How to deal with Vladimir Putin, timeless truths edition

Recently, several pieces have been written on whether we should change our strategy towards Russia. By now, it's apparent that President Trump's efforts have run into the brick wall known as Vladimir Putin. Further, it's apparent that President Trump needs to change his strategy. Tinkering around the edges isn't productive. Bold, decisive moves are required. What's required is a strong shot of Ronald Reagan. Specifically, I'm referring to President Reagan being asked what his strategy was towards the Soviets. Reagan confidently replied "Here's my strategy on the Cold War: we win, they lose."

President Trump's strategy isn't geared towards winning. President Trump's strategy appears to be to work on a strategy where both sides 'win'. President Putin has played that like a Stradivarius. The turning point in the Cold War, in my estimation, came when President Reagan installed Pershing II missiles into western Europe. Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Joe Biden insisted that would start (what else?) World War III. That didn't happen. If fact, not only did it not happen, it still hasn't happened.

Dovetailing perfectly with "We win. They lose." is President Reagan's Evil Empire speech:

More than anything, I'd love President Trump to read this section of Reagan's Evil Empire Speech:
It was C.S. Lewis who, in his unforgettable "Screwtape Letters," wrote: "The greatest evil is not done now…in those sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint. It is…not even done in concentration camps and labor camps. In those we see its final result, but it is conceived and ordered; moved, seconded, carried and minuted in clear, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice."

Well, because these "quiet men" do not "raise their voices," because they sometimes speak in soothing tones of brotherhood and peace, because, like other dictators before them, they’re always making "their final territorial demand,"some would have us accept them at their word and accommodate ourselves to their aggressive impulses. But if history teaches anything, it teaches that simpleminded appeasement or wishful thinking about our adversaries is folly. It means the betrayal of our past, the squandering of our freedom.

It's time to put aside the wishful thinking that Putin's actions aren't really Putin's actions. To use another Reaganism, "Don't be afraid to see what you saw." It's ok to admit that you got Putin wrong this time but that this would be the final time you'd make that mistake. Let's relearn President Reagan's wisdom of not just peace-through-strength but also being willing to see what we actually saw. Finally, let's see evil for what it really is.

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