View from Washington: Putin is winning World War Three

“NATO is at war with Russia,” Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a news briefing. “It’s evident, and it doesn’t need any additional confirmation.” According to him, “NATO is de facto taking part in this war” by providing direct and indirect support to the Kiev regime.

Moscow, September 15, TASS

Miraculously, against all odds, Russian President Vladimir Putin is winning World War Three — just not on the battlefields of Ukraine, ‘The Hill’ stresses.

First and foremost, Putin is well on his way to achieving his initial goals: ending U.S. global hegemony and destroying the post-World War II global order. Consequently, NATO is imperiled and the United Nations Security Council rendered incapable of ensuring global peace. Alarmingly, the emerging vacuum is enabling the rise of Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s multipolar world.  

Their meeting in China on Sept. 1 gave us a chilling and eye-opening glimpse of this new world order in the making. More than 20 major global leaders met alongside them at the China- and Moscow-backed Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Notably, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico – heads of NATO member-states — participated as guests. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — a primary purchaser of Russian oil — was there as well. (India joined that now ten-member alliance in 2017.)

Conspicuously absent were the U.S. and its transatlantic allies.

Equally alarming for the West was Beijing’s submission of a working concept paper titled “Global Governance Initiative.” The proposal — quickly overshadowed by the 80th Chinese Victory Day Parade in Beijing marking the end of World War II — is, in effect, the Global South’s version of the Atlantic Charter issued by President Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill on Aug. 14, 1941, off the coast of Newfoundland.

The proposed Initiative argues a new world order must be created to build “a more just and equitable global governance system and work together for a community with a shared future for humanity.” Beijing (of course) intends to be the center of this new Global South world order.

Winning World War Three, however, must come first. Putin — whatever he thinks he knows about what China’s vision means for his desire for a Russia-dominated world — is actively helping Xi achieve his goals by waging a broad multi-domain war against the West that extends well beyond the battlefields of Ukraine.

It is not enough to condemn or cower in fear in the face of Russian aggression. Real, tangible NATO action is needed. And as we have urged repeatedly, this starts with a no-fly zone over Western Ukraine. Instead, all too often, Washington and Brussels continue to let Putin put strategic wins on the board by default.

For example, Romania, a NATO-member state, inexplicably refused to shoot down a Russian military drone over its airspace, instead opting for two F-16s to escort it until it circled back into Ukraine. Rather than defend every square inch of NATO, they allowed Putin’s weapon to freely roam NATO airspace for nearly 50 minutes.

Washington is also guilty of giving Putin easy wins. Former President Joe Biden’s maddening “just enough” approach to defending Ukraine has been matched by unforced errors that afford Putin wins by default.

Perceived Russian strength in the absence of American leadership generates momentum and followers.

The U.S., wittingly or not, is retreating into defeat at Putin’s hands. It is time for Washington and Brussels to hold the line.

Losing World War Three to Putin means also losing to Xi. If that happens, then China will be the only true winner.

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