“The first is to not pass the admittedly horrendous Ukraine funding bill and watch the Ukraine collapse economically and militarily in a matter of weeks.
The second was to pass a really horrible Ukraine aid package on Democrat’s terms to possibly ( but not certainly) delay the collapse of the Ukraine until after the 2024 election with hopes that Donald Trump takes office and provides the new leadership needed to enter into peace talks and end the conflict.”
I think the first option of not passing it is actually a good one. First, it will save countless Ukrainian lives in a war that Ukraine can’t win. It will stop the misery now rather than went Putin wins in the future and more lives are lost.
Delaying the war does nothing but prolong misery, makes Biden look like he was true to his word about Ukraine, makes Trump look like he is supporting a man that goes against the wishes of his base. However, there is possibly another consideration. The US secretly sent weapons to Ukraine, and this aid package covers the cost of that. The account is now closed on Ukraine. Zelinsky can’t burn through it all in a month’s time and then start demanding that the US give more money and weapons. If Zelinsky now wants more weapons, he has to pay for it.
The collapse and defeat of Ukraine would be a disaster with the potential for many unexpected consequences.
Even the totally predictable post war consequences would be horrendous.
Russia does not have the assets to address the humanitarian crisis that would result.
And its it's not like the world will get a do over on this - once it's done, it's done.
The money allocated for Ukraine is a drop in the bucket if things go from bad to worse, which they probably would.
Hope for a Trump Presidency and a return to sanity.