United States | Great-power politics

In Ukraine, Biden must relearn Truman’s lessons from the cold war

America once again seeks to curb Russia and China without blowing up the world

|Washington, DC|10 min read

JOE BIDEN entered the White House last year styling himself on Franklin Roosevelt. The better model today might be Harry Truman. His words to Congress 75 years ago this month—“It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures”—girded America for the cold war. Those words have a new resonance as Ukraine, helped by the West, battles to resist Russia’s month-old invasion.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Ukraine and the lessons of the cold war”

Power play: The new age of energy and security

From the March 26th 2022 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition
President Trump and Pam Bondi hold a press conference

Jeffrey Epstein is still causing trouble for Donald Trump

His administration cannot shake rumours of a cover-up—in part because MAGA types enthusiastically endorsed it

What went wrong in the Texas floods?

DOGE may not have been to blame but local politicians have a case to answer


Young man with strong body showing back muscles

American men are hungry for injectable testosterone

A legion of new health clinics are serving it up


Trump embarrasses the Pentagon with a U-turn on Ukraine

His decision to resume arms shipments is a victory for common sense—while it lasts

ICE’s big payday makes mass deportation possible

What the controversial agency will do with even more funding