The test for aiding a nation being attacked unjustly by an adversary of America shouldn’t be whether the government of the nation under attack is corrupt. It should be whether it’s in our interest to back that nation. If it is, as I believe, then corruption is irrelevant. If it isn’t, corruption is a make-weight argument — and a poor excuse.

But shouldn’t nations we aid be “accountable” for the money we provide? Yes. But accountability in this context shouldn’t mean folks with eye-shades pouring over accounts. Accountability should be viewed in terms of the bang we’re getting for our bucks.

In the case of Ukraine, we’re getting an enormous bang. Thanks in part to our assistance and that of other NATO countries, Ukraine has fought off a massive invasion that nearly everyone believed would succeed. Ukraine is regaining lost territory and, more importantly from a U.S. perspective, degrading the military of an adversary (and in my view, enemy) of America while humiliating that enemy’s president.

That’s money very well spent. … The problem is that the package goes beyond aiding Israel and Ukraine.

[Be sure to read it all. — Ed]