A nation must think before it acts.
With tensions over Ukraine growing, the Biden administration finds itself confronting a similar charge to one that dogged the Obama administration in the run-up to and aftermath of Russia’s annexation of Crimea: namely, that it is exhibiting weakness that could embolden Moscow and other discontents of the post–Cold War settlement. This judgment overstates U.S. agency while discounting the competitive challenges confronting Russia and China.