Chris Preble on Ukraine

The last time Chris Preble joined my show, we discussed the full sweep of U.S. foreign policy from the founding period to the “forever wars” in the middle east, all through the lens of his monumental book *[Peace, War, and Liberty: Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy](https://www.amazon.com/Peace-War-Liberty-Understanding-Foreign/dp/1948647168/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1556590857&sr=1-1)*.Just as one long conflict in Afghanistan comes to an end, there are new rumors of war brewing in hotspots around the world. From Taiwan to Ukraine, the temptations for new exercises of American influence abroad are everywhere. The Biden Administration has put Americans on alert that Russia may invade Ukraine at any time. But should this happen, what is the right response? Few Americans, let alone Europeans, seem to have the stomach for a hot war with Russia.Preble now serves as co-director of the New American Engagement Initiative in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at [the Atlantic Council](http://atlanticcouncil.org) in Washington DC. We discussed the shifting alliances underlying both NATO and Putin’s patchwork of strongmen in Eastern Europe, and how the struggle is likely to play out. Do we have a compelling interest in “defending democracy” in far-flung regions? And what about “preserving credibility” in the wake of our disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan?