Letters to the Editor: Taiwan and Ukraine are underdogs, but is it wise to fight China and Russia?

To the editor: Thinking about Ukraine against the backdrop of Washington’s endless wars, columnist Nicholas Goldberg comes to what seems to be a logical conclusion, namely “after trillions of dollars and thousands of lives” spent over decades, “Americans are tired of war.”

Maybe, but that is not what recent polling from the Chicago Council of Foreign Affairs shows. It found that at least 50% of the public is willing to commit U.S. forces to defend Ukraine and Taiwan against Russia and China, respectively.

Many Americans evidently feel an affinity for the underdogs, but the gung-ho ought ask how “vital” each is to U.S. security. More fundamentally, where should the U.S. draw the line to risk its survival for others against the nuclear-armed predators?

Bennett Ramberg, Los Angeles

The writer was a foreign affairs officer in the State Department Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs during the George H.W. Bush administration.