Idaho officials haven’t supported Ukraine’s struggle. Volunteers provide an example | Opinion
Last week, President Biden authorized Ukraine to strike Russian territory with U.S long-range missiles. Given Russia’s recent attack of 120 missiles and 90 drones on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure right before a cold winter, that is an appropriate response if Putin is ever to come to the negotiating table to end the war. It’s also a response likely to be reversed by President-elect Donald Trump currying favor with his favorite dictator.
Ukraine and Western Europe must be bracing for the worst. Trump has cozied up to the invader Putin and shows no signs of providing the required military assistance Ukraine will need to win the war or to arrive at a negotiated settlement that respects its national borders and ensures Ukrainian freedom.
We do know from Trump’s bungling the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that he moves with reckless abandon and showcases none of the “art of the deal” he brags about in his book of the same title. The peace agreement with the Taliban he negotiated for the U.S withdrawal had no enforcement mechanism to make sure the Taliban wouldn’t harbor terrorists. His disastrous Afghanistan experience, the results of which he attempted to pin on President Biden, doesn’t bode well for Ukraine.
Trump brags about his close relationship with Putin, inferring that will allow him to end the war in Ukraine. Such talk is pure folly. For all of Trump’s bravado about how he has carved out a special relationship with Putin, Trump learned recently the limits of this so-called friendship with the Russian strongman when Melania Trump’s nude photos were released on Russian TV after Trump’s victory. A not-so-subtle reminder from Putin about who’s in charge and who is the unwitting accomplice.
Trump’s unqualified pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, sure doesn’t hold out much hope for a Ukraine counting on U.S. support. A critic of NATO, Hegseth’s confusing and conflicting takes on Ukraine and Western Europe over recent years proves only that he is willing to pay homage to Trump and stand down on U.S. support for Ukraine.
Americans who live in states where there is a loyal opposition can at least hear their public officials who represent them in Washington speak out against Trump’s dreadful appointments and his reckless foreign policy instincts. Once the media picks up on rising levels of dissension from the loyal opposition, it can turn up the heat on members of the Republican majority in Congress. Those with a modicum of independence may be willing to challenge the worst inclinations of Trump, whether that be the U.S. role in Ukraine or dangerous Cabinet appointments. That seems to be playing out now with some Republican senators asking tough questions about at least one Trump appointment.
In Idaho, Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo, and Reps. Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher remain the well-trained MAGA church mice Trump requires. Just check out their websites to see where they stand on Ukraine or, more accurately, where they sit in silence. I could find nary a word of support for Ukraine, much less mention of the war. The websites of Idaho’s congressional delegation may be silent on Ukraine, but in case your avian interests are salivating for how they intend to protect the sage grouse, they’re on it. The Idaho sage grouse stands in for Ukraine on all four websites.
Trump has made it clear where he stands. During the campaign, he told MAGA rallies he could end the war in a day, a preposterous claim unless his intention is to join with his pal, Putin, and force a Russian settlement on Ukraine. Trump could threaten to withdraw critical humanitarian and technological support if President Zelensky does not comply. This is the guy with a history of extortion in Ukraine. In 2019, he pressured Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, to uncover damaging information about his top Democratic challenger in the 2020 election.
American history is rife with election outcomes proving that Americans vote for butter not guns, that is, they pay little attention to foreign policy and vote accordingly. That certainly appears to be the case with the 2024 election with the economy front and center and the war on the people of Ukraine failing to impress voters. But when strongman Putin sends armies to invade Ukraine and kills 35,000 of its citizens, 12,000 of whom are civilians, public officials have a responsibility to educate the citizenry on just how short-sighted it is to desert a nation that could become a stepping-stone for Putin to invade other allies like democratic Poland and who knows where he goes from there. And mum’s the word from the Idaho congressional delegation.
To find a place where Idahoans do respond to people in need, look no farther than Twin Falls, Idaho where volunteers have come to the rescue of war-torn Ukraine. These folks are the antithesis of Idaho’s elected officials in Washington playing dodgeball to avoid disagreeing with Trump. These volunteers rise above the partisanship of the day and declare it their civic responsibility to help those under attack from a dictator.
Twin Falls resident Rob Sturgill founded Type of Wood Charities after doing relief work in the Philippines. He and his brother Dave flew to Warsaw after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, rented vans and drove refugees from the Ukrainian border to safety. His brother, Jerry Sturgill, a Boise investment banker and 2016 candidate for the Senate seat of Senator Mike Crapo, helps the cause on the ground here in Idaho, but he did join his brothers and volunteers in Ukraine last year.
Just last week, Rob Sturgill and his fellow volunteers led another trip to Ukraine and put themselves in harm’s way. While delivering critical humanitarian aid to Dnipro, Putin attacked the city with a new intermediate-range ballistic missile. These Idaho volunteers show the kind of courage so sadly lacking among Idaho’s public officials, so afraid of differing with their fake, mystic Trump.
Boiseans are pitching in to make a difference. It’s called Idaho Humanitarian Aid for Ukraine which has a website you can visit and learn what donations can make the difference in the lives of Ukrainians struggling now to regain their livelihoods and remain free. There’s a list of essentials including non-perishable food, first aid and medical kits, baby items, survival supplies like flashlights, sleeping bags and blankets. Monetary donations are also accepted. If you want further information, you can call 208-794-4133 or visit its website at idahohumanitarianaid.org.
Idaho Humanitarian Aid for Ukraine is an extension of the Ukrainian church in Boise, The Full Gospel Slavic Church. Thanks to the lending hands of other Boise churches, companies and hospitals, container loads of humanitarian aid are sent to Ukraine. One of the supporting organizations that helps bring volunteers and goods to the effort is JustServe which posts the volunteer needs of organizations so volunteers can connect with opportunities to enhance the quality of life in communities in need.
As America’s Republican leadership turns inward and increasingly xenophobic, Idaho volunteers showcase how to serve their fellow men and women thrown headlong into a war that has radically changed their lives and threaten their nation’s future. In the absence of public officials fearless in support of freedom and democracy, I am reminded of a time when Sen. Frank Church, an internationalist who understood the role America plays in supporting democracy across the globe, stood tall for the people of Idaho. Today, it’s Idaho’s volunteers aiding Ukraine that stand the tallest among us. Find a way to join in their efforts.