Patrick J. Buchanan

Winter has often proven an indispensable ally of Mother Russia. The impending winter of 1812-13 forced Napoleon's withdrawal from Moscow, a retreat from which his Grande Armee never recovered. The winter of 1941-42 sealed the ultimate fate of the invading armies of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. Vladimir Putin's new strategy in the war he launched … Continue reading “Putin’s ‘Winter War’ on Ukraine”

To President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine, Crimea and the Donbas are national territories whose retrieval justifies all-out war to expel the invading armies of Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Yet, who controls Crimea and the Donbas has, in the history of U.S.-Russian relations, never been an issue to justify a war between us. America has never had … Continue reading “Where US and Ukrainian War Aims Collide”

In a Kremlin speech last week, President Vladimir Putin identified Russia’s real "enemy" in Ukraine as "the ruling circles of the so-called West" whose "hegemony has a pronounced character of totalitarianism, despotism and apartheid." In the West, Putin declaimed, "The repression of freedom is taking on the outlines of a reverse religion, of real Satanism," … Continue reading “Putin, Holding a Weak Hand, Raises the Stakes”

If China invades Taiwan to unify it with the mainland, the United States will go to war to defend Taiwan and send U.S. troops to fight the invaders. That is the commitment made last week by President Joe Biden. Asked by CBS’s Scott Pelley on "60 Minutes" if the US would fight in defense of … Continue reading “Biden Commits US to War for Taiwan”

"There never was a good war or a bad peace," wrote Ben Franklin at the end of the American Revolution. But that depends on the war-makers and the causes for which they fight. Six months into the war in Ukraine, launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 24, when he could not get the … Continue reading “Winners and Losers From the Ukraine War”

In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden declared to the nation and world: "We are engaged anew in a great battle for freedom. A battle between democracy and autocracy." On her trip to Taiwan, Speaker Nancy Pelosi echoed Biden: "Today, the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy. America’s determination … Continue reading “Is ‘Autocracy’ America’s Mortal Enemy?”

When a man knows he is about to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully, said Dr. Samuel Johnson. If there is any benefit to be realized from the collision between China and the U.S. over Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s proposed trip to Taiwan, it is this: America needs to reflect long and … Continue reading “Is Taiwan’s Independence Worth War?”

At the NATO summit in Madrid, Finland was invited to join the alliance. What does this mean for Finland? If Russian President Vladimir Putin breaches the 830-mile Finnish border, the United States will rise to Helsinki’s defense and fight Russia on Finland’s side. What does Finland’s membership in NATO mean for America? If Putin makes … Continue reading “Is a US-Russia War Becoming Inevitable?”

Among the nations aiding Ukraine in its resistance to the Russian invasion, America has been foremost. Yet the war interests of our two nations are not identical. To the U.S., the imperative is that the war be contained, not expanded, and that we not be drawn into a wider war with Russia. For the independence, … Continue reading “US and Ukraine, Goals in Conflict”

"The demise of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century," said Russia’s new ruler Vladimir Putin in his 2005 state of the nation address. "As for the Russian people," Putin went on, "it became a genuine tragedy. Tens of millions of our fellow citizens and countrymen found themselves beyond the fringes … Continue reading “Quo Vadis, Mother Russia?”