Sure, Seshadri Kumar, these tens of billions of dollars spent on R&D and all kinds of helpful things would be preferable. Unfortunately, at this point, we don't have the luxury of doing that. It could well be argued that if we were more responsive to Putin's behavior earlier (Georgia, Syria, Crimea etc.) this would be costing us less now.

The cost of NOT defending Ukraine could be even higher than the bill for defending Ukraine. The Ukrainian people have committed the really expensive stuff of their lives.

The concern is much more encompassing than helping a sovereign country defend itself from a totally unprovoked attack. Should Putin be allowed to perform this aggression without resistance from the West, he would simply do likewise elsewhere at his next convenience. A universal HOPE that Putin would not do this is not a reassuring strategy.

U.S. security and prosperity are integrated with world security and prosperity which includes powers such as Europe, China, India, Japan as well as Russia. If the international peace and harmony is upset our prosperity and security will suffer at ENORMOUS cost.

As far as being fools. We shall see. What has been fantastic is the sheer quantity of opinion on how we should address this war in Europe. Much of it well researched, thoughtful and engaging.

Many thanks.