With or without war, Ukraine gives Biden a new lease on leadership
For Putin, it’s hard to see a winning outcome
Karen DeYoung
and
Missy Ryan
Today at 6:00 a.m. EST
Six months ago, the transatlantic alliance was on shaky ground, with President Biden’s promise of a reinvigorated NATO under U.S. leadership severely undermined by the Afghanistan debacle and a foreign policy that seemed unready for prime time.
Today, Biden and his team have redeemed themselves in the eyes of many NATO allies, with a tough stance on Ukraine and the successful wrangling of the often-fractious alliance to support it.
Ukraine’s fate, and Russia’s future relationship with the West, remain uncertain. Biden has said he is convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin, with more than 150,000 troops and massive weaponry amassed on Ukraine’s borders, has decided to invade, despite the West’s offered carrot of negotiations over a new European security architecture to address his concerns if he withdraws, and the threatened stick of harsh sanctions and isolation if he does not.
But regardless of the outcome, officials, diplomats and experts have already begun charting the winners and losers.
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/02/20/ukraine-biden-putin/
