September 20, 2022
Biden’s Team Saved Ukraine by Learning from Its Mistakes
Much can still go wrong with the Ukraine war, but so far, President Joe Biden’s defense and national security teams have outperformed any administration since President George H.W. Bush, National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell responded to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. With one significant caveat. Team Biden hasn’t learned one of the most important lessons of that earlier administration: The primary role for the US in foreign affairs is to maintain international rules and norms, not to lead a fight for global democracy.
The weaker the Russian position becomes, the more likely it could still resort to extreme measures.
In the 21st century, national-security crises are bewilderingly complex, with cyber, energy and financial factors interwoven with traditional military and intelligence operations. Teamwork, interagency coordination, and bureaucratic and subject-matter expertise become factors all their own, equal in importance to the overall geopolitical strategy. The Biden team may not have a figure like foreign-policy legends Henry Kissinger or Zbigniew Brzezinski, but the administration, led by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, has compensated with sheer execution.
Read the full article and more from Bloomberg.
More from CNAS
-
Reports
Transatlantic Security / Global Swing States
Beyond the SahelRussia has been expanding its engagement in Africa under President Vladimir Putin, seeking to increase Russia’s access to resources (either natural or military, including port...
By Kate Johnston, Valeria Allende & Isabel Dlabach
-
Podcast
Defense / Technology & National Security
WarTalk: Iran War with Jack ShanahanThe “love tap” White House readout. A failed convoy operation. KSA pulling overflight rights. Iran with 70% of its missile force still intact. And one F-15E shoot-down from ab...
By Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan & Jordan Schneider
-
A State of “Unorder?”
Podcast
As conversations about the status of the liberal world order swirl in capitals on both sides of the Atlantic, many are realizing that old ways of thinking about the rules-base...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
Numbers Matter
Podcast
Among the many lessons of Ukraine and the Iran war is the role of small, distributed air and missile defenses, whether using — or defending against — missiles or drones. Dr. S...
By Stacie Pettyjohn
