The most tragic thing about this situation is that it was visible from a long way off, but notions of an ideal victory or miraculous breakthrough helped to stymy the steps that could have prevented us from getting to this point.

economist.com/europe/2024/10… .@ka_grieco and I wrote ten months ago about the need to pivot hard to a defense strategy that conserves manpower in Ukraine. Instead, we got more failed counteroffensives and whatever the Kursk operation is.

foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/how-uk…

Yesterday, US envoy to NATO argued that Europe should buy US weapons, not European ones. It's a short-sighted policy that could undermine Europe's developing defense industrial base.

But @StimsonCenter's own @nevadajoan has a new paper out that tackles this issue! 🧵 The paper argues that: "A more Europe-centric defense has historically faced three barriers... inadequate funding... concerns over sovereignty... & fear of a negative U.S. response. The first two roadblocks are shrinking," though the third remains.

stimson.org/2024/eu-defens…

A notable paragraph in this article from such mainstream authors; just a few months ago, this viewpoint was nearly beyond the pale in Washington.

reader.foreignaffairs.com/2023/04/13/the… Look, Im not saying I wrote basically this article late last year, but…

foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/ukrain…