JRL NEWSWATCH: “Military Assistance to Ukraine Is a Rare Success” – RAND
“… Military aid has a well-deserved bad reputation. Large-scale [U.S.] attempts … to build partner militaries — from Afghanistan to Iraq to Vietnam — have cost billions … while failing to build effective partner forces. Yet the indirect approach[,] … done right, can deliver remarkable strategic effects, as … in Ukraine. While the bravery and resourcefulness of the Ukrainians surely deserve much of the credit, so does the way the United States has smartly sequenced … assistance tools … leading with institutional reform before graduating to advanced weaponry and training. …. In part because of this institutional overhaul, the Ukrainian military now has the capacity to absorb new capabilities, including F-16s. … The F-16 policy reversal should help the Ukrainians end the war on more-favorable terms.”