Suppose you support Ukraine, but not the way the war is being fought – but also want to see Russian President Vladimir Putin clearly and unequivocally defeated. How do you solve this problem?

Perhaps look back to the fall of South Vietnam 50 years ago for some context and guidance.

Leaving aside the missed opportunities in the early stages of both battles, Ukraine today is reminiscent of the final phase of the Vietnam War.

A CIA employee helps Vietnamese evacuees board an Air America helicopter from the top of 22 Gia Long Street, half a mile from the U.S. Embassy, ​​during the U.S. evacuation of Saigon in April 1975.

The Americans were fed up.

Russia launches another major missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure

It wasn’t conducted in a way that seemed sensible or likely to result in victory (and hasn’t been for some time).

And the United States itself was plagued by social and economic problems in the early 1970s.

So the USA and especially Congress – including Senator Joe Biden (“We have no obligation to help these people”) – allowed South Vietnam to collapse.

It turned out that with just a reasonable level of support, the South Vietnamese could have held out indefinitely until the rest of Southeast Asia came together and strengthened its economies and political structures.

Instead, we cut them off…while Henry Kissinger passive-aggressively begged the North Vietnamese for a deal.

And we did it everything that followed the fall of Saigon – and we are still paying for it.

What does President-elect Donald Trump’s victory mean for the US amid the war between Russia and Ukraine?

Remember what happened after the enslavement of South Vietnam – including “re-education camps” and mass executions by the North Vietnamese communists.

The “Boat People” tragedies when South Vietnamese fled the country.

Our Hmong allies in South Vietnam were devastated.

Refugees from the Republic of Vietnam are evacuated to the flight deck of a U.S. airliner in the South China Sea, April 1975 (History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

And the rest of Southeast Asia suffered.

For example, half of Cambodia’s population was murdered by Khmer Rouge communists.

There were riots in the Philippines.

And the rest of the world?

Africa – Angola, Mozambique, the Horn of Africa – brutal civil wars that developed to the advantage of Russia and China. Rhodesia and eventually South Africa – democracies and pro-Westerners (for all their flaws) were placed in an untenable position.

Central America – Russia and local communists on the rise.

And remember the “disarmament” movements in Europe, fueled by Russia’s successful political warfare, that caused us no end of trouble – including the “peace movement” in the US that demanded the US give to the Soviets what they wanted. You know, we can’t risk nuclear war.

ZELENSKYY fears the danger if Ukraine loses its unity and defeat if the US cuts funding, 1,000 days after the start of the war

It seemed like the free world was over.

The list could be much longer.

All it took to avoid all this – and the human suffering that came with it – was just a little more effort to support South Vietnam. Money, logistics and air support.

The details are different with Ukraine – not least that America is not involved in the fighting (a plus) – but the basics are similar enough.

Whatever else happens with Ukraine, it is imperative that Putin cannot claim to be ahead. And his Iranian, North Korean and Chinese friends also wish they hadn’t interfered.

Otherwise, the brutal regimes from Beijing to Caracas will make their move.

What to do?

Count on the Europeans to do ten times more than they are doing now. The US should also expand defense production and give the Ukrainians everything they need – and keep records. Things and money tend to disappear in Eastern Europe.

The Vietnam War formally ends: on this day in history

But pumping weapons, hardware and money into Ukraine is not enough.

Impose real sanctions on the Russians. There are too many loopholes now.

Go after Putin’s personal wealth and make it disappear, and also reveal to heaven what we cannot achieve.

Relearn political warfare. Any competent political warfare leader or propagandist has a lot of work to do. One idea out of a thousand: Make it clear that proud Russia depends on Asians (North Koreans and Chinese) to save it.

Do to the Iranians what President Trump did in his first term and more. The mullahs were on the ropes. Overthrow of the regime. Don’t hold back the Israelis.

Impose real sanctions on North Korea – or even just enforce existing sanctions.

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However, for this to work, you need to revoke China’s Most Favored Nation status and make it clear that this is because of what China has done to support Russia in Ukraine.

It has to be a sledgehammer to the head… and that would be it.

And break our dependence on the Chinese market and on Chinese-made goods, pharmaceuticals, precursor chemicals, rare earth minerals and the like.

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We may be “tired” of Ukraine, but no good will come from letting it sink – or letting the dictatorships think they are ahead.

This is a lesson learned in Saigon in 1975.

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