Inside the right-wing debate over Ukraine and Taiwan

The war in Ukraine and China’s challenge to the global order have brought the Right’s foreign policy divide to the surface. Populists and libertarians, critical of Bush-era interventions in the Middle East, are trying to push the Republican Party into a retrenchment. Defenders of an active and energetic Western alliance keeping rogue states in check see the current conflicts as proof of concept.

Both sides, however, are correct about key aspects of the larger foreign policy debate. In this moment of international crisis, the Right should be creatively integrating insights from these differing camps to develop a sturdier strategic viewpoint. There is a path to an updated consensus on national security, and conservative leaders would do well to pursue it.

While most Republicans on Capitol Hill remain strong supporters of Ukraine, some on the fringes of the party are expressing doubt about or even outright opposition to more funding. Since last year’s elections, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has been walking a tightrope trying to satisfy both factions.

As this war rages in Eastern Europe, a new consensus is also emerging in Washington that the Chinese Communist Party is the single greatest threat to American security. A potentially imminent invasion of Taiwan has been the subject of intense speculation and planning in Congress and Washington think tanks. There is a surprising amount of agreement among American policymakers that CCP aggression must be countered. Where there is little consensus, though, is on how Russia, Ukraine, and Europe factor into the situation in the Pacific.

Read more at The Washington Examiner.