We upheld every promise we made to Ukraine. This may not be a polite thing to say, but Ukraine is not valuable enough to risk any sort of war with a country like Russia, nuclear OR conventional.

And there is the crux of it. America used to be the 'white city on the hill' where we stood up for what's right and did what we had to do for our friends.

This Utilitarian cynicism is all too common, and unworthy of a great people. Rule-lawyering our way out of helping others seems petty and mean.

>America used to be the 'white city on the hill' where we stood up for what's right and did what we had to do for our friends.

This has never been true.

>Rule-lawyering our way out of helping others seems petty and mean.

Kinda like how we told Russia we wouldn't be expanding NATO eastward and after did that and pointed it out the response is akin to "neener neener did you get it in writing?"