Heroes and Villians

Imagine yourself as the head of a state in peril. Invaders are at the gate of your capital city determined to imprison or kill you. Your supposed allies from abroad are bailing out. In the lyric from “Les Miserables”. “You’re on your own. You have no friends. Give up your guns or die.”

If you are Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, you transfer all your assets to an overseas bank and charter a plane to your estate in the UAE leaving your nation leaderless. Not surprisingly, the Afghan Army collapsed in a matter of days. “Yo, Taliban. Take this rifle. Never fired. Only dropped once.”

If you are Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, you remain in Kyiv. You reject a free ride to the US. Your Army stands up to the invaders BECAUSE YOU DID. Civilians volunteer en masse to defend their homes. You are, indeed, on your own. NATO air power and troops are not coming to rescue you. Frankly, 150,000 Russian troops are headed to Kyiv with the sole purpose of killing or capturing you, declaring victory, and installing a “friendly” replacement.

When the history of the 21st century is written, Zelenskyy will be one of its great heroes. Karzai will be a villain.

America invested hundreds of billions of dollars and 4,000 lives in Afghanistan. After twenty years, it fell back into a hostile theocracy. America invested a few billion (partially withheld by The Former Guy) in weapons and zero lives in Ukraine. Its people are currently fighting for democracy. We should choose the leaders that we support more wisely.

By Ed Dufton