Alan Dowd

With Vladimir Putin’s planned two-day war to topple Ukraine’s democratically elected government now in its third month and Russian casualties piling into the tens of thousands, concerns abound that Putin might take increasingly drastic steps to alter the disastrous situation he faces on the battlefield. To prevent those grim prospects—or at least contain their effects—President Joe Biden should turn to the playbook his predecessors drafted.

Long-time neutrals Sweden and Finland appear poised to apply for NATO membership, perhaps as early as this month or during next month’s NATO summit. If these Nordic neighbors do join the alliance, this dramatic change in the European security landscape will be good for them—and for NATO.

As Vladimir Putin continues his war of war crimes against Ukraine, there are arguments swirling around—some more serious than others—that this war is, somehow, NATO’s fault. That’s certainly what Putin believes, but the blame-NATO crowd is wrong.

In the Free World’s multifaceted response to Putin’s war, a blueprint for a global alliance of democracies is emerging.

In an age when the word hero is conflated with and attached to movie stars and athletes and people who risk nothing of consequence, it’s bracing to watch—even from afar—true heroes and true heroism in action.

To prevent wars from spiraling out of control, an off-ramp is essential. Allowing Vladimir Putin to save face can save lives.

Vladimir Putin has launched attacks across Ukraine, recognized parts of eastern Ukraine as independent, sent Russian “peacekeepers” deep into Ukraine either to digest yet another chunk of his neighbor or to fully absorb it, and unleashed a storm in Europe. Although they cannot be seen from Kyiv, there are faint traces of silver linings in these storm clouds.

With Ukraine languishing outside the safety of the NATO alliance, the consensus seems to be that there is little the alliance can do as Putin enforces his latter-day Brezhnev Doctrine. That consensus view is wrong.

Shoup’s actions during Christmastime 1955 offer an un-planned, un-staged snapshot of a political system and world view strikingly different from that of Lenin, Stalin, and Xi—a system founded on the freedom to believe in God or Santa or not, to believe in the meaning of Christmas or not, to believe in Immanuel or not.

Early on, President Joe Biden’s rhetoric promised a rejection of isolationism and a return to engagement. But his actions in Afghanistan speak volumes.