How far will Putin's most vocal opponents go?
![A protester.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6vZJo8dB62Vh559oBu2EZL-415-80.jpg)
Just about everyone is appalled by Russia's actions in Ukraine, even many of those political writers and entertainers who've foolishly praised the toughness and perspicacity of Russian President Vladimir Putin over the past few years.
But some have gone farther than expressing outrage toward Russia and solidarity with the victims of its aggression. I'm thinking of statements that take the form of absolute moral imperatives: Ukraine must not be allowed to fall. It must come out on top in its battle with Putin. Russia must lose because its president's disgraceful deeds must be fully undone.
Such sweeping declarations imply that NATO powers should commit to fighting a war with Russia. Yet those issuing these clarion calls also tend to stop short of advocating outright military intervention by the West, proposing instead that we should "do everything short of war." That might sound like restraint, but it really isn't.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It is a truism in moral reasoning: To will the end is to will the means. One cannot have a duty to perform an act one lacks the capacity fulfill. Can Ukraine prevail without more direct military support from the West? It's possible, but most analysts consider it very unlikely. Would Ukraine prevail with full NATO backing? Almost certainly. That implies NATO must be prepared to take up arms on Ukraine's side, to ensure the supposed moral commandment is fulfilled. To hold otherwise — to claim the West should stop short of joining the fight, when that might be the only thing compatible with fulfilling the commandment — sounds appalling.
What is leading analysts to end up lost in this moral thicket? The counsels of prudence, mainly, which tell them that war between nuclear-armed powers could be catastrophic and so should definitely be avoided. This is, in part, what led President Biden to clarify long before Russia's invasion of Ukraine that the United States would not become directly involved in any military conflict.
Yet some observers combine this prudence with moral proclamations that imply the need for much less prudent deeds. Why? I can only speculate that it follows from expectations set by the decisive conclusion of the Second World War, when the Axis powers unconditionally surrendered to the Allies. That brought the conflict to a maximally satisfying end. But of course such a resolution was made possible by the Allies' overwhelming military victory and would have been impossible without it.
I fear some of my fellow pundits have come to expect equally decisive outcomes without willing the means to achieve them.
As a corrective, they might opt to start outrightly advocating for war. But it would be far more reasonable for them to begin moving in the opposite direction, moderating their hopes for a morally satisfying conclusion to the current conflagration. Such a conclusion could well prove far more elusive than some people seem prepared to accept.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.
-
Nasa's 'strangest find': pure sulphur on Mars
Under the Radar Curiosity rover discovers elemental sulphur rocks, adding to 'growing evidence' of life-sustaining elements on Red Planet
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Bodycam shows deputy killing Black woman
Speed Read An Illinois deputy fatally shot Sonya Massey, who had called 911 about suspected trespassers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Spare us the charade'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
How Biden's enablers may have delayed his bowing out
Talking Points Joe Biden's inner circle faces calls for a reckoning for allegedly shielding the president — and the public — from questions of aging and electoral viability
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The Democrats 'resigned to a second Trump presidency'
Talking Points Did the assassination attempt end Biden's election chances?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Are down-ticket Democrats doomed?
Talking Points President Joe Biden's refusal to step back from his reelection campaign has some local Democrats wondering if their own races are in trouble — but not everyone is worried
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why Project 2025 is creating headaches for the Trump campaign
Talking Points Democrats want to make Trump 'own' the controversial plan
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
US and Germany foil Russian assassination plot
Speed Read The target was the CEO of Rheinmetall, which has been making weapons for Ukraine
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets to fly 'this summer'
Speed Read Warplanes sent by the U.S. and other NATO allies will help combat Russian forces
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published