Crane Calls for End to Ukraine War

As the war in Ukraine drags on, many Republicans in Congress have remained skeptical of America's involvement. Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ), a Navy SEAL veteran, discussed the push for peace talks during a recent appearance with Arizona podcaster Jeff Oravits, saying elected officials who do not interact with veterans or Gold Star families "are a lot more likely to get us into the next never-ending war."

Rep. Crane posted the clip to X (formerly Twitter), where he added, "I'm strongly opposed to our involvement in Ukraine and firmly believe we should push for peace talks instead of escalation. We need to think about the costs and prevent more American blood and treasure from being spilled overseas."

Oravits began the discussion by commenting on how time has flown since the September 11th. These 2001 attacks recently had its 23rd anniversary, and how 40% of Americans are under the age of 30, meaning fewer people have a personal connection to it.

"I think that is one of the reasons I am so concerned about what I see going on in Ukraine. 9/11 changed my life forever. And I know I speak for a lot of veterans who ended up joining right after the attacks in New York City and spent years gone off to war, and I do not want to see that happen to another generation," said Rep. Crane.

Additionally, the Arizona Congressman described a recent hearing with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) asking for an additional $12 billion to care for veterans in the United States ever after receiving funding.

"It is just like people do not think about the cost often. We just look through this lens of that 'Russia bad [and] Ukraine good. Aggression, we need to do something about it.' They do not really play it out and count the cost. And one of the reasons why me and a lot of other veterans are really pushing caution [and] peace talks on this one [is] because we want to see this war ended, and we do not want to see more American blood and treasure spent," Crane continued.

Oravits agreed, suggesting that politicians who lack military experience often push for the escalation or continuation of war without adequately understanding the costs, a point with which Crane equally validated.

"That is often what happens when there is not an intimacy with the fallout, the pain [and] the suffering, the relationships with Gold Star families. The politicians and elected types do not have those type of relationships and experiences. They are a lot more likely to get us into the next never-ending war," Crane concluded.