Europe, Power & Security, Russia , United States On Ukraine Crisis, Biden Seeks to Show His Mettle

Perry World House Visiting Fellow John Gans comments on the Biden administration's handling of the Ukraine crisis for The New York Times.

America’s chaotic exit from Afghanistan last year was a made-for-TV tragedy — complete with camera-ready scenes of frantic civilians, harried U.S. Marines and helicopters hovering over an embassy roof.

Ukraine is a foreign policy conundrum of an entirely different sort. President Biden’s task is to stop a war from beginning, not to end one with dignity. But even if he wards off a Russian invasion, he shouldn’t expect any ticker tape on Fifth Avenue.

“The politics of foreign policy are rarely fair, and this is the epitome of that kind of situation,” said John Gans, a former Pentagon speechwriter in the Obama administration. “You rarely get credit for the dogs that don’t bark.”

Read more in The New York Times >>