When I was elected to the House of Commons in 1987, the post-war generation was still firmly in control. Denis Healey, the Labour MP who had served as the beach master at Anzio during the Second World War, sat across the chamber, while on our side, Bob Boscawen and Carol Mather—both recipients of the Military Cross for bravery—were highly respected government whips.
As Prime Minister, Mrs. Thatcher had dismissed the advice of her early War Cabinet and decided to retake the Falklands by force. She declared in Parliament that military aggression must never succeed.
On the night the Berlin Wall fell, I was in the House of Commons smoking room, listening with respect as Julian Amery and Bob Boscawen discussed international affairs. They reflected on how their fathers’ generation had died on the Western Front, while their own had liberated Europe from the Nazis and helped establish the international rules-based order and the Bretton Woods institutions. With the fall of the Soviet Union, we realized that my generation might be the first not to face war in Europe or send our children into battle.
Fast forward nearly 35 years, and the ghosts of that generation are observing Britain’s—and Europe’s—response to Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. They would have witnessed the commendable leadership of Ben Wallace, Boris Johnson, and Rishi Sunak, their parliamentary successors. However, they would also have seen the hesitation and indecision of some of our allies, and they would have winced at the sound of appeasement recently aired on the BBC's flagship current affairs program, *Any Questions*.
We have been here before. In 1938, at the Munich Conference, British and French leaders believed they were securing peace by conceding part of Czechoslovakia to Hitler. Yet, this act of appeasement led to the most devastating conflict of the twentieth century. The lesson that should have been learned is that bullies cannot be pacified. Give them an inch, and they will soon take a mile.
No one in Britain or the wider world should doubt the stakes: this is crucial not only for Ukraine, whose resolve to defend its freedom remains strong but for Britain and beyond. The war has brought the greatest atrocities to our continent in a generation—death, rape, torture, and the mass deportation of civilians.
The conflict's effects have rippled across Europe, reaching even our shores through espionage, cyber-attacks, disinformation, and suspected acts of arson. At stake in Ukraine are fundamental principles, not just words in the United Nations charter—a charter Russia signed but now blatantly violates. These principles—sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the rule of law—are the bedrock of global security and prosperity.
If Russia were to win in Ukraine, the most fundamental international norm—that nations must not seize land from others or resolve disputes through force—would be shattered. Let no one believe that if Putin succeeds in his illegal invasion and subjugates Ukraine, he will stop there. His disdain for NATO’s Baltic members, with their significant Russian populations, is well known.
An attack on them would cross a red line. Article 5 of NATO’s constitution states that an attack on one is an attack on all, and we would be treaty-bound to respond. It is said that when the Oxford Union passed the motion, "This House will not fight for King and country," Adolf Hitler took note. Putin, too, is watching, emboldened by NATO’s silence in response to Russia’s chemical attacks in Syria, which crossed Obama’s red lines. We must never again send the message that the West is weak and indecisive.
Ukraine can and will win if we provide sufficient, timely, and sustained support. We must leverage every ounce of our global diplomatic influence to convince all who value freedom that Ukraine’s fight is our fight, that a Russian victory is unthinkable, and that we must supply all necessary weaponry and authorize its use in any way that supports Ukraine’s brave and determined defense against aggression, following international law and the rules-based order.
The people of Ukraine have displayed extraordinary courage and resolve in standing up to Putin’s monstrous war machine. We should support their strategic efforts to expose Russia’s vulnerabilities through a determined counteroffensive. David is pushing back Goliath in ways that no one could have predicted when the war began. We must help them win this war—one that none of us can afford to lose.
Comments
Post a Comment