The New Frontier of Freedom: From the Cold War to Putin's Invasion of Ukraine
Last week, I had the privilege of speaking with the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel. Pavel and I reminisced about our early military careers which began on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain as well as the dramatic transformation that occurred after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the democratic transformation of Czechoslovakia and other Eastern European nations.
In 1989, Czechoslovakia peacefully transitioned to democracy in a movement known as the Velvet Revolution. On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two independent countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, in what some called the “Velvet Divorce.” The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.
I have long admired Pavel for his record of service in the military—he is a retired general and former chairman of the NATO Military Committee. As President, he has been a voice of clarity and insight into today’s geostrategic challenges and his country has led European efforts to support Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s unprovoked invasion. In our conversation, he made the following key points:
Vladimir Putin has proven that he will not stop his aggression against Ukraine or his shadow war against Europe, the United States, and the West until he is stopped.
The outcome of the war in Ukraine will determine the future of European security and influence the conduct of other members of the Axis of Aggressors.
Europe is ready to shoulder much more responsibility for the security of the Continent, but United States leadership remains indispensable.
For more on these insights and other topics such as the rewards of service, you can watch or listen to our discussion on Battlegrounds: Vital Perspectives on Today’s Challenges.
Unfortunately we didn’t listen to Patton in 1945. Once the Russians got their claws into Germany and Eastern Europe the free world would face the future consequences. We cannot forget history
and how we must influence our allies to stay the course and not let Russia and China create future the international environment based on their power politics. Economics is the difference as they now challenge our role in the world .
With an ineffective UN and their attempts
To realign the international chess board.Eastern Europe is a key player and battleground,
American leadership will remain critical to European security. While Trump and many other Americans rightly feel that Europe should bear more of the cost burden, one consequence seems to be the retraction of American leadership in NATO. While it's clear that we need to get our house in order, Putin will not stop as long as he perceives that America is distracted and disinterested by our internal problems (not to mention China and North Korea).