Ukraine has been waiting for an invitation to join the Atlantic Alliance for years. It won't get one at the next Summit. But when NATO leaders meet in July, they should clarify when Ukraine can join
Agreed, with one addition, which is to remember that the enemy gets a say. As long as Moscow holds the initiative on the battlefield Putin will never agree to a cease-fire that leaves open the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO. A prerequisite for any of what you're talking about is to gain the upper hand on the battlefield and to negotiate from a position of strength. That alone is going to take a commitment by the U.S. and its allies at a level that, right now, no country seems willing or able to make. And even if we get there, Putin has so much invested politically and militarily in Ukraine that it is not out of the question he would employ (via threat, battlefield demonstration etc.) his nuclear arsenal to prevent Ukraine joining NATO. In sum, even if the West issues an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO at some point, Ukraine's accession into the Alliance would require, first, reversing the current momentum of the war and then, likely, remaining steadfast in the face of nuclear blackmail. I'd love to see Ukraine in NATO, but those are some pretty serious barriers to overcome. Serious question: how might we overcome them?
We're on the same page. The final part of our article makes clear that supporting Ukraine in the war is the sine qua non for getting to an end to fighting--either through Ukrainian victory or through exhaustion. But it is an imperative that we do all we can to that end, including ending any caveats or restrictions on the weapons we transfer to Ukraine (except those forbidden by international law, like nuclear weapons) and of course getting the House to approve the bipartisan Senate aid package.
Agreed, with one addition, which is to remember that the enemy gets a say. As long as Moscow holds the initiative on the battlefield Putin will never agree to a cease-fire that leaves open the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO. A prerequisite for any of what you're talking about is to gain the upper hand on the battlefield and to negotiate from a position of strength. That alone is going to take a commitment by the U.S. and its allies at a level that, right now, no country seems willing or able to make. And even if we get there, Putin has so much invested politically and militarily in Ukraine that it is not out of the question he would employ (via threat, battlefield demonstration etc.) his nuclear arsenal to prevent Ukraine joining NATO. In sum, even if the West issues an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO at some point, Ukraine's accession into the Alliance would require, first, reversing the current momentum of the war and then, likely, remaining steadfast in the face of nuclear blackmail. I'd love to see Ukraine in NATO, but those are some pretty serious barriers to overcome. Serious question: how might we overcome them?
We're on the same page. The final part of our article makes clear that supporting Ukraine in the war is the sine qua non for getting to an end to fighting--either through Ukrainian victory or through exhaustion. But it is an imperative that we do all we can to that end, including ending any caveats or restrictions on the weapons we transfer to Ukraine (except those forbidden by international law, like nuclear weapons) and of course getting the House to approve the bipartisan Senate aid package.
Looks like we are on the same page. Unfortunately, the House Republicans seem to be on a different page.