- Monday, February 14, 2022

The growing partnership between Russian President Vladimir and Chinese President Xi Jinping evident at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics should be a jarring sight for all Americans. The rulers of the authoritarian regimes are openly and actively colluding to topple the United States of America as the world’s superpower. It is a wake-up call on the urgent need to fix our out-of-balance national security and the implications it will have on future generations.

When America shrinks on the international stage, our foes take heed. They were watching the humiliating surrender in Afghanistan last summer. Now the Biden administration faces more than 100,000 Russian troops and stockpiled military equipment on the Ukrainian border. Mr. Putin cannot be allowed to reestablish the Soviet bloc and retake control of Eastern Europe. Ukraine will be the first domino, but it will not be the last — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will soon follow.

To be sure, we should not be sending our service members into another foreign war. Having spent 33 years proudly wearing the uniform of the United States Army and retiring as a brigadier general, I know the toll that endless overseas entanglements take on our military and their families. As one of the first units on the ground in Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, I believe winding down our engagement was the correct move. The way the Biden administration went about it was anything but and incentivized Mr. Putin, Mr. Xi and others to make their move.

There are other steps that can be taken to slow Mr. Putin’s ambitions. First, we should be pushing a strong message of deterrence. Russia needs to know it faces immediate and severe sanctions for its aggression. President Biden may be talking tough on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline now, but it was a grave mistake for him to ever allow it to get this far. It not only weakened Ukraine economically, but it provided Russia a major geopolitical advantage. Western Europe depends on Russia for nearly half of its natural gas supplies, which are critical in these cold winter months. Germany’s reliance on natural gas from the Kremlin has sent it shrinking into the corner during this current standoff.

Second, we should forwardly deploy our naval assets into the region. More than 100 years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt ordered 16 new battleships to circle the world to project American strength. Roosevelt believed that “America should speak softly and carry a big stick.” We have the greatest naval capability in the world. The assets we used to win the Cold War should be positioned in the Black Sea right now. Without putting a boot on the ground, Mr. Putin will get the message that we are serious.

Finally, we should be doing more to help the Ukrainians prepare for the possibility of war. Massively outgunned and outmatched by the Russian firepower looming on their border, thousands of Ukrainian civilians have joined local defense units. Our Special Operations Forces can assist with the training and preparation process. Ukraine is a proud nation. Many of its residents are old enough to remember life in the Soviet Union. They do not want to go back to those days. Furthermore, America has run this playbook with success in the past, and the Russians are well aware. When the Soviet Union attempted to occupy Afghanistan in the 1980s, it was driven out by well-armed and well-trained local forces, courtesy of American coalition support teams.

Our challenges at home are real and growing by the day. A bungled COVID-19 response, runaway inflation, soaring energy costs and crime rates we haven’t seen in decades. Inflation at a four-decade high. A porous southern border where U.S. Border Patrol agents made a record-setting 1.9 million arrests in 2021, including five Syrian men last week. Twenty-four police officers shot in January, including four tragic deaths.

The American voters will render their judgment on the Biden administration in November. If public opinion polls are accurate, they will vote for a change in direction. But our national security needs cannot wait until then. Russia and China are not waiting. We have the blueprint, we have the knowledge and we have the understanding. The big question is whether we have the will. One thing is clear: If America shrinks, our foes will step forward and a new world order is a distinct possibility.

• Don Bolduc is a retired brigadier general who served 10 tours of duty in Afghanistan. He is a GOP candidate for the United States Senate in New Hampshire.

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