They clearly miscalculated since they thought Ukraine would surrender in days, and offered Zelensky a plane to fly out of there That's a contingency

They clearly miscalculated since they thought Ukraine would surrender in days, and offered Zelensky a plane to fly out of there That's a contingency plan, not a miscalculation. Of course it makes sense to be prepared for as many possible outcomes as possible. If Zelensky was willing to fight, we were ready to arm him. If Zelensky was not willing to fight, we were willing to offer him safety because he would be much more useful in American hands than Russian ones, and we would have armed insurgents. To call this a "miscalculation" makes about as much sense as calling it a "miscalculation" to have fire extinguishers in your house if a fire never actually occurs. They had expected to sacrifice the Ukrainian people "Sacrificing" implies we're merely using them. This is a mutual arrangement. Nobody is forcing Ukraine to fight. They are willing, and we are arming and assisting them. No, it's not idealistic altruism but we share common goals. It always backfires when you try to push people around. Better to simply listen to them and care about their issues. I don't disagree with the second half of your post, but it's a massive non-sequitur. Nobody is pushing Ukraine into fighting.