Trump is often criticized for his transactional approach to foreign policy rather than one that is based on or pretends to be rooted in moral issues and human-rights concerns
But after the failure of Obama and Biden’s policies to deter Russia or Iran, the need for a more sober approach to these conflicts based on realpolitik concerns is warranted
It’s not just that Biden’s weakness encouraged aggression Disasters in Afghanistan and Iraq should have cured Americans of any lingering belief in exporting democracy
After all that, it should be obvious that a pragmatic approach to the world and the need to maintain a balance of power—as opposed to one that claims to be defending some great moral principle—is likely to do more to do less harm and avoid needless conflict
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Regardless of whatever arguments Moscow may put forward: the Russians are guilty of starting and pursuing an illegal and indefensible war against Ukraine
Yet a continuation of Biden’s support for the unattainable goal of Ukraine defeating Russia still sounds good to Western armchair strategists committed to obsolete Cold War strategies
It also appeals to those who not only think Russia is evil but have drunk the Kool-Aid about Ukraine being the avatar of the struggle for democracy, rather than just another corrupt and largely undemocratic former Soviet republic
