In 2012 Mitt Romney was criticized and jeered for claiming that Russia was our greatest threat in the world, and yet if anything he was prescient. Despite the end of the Cold War and Russia falling from superpower status, it has become very clear over the last 20+ years under Vladimir Putin that Russia is not a true democracy, probably won’t be one any time soon, and that it still covets a leading powerful voice on the world stage, despite or directly because of its loss of prestige and size from the breakup of the Soviet Union and ensuing economic and military decline.
At the end of the day what our European allies want from us is to be treated as equals. Our allies also want continued reassurance that they will not be threatened by or dominated by Russia militarily or in any other way.
From a specific policy standpoint, it is critical that we continue to keep NATO as strong and robust as it can be, with everyone pulling their weight and making sure that their militaries are up to par. We also need to support the European Union in sorting through its growing pains.
Make no mistake about it, the European Union has been a wonderful occurrence over the last 75 years and it is a definite step back in the long view of history that Great Britain left it, but sometimes in the life of nations, just as with people, we have to take a step back in order to take 2 steps forward and realize that we made a mistake when we took a step back (same goes for Russia invading Ukraine).
In the end, the people of Europe have far more in common than they do that divides them, and I’m quite confident that the future will hold more consolidation and closeness than it will separation and division.
Our role in Europe is simply to continue being the best Ally we can be, whether that is through trade, military support, or international affairs….and expecting them to do the same in return. We need to make sure we consult with them before we pursue major policy changes that will affect them, even if indirectly. We need to return to the days of treating them as we ourselves would want to be treated. And as for Russia, for as long as they continue to be led by Putin and people of similar mindsets, unfortunately we must continue to keep them as contained as possible, and do all we can to get them out of Ukraine as quickly as possible.
Perry Waag 