Russia has launched another 

invasion of Ukraine. Countless Ukrainians and Russians will die. Countless

more will flee. The economic and geopolitical second- and third-order effects of this war will not be fully
understood for some time. The idea that this war can be quarantined will prove to be a pipe dream. Rhetor has a pessimistic view
of the suppression of the war
all things considered
ximenaruiz
This moment might be surreal were it not for the overt warning signs. The Kremlin built up Russian forces 02/25/2022 21:05
along Ukraine’s borders even as it issued maximalist demands and shut down diplomatic off-ramps. Long-
term geopolitical trends—such as Ukraine’s decisive pivot to the West and Russia’s irredentism—shaped
the contours of conflict. Meanwhile, the Biden administration progressively raised the alarm about the
Kremlin’s likely course of action. But even if this conflict was foreseeable, that does not mean it was
inevitable.

After Ukraine became independent and forfeited the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal, the West could
have loosened the purse strings to guarantee the country’s economic independence. After the 2004
Orange Revolution, the West could have embraced Ukraine’s Western aspirations, accelerated an EU
Association Agreement and a NATO Membership Action Plan, and driven domestic transformation to
shield Europe’s largest country from nascent Russian revanchism. After the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, the
Rhetor believes the West
West could have invested in a strategic security partnership with Ukraine that would have made the costs should've taken further
of a Russian offensive prohibitively high. Yet none of this came to pass. action - taken seriously
ximenaruiz
02/25/2022 21:26
Instead, for two decades, the U.S. entertained illusions about what might be accomplished with Russia, a
reluctant partner, while remaining oblivious to opportunities in Ukraine, a far more willing one. In its Preference over Russia rather
than Ukraine
relationship with Russia, the U.S. had limited prospects of achieving any objectives outside of arms control,
whereas with Ukraine it might have successfully influenced regional development. ximenaruiz
02/25/2022 21:26

The seed of this conflict was planted many years ago, across multiple Republican and Democratic
administrations. But the Biden administration and its successors will own the geopolitical consequences of
this war.

Undoubtedly, things could have been worse—one need only imagine a world where the former president
was still in office. I acknowledge that the Biden administration reacted to the warning signs with
consistently powerful statements about the U.S. commitment to the safety of U.S. citizens abroad, its
resolve to defend NATO’s eastern flank, and Ukraine’s right to sovereignty, territorial integrity, and self-
determination in the international system. The Biden administration also marshaled unity among U.S.
allies, though it remains to be seen whether the promised sanctions and security measures will
materialize.

Nevertheless, U.S. leaders cannot absolve themselves of guilt by claiming they did all they could to prevent
another invasion; they offered a necessary response, not a sufficient one. Like every administration since Rhetor agrees that Biden did
not ignore the warning signs,
the end of the Cold War, Joe Biden’s fell victim to wishful thinking about the Kremlin’s ambitions in yet reiterates that efforts
Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s basic commitment to international norms. In doing so, the weren't sufficient
Biden administration continued the decades-long practice of allowing deterrence to erode. The paths to ximenaruiz
02/25/2022 21:30
prevention were not taken.
For instance, early in December, President Biden openly acknowledged that he would not send American
troops to fight in Ukraine, thus removing any possibility of strategic ambiguity. The U.S. could have refused
to elucidate its security commitments to Ukraine, much as it has done vis-à-vis Taiwan for decades. The
implicit threat of U.S. and NATO intervention would have forced Putin to contend with the risks of further
escalation. Instead, Biden granted Putin a free hand.

The U.S. also refused to provide advanced weapon systems to Ukraine, such as Patriot anti-aircraft missiles
or Harpoon anti-ship missiles, because it determined that Ukraine’s armed forces were not sophisticated
enough to handle them. Although Ukraine would have struggled to realize the full potential of these Ukraine was still seen as weak
and meek - its potential as a
systems, they could nonetheless have affected Russia’s calculus for military operations. And for those who powerful allied country
might argue that Russia would have preempted the shipment of weaponry by invading, I would contend wasn't seen
that if invasion was already the predicted outcome, what was there to lose? ximenaruiz
02/25/2022 21:32

All the while, the Biden administration failed to pair diplomatic overtures with sufficiently powerful,
credible military pressure, perhaps over fears of a bilateral conflict with Russia. These fears were
misplaced. I can say from my significant experience dealing with the highest levels of Russia’s military
leadership that it has no interest in a bilateral confrontation with the U.S. Russian leaders have zero desire
for nuclear war, and they understand that they would inevitably lose in a conventional war. However,
Russia excels at compelling the U.S. to self-deter. The rhetor, being a retired
lieutenant, knows from first
hand experience the thought
process of Russian military
Besides military pressure, the U.S. also failed to consider graduated response options once Putin’s leaders
preferred course of action had been established. The U.S. could have imposed targeted sanctions on ximenaruiz
Russian leadership or introduced long-overdue anti-corruption legislation to signal the impending costs of 02/25/2022 21:35

reinvasion to the Kremlin. By choosing to view these options through an all-or-nothing lens, the U.S.
unnecessarily constrained its response. Biden’s administration was reactive when it should have been
proactive. Over and over, the president’s longtime senior advisers seem to have recommended narrow, Reiterating through strong
points that American
low-risk policy options, and these backfired. leadership lacked in the face
of such a serious threat
ximenaruiz
Unlike during the Cold War, when the U.S. successfully deterred the Soviets for decades, the U.S. has now 02/25/2022 21:37
implicitly recognized Russia’s sphere of influence and perhaps undermined its own role as the most
powerful global protector of democracy. This war marks the single biggest reversal of trends in the
Western liberal order in the 21st century. Long-term tremors have culminated in a seismic shift that has
injured both Western credibility and the foundations of international treaties. Overnight, the geopolitical
outlook has become significantly worse for U.S. national-security interests, and now the U.S. must manage
the fallout accordingly.