whatsoever other than being on Russia’s border.
No, people like Risch are terrified that the world will find out what’s actually been going on in Ukraine all these years (and what they are implicated in…) and they are desperate to keep it hidden.
Risch sounds like a California politician. I sould know, I am a political refuge. These types have no problem sacrificing your family or friends, but not theirs.
Risch is full of crap with his support for Ukraine. I’m sure that he and every politician who agrees with him get plenty of funding from the military weapons industry which is profiting from this war.
The USA has been protecting Europe from the Russians since 1945. It’s time to make solving our own problems in our own country a priority rather than trying to be Supreme Guardians of the World. Let Europeans solve their own problems.
THE REASON MOST OF THE POLITICIANS ARE FOR THE WAR, AND NOTHING IS BEING DONE ALONG WITH ALL THE CORRUPTION IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN PAYED OFF , BLACK MAILED AND THREATEN. THE SYSTEM HAS BEEN BROKEN FOR A LONG TIME. THE OLD SAYING IF YOU CANT BEAT IT JOIN IT . ADD ALL THE MONEY LOBBYISTS PAY THE POLITICIANS YOU HAVE THE PERFECT STORM. ITS ALL COMING TO A HEAD. I AM A NOBODY AND MY THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE ALL MINE. JUST TIRED OF ALL THE LIES AND CORRUPTION BY THE FEDS, STATE, AND LOCAL OFFICIALS WHO WERE SUPPOSE TO BE SUPPORTING WE THE PEOPLE.
He makes a very strong case for term limits because the primaries are fixed in Idaho…
These pos politicians keep stealing our income and redistributing it to foreign nations, corrupt corporations , the military and its constant wars without profit, the $pecial interests and the parasite classes. When will the dumbed down
Tv watchers get tired on having their incoime stolen?