Justin Logan, the director of defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, wrote about this, with similar language, in a 2023 policy analysis titled “Uncle Sucker,” which focused on why U.S. efforts at defense burdensharing fail.
Logan also authored a new blog post analyzing Hegseth’s speech Wednesday to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
He praised the speech for making clear that some goals for Ukraine, such as NATO membership and a return to its 1991 borders, are unrealistic.
Logan also appeared on CNN’s Laura Coates Live Wednesday alongside Josh Rogin, where he argued that in regards to negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to end the war, “the president of the United States has to stand up for the U.S. interest, which is not identical to the Ukrainian interest.”
If you would like to speak with Logan about this, please reach out to mmiller@cato.org.
