There is a divide in the American national security debate in regards to Ukraine. One view, a Trumpian view, would have us stay out of any Ukrainian war with Russia. Tucker Carlson has been adamant on that. They see no national interest in facing Russia over the situation.

The other view, a traditional Transatlantic perspective, heeds the wisdom of the 1930s that aggression left to its own devices will only lead to a wider conflict than if said aggression is not faced early. Those of this view, including the Biden administration, support arming the Ukrainians and beefing up NATO forces in Eastern Europe. No one at this point supports US or NATO troops directly intervening in any Ukrainian-Russian conflict.

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Within NATO there is also a divide. The Germans, perhaps worried about their energy supplies and the Russian pipeline, seem to want to give Putin a pass. The French and the British, our long time allies, are taking an opposite stance. They are arming the Ukrainians and advocate strengthening NATO in the area.

One prominent intellectual voice in France is Bernard-Henri Levy. As opposed to the caricature of the French as weak-kneed surrender monkeys, Levy advocates strength in regards to the Russian challenge. His attitude is historically confirmed as wise.

FNC: “Bernard-Henri Levy, known colloquially as BHL in France, said America doesn’t have a choice but to ensure that Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t invade Ukraine on “Special Report” recently.

According to BHL, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has reached a boiling point and Putin is behaving like an enemy towards the West. If Americans don’t want to see a re-mapped world with China and Russia dominating, then they have to start caring about what happens in Ukraine, said the French intellectual.”

“What I see is an incredible act of war and blackmail by Vladimir Putin … Putin is no longer a partner of Europe. He’s no longer an adversary. He acts as an enemy. And you had in the last days a series of statements threatening Europe [with] total war. It is a very, very serious situation which goes far beyond the fate of Ukraine,” BHL told Fox host Bret Baier.

“We (the West) don’t have the choice. We are not living in a world of angels … The next step might be Taiwan might be somewhere else, and the whole world map will be changed. We will live in another world dominated by the Chinese, dominated by the Russian. Is this what the American voters want? If we want peace, we have to accept the Cold War.”

“[Ukraine has] a … strong army with high patriotic morale, and they will fight. Therefore, this war, if Putin decides to invade, will be a very bloody and dirty one. The Ukrainians today are able to fight, able to defend. I saw their trenches, I saw their weapons. They don’t have enough in order to win, but they have enough in order to defend themselves.” If they can hold the line, with our help, it could stop Russian aggression, and perhaps a wider war, dead cold.