Alan W. Dowd is a Senior Fellow with the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes on the full range of topics relating to national defense, foreign policy and international security. Dowd’s commentaries and essays have appeared in Policy Review, Parameters, Military Officer, The American Legion Magazine, The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, The Claremont Review of Books, World Politics Review, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Jerusalem Post, The Financial Times Deutschland, The Washington Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Examiner, The Detroit News, The Sacramento Bee, The Vancouver Sun, The National Post, The Landing Zone, Current, The World & I, The American Enterprise, Fraser Forum, American Outlook, The American and the online editions of Weekly Standard, National Review and American Interest. Beyond his work in opinion journalism, Dowd has served as an adjunct professor and university lecturer; congressional aide; and administrator, researcher and writer at leading think tanks, including the Hudson Institute, Sagamore Institute and Fraser Institute. An award-winning writer, Dowd has been interviewed by Fox News Channel, Cox News Service, The Washington Times, The National Post, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and numerous radio programs across North America. In addition, his work has been quoted by and/or reprinted in The Guardian, CBS News, BBC News and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dowd holds degrees from Butler University and Indiana University. Follow him at twitter.com/alanwdowd.

ASCF News

Scott Tilley is a Senior Fellow at the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes the “Technical Power” column, focusing on the societal and national security implications of advanced technology in cybersecurity, space, and foreign relations.

He is an emeritus professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. Previously, he was with the University of California, Riverside, Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, and IBM. His research and teaching were in the areas of computer science, software & systems engineering, educational technology, the design of communication, and business information systems.

He is president and founder of the Center for Technology & Society, president and co-founder of Big Data Florida, past president of INCOSE Space Coast, and a Space Coast Writers’ Guild Fellow.

He has authored over 150 academic papers and has published 28 books (technical and non-technical), most recently Systems Analysis & Design (Cengage, 2020), SPACE (Anthology Alliance, 2019), and Technical Justice (CTS Press, 2019). He wrote the “Technology Today” column for FLORIDA TODAY from 2010 to 2018.

He is a popular public speaker, having delivered numerous keynote presentations and “Tech Talks” for a general audience. Recent examples include the role of big data in the space program, a four-part series on machine learning, and a four-part series on fake news.

He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Victoria (1995).

Contact him at stilley@cts.today.

Ukraine - Survival Vital to the US

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Written by Laurence F Sanford, Senior Analyst ASCF

Categories: ASCF Articles

Comments: 0

Ukraine - Survival Vital to the US

Ukraine’s survival is vital to the US and Western Civilization. The fall of Ukraine to Russia would lead to more aggression in Moldova, the Baltic countries, and Poland. China would be heartened to invade Taiwan.

Russia’s President Putin is the modern-day equivalent of Germany’s Führer, Hitler, of the 1930s. Common features of both autocrats include:--
1. Grievances against outsiders for lost territory, wealth, and prestige.
2. Ethnic superiority.
3. Hatred of Western Civilization’s individual freedoms and free market economy.----
4. Alliances with other autocrats.--
a. Hitler - Axis with Japan and Italy
b. Putin - New Axis of Evil alliance with China, North Korea, and Iran

The West slept while Hitler built up Germany’s military and seized neighboring lands in the name of uniting Germanic peoples. Putin wants to resurrect the old Soviet Union communist empire, whose demise Putin called the greatest tragedy of the twentieth century.

Ukrainians are not Russians. The history is complicated, but Ukraine generally looks West toward Western Europe and not East toward Russia.

It is doubtful that Crimea will return to Ukraine. From 1783 to 1954, Ukraine was part of the Russian Empire; prior to that, it was part of the Ottoman Empire.

The Ukrainians have surprised the world with their resilience, innovation, and courage in the face of the Russian invasion. Ukraine’s survival has been dependent on military and economic aid from the United States and Western Europe.

The Trump administration has not authorized further American military aid. The aid now flowing through pipelines, approved by the Biden administration, is expected to end in a few months. If no further American military assistance is forthcoming, Ukraine will likely fall. The ramifications of such a fall will be far greater to America than the disgraces of Afghanistan and Vietnam.

It is vital that the non-Russian-speaking area of Ukraine stays independent and acts as a buffer to Russian expansionism. Ukraine is part of Western Civilization. The cost of American aid to help Ukraine survive is “chump change” compared to the cost of losing Ukraine to Russia.

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