The West is failing to rise to the challenge of Russia’s threat

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Wald Eide recently said: Said “I think everyone should be honest. No one is doing enough” to help Ukraine defeat Putin’s Russia, said one Ukrainian journalist. Eide had in mind NATO member states, which are currently celebrating their 75th anniversary on April 4, 1949.

Let’s take a closer look at Eide’s statement. The logical proposition that supports this is as follows. If we believe, as Eide and most NATO countries argue, that Putin’s Russia is an existential threat to Europe, we will do everything possible to counter that threat by helping Ukraine win. will do all sorts of things.

Now, let’s consider a “contrast” in which the negation of the conclusion logically means the negation of the premise. As Eide says, if you’re not doing everything you can to help Ukraine, then you don’t consider Putin’s Russia a country. An existential threat to Europe.

The conclusion is inevitable. NATO countries talk about the Russian threat, but its laziness, inadequate support for Ukraine, and reluctance to impose truly punitive sanctions are all part of what they say proves that he is not serious.

On this point, Hungary’s mean-spirited authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Slovak counterpart Roberto Fico are honest. They openly support President Putin because they share his totalitarian values ​​and admire his hardline regime. So does Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican base. If a Russian victory only means that “family values” have won and favorable trade relations with Russia can be resumed, why worry about Ukraine and Russia?

Some examples of ptinophilia are less explainable. Consider Jeffrey Sachs, a famous economist at Columbia University. believe NATO wants Ukraine to join its ranks and has accused the United States of orchestrating a “coup” during the 2014 Revolution of Dignity. Not only is there no evidence to support his claims, but even if there was, NATO was suffering from “Ukraine fatigue” and could not do it. No one would ever imagine Ukraine’s membership in their lifetime, but reducing Ukraine’s “people power” to a CIA conspiracy is not only ridiculous, but people who took to the streets in 2014 risked their lives. It is a deep insult to the millions of Ukrainians who were exposed to it. Alas, it is strange that Sacks is a regular on Russia’s most vulgar propaganda talk shows.

At this point, Putin critics like me will join the fray and argue that Russia is a deadly threat not just to Ukraine, but to Europe, the United States, and indeed the entire world. I would also argue that this is so obvious that only a fool would fail to realize that Putin is the 21st century answer to Adolf Hitler. Our arguments are wide-ranging, but few advocate immediate aid to Ukraine more than the Yale historians. Timothy Snyder.

And yet, not only are the Orbans and Fikos and their cheerleaders still unconvinced, but so are most Europeans, including apparently the Americans and Eide’s Norwegians. The Baltic states are definitely aware of the threat. Its geographical proximity to Russia supports this. Although French President Emmanuel Macron recently saw the light and sided with Putin’s fiercest critics, rhetoricallyBut even Poland, one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, doesn’t seem to understand that close the border Attacking Ukrainian trucks and destroying the Ukrainian economy is not a way to demonstrate understanding of the Russian threat.

America is the biggest hypocrite. With the exception of some ardent Trump supporters in Congress, America’s political class overwhelmingly supports Ukraine and claims to understand the magnitude of the Russian threat. Nevertheless, Washington has subordinated electoral politics and personal ambitions to the distinct possibility that defeat in Ukraine will lead to continued Russian expansion, World War III, and the deaths of thousands of Americans. proved that it could not be done.

It is hard not to conclude that most Western countries do not seriously believe that Putin is Hitler. Does such a thing ever happen?

Policy makers and the public may just hope that this is all a bad dream and that everything will be fine when they wake up. Unfortunately, if Putin has his way, their sleep could be permanent.

It is also possible that the wheels of democracy will slowly turn and that aid will eventually flow to Ukraine. But back in the 1940s, Britain and the United States demonstrated the necessary political will, adopted radical measures, and succeeded in producing an astonishing number of weapons in a short period of time.

In other words, it may all come down to leadership. This is the point that Fred Kempe, president of the Atlantic Council, makes in his book. column. Western countries do not have a Winston Churchill or a Franklin D. Roosevelt who could mobilize their country to face the Russian threat head-on and fearlessly.

The irony is that Putin is a repeat failure, a strategic ninja who is easily outmaneuvered and outmaneuvered by any Western leader who dares to challenge him. For all his shortcomings, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rose to the occasion and, despite having no political experience, succeeded in rallying his people to say no to President Putin. Therefore, strong leaders can emerge even today. And Zelenskiy proved you don’t have to be a heavyweight to punch like a heavyweight.

Unfortunately, President Joe Biden was unable to lead the world against President Putin. Donald Trump has proven that he is incapable of leadership.

The fate of Ukraine and the West may then be in Mr. Macron’s hands. Will he be able to overcome this situation and become Charles de Gaulle?

Alexander J. Motil He is a professor of political science at Rutgers University-Newark. He is an expert on Ukraine, Russia, the Soviet Union, and nationalism, revolution, empire, and theory, and is the author of ten nonfiction books.imperial end“The Decline, Collapse, and Resurrection of Empires” and “Why the Empire is rising again: Compare the collapse of an empire and the revival of an empire. ”