“You Europeans will stop supporting Ukraine in six months. You Americans will not use force against me. I will talk to you politely. I don’t want a fight. But I will continue to do what I want. And who are you anyway?” — Vladimir Putin.

My fear is that Putin will test Europe and then the American public being simply unwilling to come to their aid. Whether that is Trump, the next president, or just the American voter in general being unwilling to send American boys to their death. It used to be the case that America was steadfast in it’s willingness to sacrifice troops to defend Europe but I’m not convinced this is the case anymore.

Do we really think that France will transition to a war economy and institute a draft if Russia attacks Poland? It used to be the case that America would rush military support regardless, but I’m not sure if this is the case anymore. It’s going to be a hard political sell to send American troops when Western Europe makes little sacrifice themselves.