Leslie H. Gelb

America’s Losing Russia Strategy

Confronting Putin isn’t enough to restore peace on Russia’s borders. What’s needed is Détente Plus.

American hawks flapped their wings with joy when Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced recently that more military muscle would be deployed to the Baltics and Eastern Europe, and as word seeped out of significant covert U.S. military aid to Ukraine. And the hawks glowed when President Vladimir Putin telephoned President Barack Obama to discuss common problems in the Mideast. You see, they crowed, Putin is blinking first when faced with U.S. toughness. Get even tougher, do more, they urged in White House meetings and the press. They never addressed what they would do if more and more failed—as it almost certainly would.
Yes, Washington should show more resolve and enhance NATO’s military punch. But neither that nor increasing economic sanctions will stop Putin. By themselves, upping military and economic pressure is both a dangerous and losing strategy.