After World War II, the United States created an international system aimed at preventing the kinds of catastrophic conflicts that consumed the first half of the 20th century. This system was underwritten by hard power such as the American nuclear arsenal and the NATO alliance. Yet, underneath those foundations, the American-backed order was really about maintaining norms of international behavior. Throughout the Cold War, successive administrations from both political parties realized that the United States had an indispensable role to play in enforcing rules of the road that led to a more just, humane, and free world.
Unfortunately, for much of the past decade, the American-backed international order has been under siege. Radical jihadists have sought to turn back the clock to medieval barbarity, rogue states like Iran and North Korea have pursued weapons of mass destruction, and aggressive powers like China and Russia have tested norms against territorial expansion. Yet in recent weeks, supporters of what scholar Robert Kagan has called “the world America made” have had cause for optimism.
For one, the Trump administration’s strike against Syria’s al-Shayrat airfield sent an important message that the United States would not tolerate the use of chemical weapons. This strike began the tough work of reversing America’s international loss of credibility following the Obama administration’s failure to enforce its red line in Syria. After almost four years of acquiescing to the battlefield use of chemical weapons, the United States once again has the courage and the foresight to stand up for international norms it helped create.
Secondly, a new generation of veterans in Congress is fighting for American leadership. In fact, freshman GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin recently gave a full-throated defense of the American-backed international order. In a noteworthy speech, Gallagher warned that Vladimir Putin represents a fundamental threat to the post-war American project and called on the United States to stand up to Russian aggression.
A former Marine, Senate staffer, and foreign policy adviser to Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, Rep. Gallagher pulled no punches regarding Russia’s malicious activity both in the United States and abroad, saying that “When it comes to Russia’s interference in our elections, we must put the country and the sanctity of our democracy far above partisan interests.” Rebuffing claims of moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, Gallagher argued that “Time and again, first in Georgia, then in Ukraine, and now in Syria, Vladimir Putin has warned us exactly who he is.” As Gallagher noted, Putin’s goal is clear: the destruction of the NATO alliance and the post-war order in Europe, which after all, America created to its own advantage.
One of Gallagher’s central insights was that Putin desires not war with the United States, but rather “the fruits of conquest without the costs.” As Gallagher put it, Putin “holds the cards of a bluffer and he is gradually raising the stakes in an effort to get us to fold.” Because Putin’s designs can only succeed through American acquiescence, it is in America’s capacity to stop his aggression through a clear demonstration of its resolve and commitment to the NATO alliance. In the absence of such action, Gallagher warned that the United States may one day be faced with the prospect of going to war to protect its treaty obligations, or inaction that would meekly accept the end of the post-war order in Europe.
Mike Gallagher is, at 33, one of Congress’ youngest members. His warnings on Russia and his defense of the American-backed international order demonstrate that he is also one of its wisest. Given his impressive resume and his willingness to defend American international leadership, Gallagher promises to be one of the country’s most important voices in Congress.
Gallagher’s warnings on Russia also extend to Syria. The United States must not fall victim to the temptation to view the Kremlin as an earnest partner for peace. As the Associated Press has reported, Russia went so far as to bomb a hospital caring for victims of the Assad regime’s chemical weapons attack to try to cover up the use of weapons of mass destruction. The United States must be under no illusions that Putin has our best interests—or those of Syrian civilians—in mind.
There are growing signs that both the White House and the Hill understand the stakes going forward. We have seen the chaos that ensues when the United States declines to lead. It is now time for the United States to live up to its inheritance and once again lead from the front.
Daniel P. Vajdich is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Charles Morrison is a defense policy analyst at the political risk consultancy Yorktown Solutions.
