With his jolting unexpected statement that sending Western troops to Ukraine “should not be ruled out,” President Emmanuel Macron of France has shattered a taboo, ignited debate, spread dismay among allies and forced a reckoning on Europe’s future.
For an embattled leader who loathes lazy thinking, longs for a Europe of military strength and loves the limelight, this was typical enough.
It was Mr. Macron, after all, who in 2019 described NATO as suffering from “brain death” and who last year warned Europe against becoming America’s strategic “vassal.”But bold pronouncements are one thing and patiently putting the pieces in place to attain those objectives, another.
Mr. Macron has often favored provocation over preparation, even if he often has a point, as in arguing since 2017 that Europe needed to bolster its defense industry to attain greater strategic heft.
By lurching forward without building consensus among allies, Mr. Macron may have done more to illustrate Western divisions and the limits of how far NATO allies are willing to go in defense of Ukraine than achieve the “strategic ambiguity” he says is needed to keep President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia guessing.
Persons:
Ukraine “, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Vladimir V, Putin
Organizations:
NATO
Locations:
Ukraine, France, Europe, Russia