Further, we could confront China and every other nation with a choice much like that George W. For example, NATO could engage in Ukraine, potentially obliterating Russia’s struggling military. But there is a wide range of options, and they need not be mutually exclusive. There are some who would argue for a nuclear response. But if a cornered and delusional Putin were to instead use a nuclear weapon - whether via a tactical strike or by weaponizing one of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants - we would have several options.
These are the outcomes he would be smart to take. Perhaps his control of Russian media would enable him to spin a loss into a face-saving narrative at home. Its military successes may force Putin to exit Ukraine or to agree to a cease-fire acceptable to the Ukrainian people. The right answer is to continue to give Ukraine all the support it needs to defend itself and to win. Inevitably, our friends and allies would be devoured by brazen, authoritarian nuclear powers, the implications of which would drastically alter the world order. If Putin, or any other nuclear power, can invade and subjugate with near impunity, then Ukraine would be only the first of such conquests. Failing to continue to support Ukraine would be like paying the cannibal to eat us last.
#Whats us defcon level free
Free nations must continue to support Ukrainians’ brave and necessary defense of their country. We could limit the weapons we send, hold back on intelligence and pressure President Volodymyr Zelensky to settle. Some will conclude that to avoid provoking Russia - and thus avoid the prospect of a possible Russian nuclear strike - we should pre-emptively restrain Ukraine from routing the Russian military. In such a circumstance, he may be able to convince himself that the United States and the West are the reason he invaded Ukraine and that the propaganda he has deployed to justify this immoral invasion was true from the beginning. It is possible that Putin could face significant internal challenges to his leadership. If he loses in Ukraine, he not only will have failed to achieve his life’s ambition to reverse what he sees as the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century - the collapse of the Soviet Union - but he will also have permanently diminished Russia as a great power and reinvigorated its adversaries. Given the magnitude of consequence of a nuclear strike, our potential options merit thought, by our leaders and by American citizens alike.īy invading Ukraine, Putin has already proved that he is capable of illogical and self-defeating decisions. In 2012, I noted that Russia was the biggest geopolitical adversary to the United States, and it clearly remains a source of great concern to both Republicans and Democrats. Nor has the administration’s rhetoric stooped to Putin’s bait.
President Joe Biden is right not to have elevated our nuclear DEFCON level.
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