Russia appears to be inching toward war with Ukraine, and the United States stuck its nose in yet another international affair.
As the Biden administration is telling Americans in Ukraine that they only have hours to leave the country, the Pentagon is deploying more troops to Poland as their way of assisting NATO allies. Although the military has not put boots on the ground at the Ukraine border, make no mistake that American blood will be shed if Russia decides to invade.
The whole situation arguably harkens back to the idea of “peace through strength,” which was touted by former President Ronald Reagan.
Reagan used this strategy throughout his presidency with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, including with the notable Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”) to prepare against nuclear war, according to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
While his beefing-up the military was one component of peace through strength, it’s also important to remember that he’s considered “The Great Communicator” for a reason. His rhetoric with the Soviet Union left no uncertain terms and was able to strike fear into the hearts of communist leaders.
Reagan understood that the United States was the “Shining City on A Hill,” not some rinky-dink nation at the mercy of insatiable leftists.
Now, contrast that image of both militaristic and rhetorical strength with President Joe Biden.
Russia’s eagerness to take over Ukraine escalated after the president suggested in a January news conference that a “minor incursion” would prompt a weaker response from the United States as opposed to an all-out war.
“I think what you’re going to see is that Russia will be held accountable if it invades. And it depends on what it does. It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, et cetera.,” he said.
The White House desperately went into damage control mode, which clearly had no impact on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Biden has repeatedly struggled with communication since taking office, but this was easily his most consequential blunder so far. Putin is already aware that the administration has poor military execution after the Afghanistan withdrawal, despite what Mr.Return-to-Normalcy would like to believe.
Strength on the global stage is only foolproof if communication is clear and forceful. Right now, the administration has failed in that pursuit.
It’s hard to say exactly what Reagan would do in this situation, and nobody should be pontificating that unless he somehow came back to life. Except there is one prediction to make: the U.S. would probably never be in this crisis if Reagan or another principled conservative leader was in charge. Why? They never would have teased with the phrase “minor incursion” and would have never let the Nord Stream 2 pipeline exist.
As Biden and those around him may be called to make tough decisions in the coming weeks, they need to heed the wisdom of Reagan with how he crippled the Soviet Union and asserted American dominance without war.
I won’t hold my breath.
