As Russia beats the drums of war, American leadership has once again been put to the test. And we’re failing.
Although 8,500 U.S. troops …
As Russia beats the drums of war, American leadership has once again been put to the test. And we’re failing. Although 8,500 U.S. troops are now on alert to deploy at short notice, more than 100,000 Russian soldiers have already been deployed on Ukraine’s border. President Joe Biden’s State Department recently ordered the departure of embassy staff family members from Ukraine, acknowledging the very real threat of invasion — or, if you will, a “minor incursion.” Ukraine may be the latest flashpoint in geopolitical posturing, but the issue at hand really isn’t about Ukraine. It’s about Poland in 1939. It’s about appeasing military powers that need not be appeased. It’s about Taiwan, whose people contend with Chinese aggression on a daily basis. It’s about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) flying dozens of warplanes toward Taiwan in a blatant show of force. It’s about every commitment that America has ever made to people facing oppression and fearing war. It’s about leadership: How do we, as a nation, respond to provocation? We cannot be the world’s policeman, but we can’t sit idly by as tyrants and strongmen slowly conquer the world either. American passivity in the face of provocation has never yielded a positive outcome — not before World War I, not before World War II, not ever.
