Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, served as a National Security Council official, deputy chief of staff to former US Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and US Navy Reserve Intelligence Officer. He was sanctioned by Iran in 2020. Rebeccah Heinrichs is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and the director of its Keystone Defense Initiative. Follow Rich on Twitter @rich_goldberg. FDD is a nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
January 13, 2023 | The Dispatch
Let Ukraine Defeat the Russia-Iranian War Machine
Biden’s chronic risk aversion is prolonging the war and making it more costly
January 13, 2023 | The Dispatch
Let Ukraine Defeat the Russia-Iranian War Machine
Biden’s chronic risk aversion is prolonging the war and making it more costly
Excerpt
Air raid sirens rang in the new year for Kyiv last week as Ukraine faced another crushing barrage of Russian missiles and Iranian drones. Rather than helping Ukraine defend itself for “as long as it takes,” as President Joe Biden recently declared he would, the United States should help Ukraine achieve victory as quickly as possible. It’s a fundamental paradigm shift that starts by giving Kyiv what it needs to destroy the growing terrorism machine along the Russian-Crimean border.
Faced with a poorly trained and logistically uncoordinated conventional military incapable of taking and holding territory, Russian President Vladimir Putin has turned to a partnership with Iran. Revolutionary Guard trainers from Tehran are on the ground in Russian-occupied Crimea, helping coordinate lethal drone strikes against Ukraine’s civilian population and infrastructure.