In Ukraine, Biden must relearn Truman’s lessons from the cold war
America once again seeks to curb Russia and China without blowing up the world
JOE BIDEN entered the White House last year styling himself on Franklin Roosevelt. The better model today might be Harry Truman. His words to Congress 75 years ago this month—“It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures”—girded America for the cold war. Those words have a new resonance as Ukraine, helped by the West, battles to resist Russia’s month-old invasion.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Ukraine and the lessons of the cold war”
From the March 24th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from United States
The demise of an iconic American highway
California’s Highway 1 is showing the limits of man’s ingenuity
How the election will shape the Supreme Court
A second Trump administration could lock in a conservative supermajority for decades
Could the Kamala Harris boost put Florida in play for Democrats?
Some party enthusiasts think so, but realists see re-energised campaigning there as a savvy Florida feint
America is not ready for a major war, says a bipartisan commission
The country is unaware of the dangers ahead, and of the costs to prepare for them
The southern border is Kamala Harris’s biggest political liability
What does her record reveal about her immigration policy?