A Hardheaded Guide to Deterring Russia and China – WSJ

Further, there is a growing consensus that China s emergence as the foremost strategic competitor to the U.S. necessitates a renewed focus on the Indo-Pacific. Voices on the left and right question why America should care about Vladimir Putin s latest adventurism and why we should commit our prestige, diplomatic capital, military sales and economic well-being to stop him.

Our view is that Washington should take appropriate action to prevent Moscow from subjugating Ukraine. America can t simply look the other way at the invasion of a sovereign European nation by one of our two great geopolitical adversaries. Such a move would undermine the post-1945 world order underwritten by U.S. power and revive the dangerous practice of territorial gain by conquest. Rank appeasement of Russia would undermine the confidence of America s frontline allies in the Indo-Pacific as well as Eastern Europe.

U.S. steadfastness against Russian aggression isn t about perpetuating the rules-based order or other slogans of Davos and Munich. It is required because America s adversaries are constantly monitoring our actions to determine where they can advance. The U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam preceded the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Iran hostage crisis, and the global adventurism of the Soviet Union and Cuba in the 1970s and early 1980s. Last year s Afghanistan debacle appears to have emboldened Russia, China and Iran.

via www.wsj.com