The Biden administration is slow to recognize threats then prioritize limited resources to prevent conflict, or prevail should deterrence fail. This is the balancing act in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
President Joe Biden’s early equivocating on the heels of the embarrassing rout in Afghanistan did not deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading his neighbor. Then, as Russia’s assault unfolded, Biden’s sluggish response cost Ukraine dearly.
Now America is facing an even graver challenge than the major regional conflict in Europe at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s doorstep: deterring the People’s Republic of China from invading Taiwan and attacking America’s allies in the region—and, if deterrence fails, prevailing in what would be the most difficult war the United States has faced since 1941.
The problem is simple, but the solution involves making difficult decisions about how to employ limited assets. How much can we help Ukraine while preventing China’s leaders from believing they can prevail in a fight to conquer Taiwan?
This is further complicated by the fact that China would view anything short of a Russian defeat as a victory in its alliance with Russia. Some observers even see China as not at all caring if Russia were to lose its war against Ukraine, if China’s ability to take Taiwan was enhanced through America’s support of Ukraine—although China would likely not welcome instability on their long border with Russia, nor the resultant freeing of defense resources in the West that could be reallocated to focus on China. Also, there’s
