DC should send Ukraine M1 Abrams tanks and lead by example

We’re “not there yet,” said Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl this week on the question of sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. But we should be. 

A victory for Vladimir Putin in Ukraine would be a disastrous strategic blow to US interests in the region. That outweighs any concern about providing tanks, which (unlike missile systems) are far harder to use against targets within Russian territory. And the M1 Abrams is a battle-tested tool with diverse uses — especially in urban warfare, a key Ukrainian theater.