, Columnist
Putin’s Ukraine Invasion Showed Biden’s Failure at Deterrence
The Cold War skill of using coercion to tamp down aggression is one U.S. leaders need to re-learn.
Too early for congratulations.
Photographer: Alexandra Beier/Getty Images
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Foreign policy suddenly has a very retro feel. A U.S. president visits Europe to give a soaring speech on the fate of human freedom. An adversary is threatening nuclear war to intimidate the West. The dream of a fully integrated global system is crashing as geopolitical tensions break the world into rival blocs. It all seems so Cold War.
Not the least of these historical echoes is that America’s chief strategic task is once again deterring aggression by hostile, well-armed great powers.