Cameron urges US to pass Ukraine aid, warns against repeating ‘weakness displayed against Hitler’

by Sarah Fortinsky - 02/14/24 2:04 PM ET

Britain’s former prime minister David Cameron leaves Downing Street, in London, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday fired Home Secretary Suella Braverman, a divisive figure who drew anger for accusing police of being too lenient with pro-Palestinian protesters. In a highly unusual move, former Prime Minister David Cameron was named foreign secretary. It’s rare for a former leader, and a non-lawmaker, to take a senior government post. The government said Cameron will be appointed to Parliament’s unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords. (James Manning/PA via AP)

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron issued a stark warning to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, urging swift passage of the Senate-passed Ukraine aid package that now faces an uphill battle as the legislation heads to the Republican-controlled House.

In an op-ed in The Hill on Wednesday, Cameron, the former U.K. prime minister, underscored the stakes in the Russian-led war against Ukraine and stressed the importance of defeating Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Now, we face a choice. A simple test,” Cameron wrote. “On the one side is Putin, hoping to enlarge his empire simply by outlasting the West. He believes we are weak. He believes he can get away with the most shocking act of national aggression we have seen in our lifetimes.”

“On the other side are all of us. We have the resources, the economic might, the expertise. Our economic strength outweighs Russia’s by a factor of around 25 to one. They are having to turn to Pyongyang for help. All we need to do is make our strength pay. The question is: Do we have the will?” Cameron continued.

Cameron’s plea comes as support for Ukraine aid has begun to wane particularly among GOP lawmakers, who have begun to embrace more isolationist tendencies in recent years.

The Senate passed a foreign aid package that included what national security officials have described as essential foreign aid for Ukraine. Most Democrats supported the bill, and less than half of Republicans did.

The bill now heads to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), a staunch supporter of former President Trump’s, has said he would not bring it to the floor for a vote. As supporters of the bill seek alternatives to bypass Johnson’s blocking of the bill, the bill’s fate remains uncertain.

“As Congress debates and votes on this funding package for Ukraine, I am going to drop all diplomatic niceties. I urge Congress to pass it,” Cameron wrote. “I want us all — U.S., U.K., European and other allies — to support Ukraine in fighting against completely unjustified aggression. It is hard to think of a clearer case of one country being invaded by another without the slightest justification.”

Cameron cautioned lawmakers against repeating mistakes made in the 1930s, when European leaders made territorial concessions to Adolf Hitler, erroneously thinking it would prevent Germany from seeking further expansion. Ultimately, those concessions helped pave the way for World War II.

“I believe our joint history shows the folly of giving in to tyrants in Europe who believe in redrawing boundaries by force,” Cameron wrote. “I do not want us to show the weakness displayed against Hitler in the 1930s. He came back for more, costing us far more lives to stop his aggression.”

Cameron addressed some concerns that have come to define the “America first” position on foreign aid – specifically denying arguments that European countries have not contributed their fair share to the defense alliance.

“Since I last visited Washington before Christmas, Europe has proven its determination to stay the course. European states have provided more than half the support to Ukraine, with aid collectively totaling $170 billion to date,” he wrote, adding, “The European Union has just agreed on a €50 billion multi-year funding package of its own. Germany doubled its military aid to Ukraine last month. And Britain has become the first country to sign a bilateral security agreement with Kyiv — an example which we expect several partners to follow in the coming weeks.”

Still, however, some GOP lawmakers sharply criticized Cameron’s op-ed, characterizing it as an attack on the Republican position.

In a statement reported by British tabloid the Daily Mail, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called Cameron’s op-ed “hilarious,” adding, “David Cameron can kiss my a**.”

The backlash comes after Trump made controversial remarks this weekend, relaying a conversation he claimed he had with a foreign leader of a NATO country, in which Trump allegedly told the leader he wouldn’t defend alliance members who didn’t pay at least 2 percent of economic output.

“I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want,” he said, referring to a hypothetical attack from Russia. “You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.”