This is no time for old-man thinking at NATO’s Vilnius summit

War is often said to be a young man’s game, played at the beckoning of old men. The reality of governance makes that maxim true enough. But old men chasing peace can and do often sacrifice the liberty of the young.

We cannot allow this to happen in Ukraine, for the consequences there and elsewhere would be unbearable. 

At NATO’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, there is no time for old men. Young men’s thinking is required. And as New NATO has consistently been showing the way, Old NATO must recognize the birth and renewal of freedom in supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky embodies that youthful fount of spirit and resolve — something not fully present in the actions and decisions of President Joe Biden and his risk-averse administration. 

To be clear, Biden has done a considerable amount of good in ensuring Ukraine keeps living to fight another day. But he was far too slow out of the gates, and he is being far too timid now.

Defending liberty never was nor can ever be risk free. Wars are not won playing it safe, but by going on the offensive and risking defeat — or severe repercussions if victory is not achieved. 

As NATO’s member-states meet in Vilinius, the U.S. is at an inflection point. To block Russian President Vladimir Putin from imposing his vision of a new, autocratic, multipolar world, we must shift the paradigm. 

Washington and Brussels can no longer afford to sit back in the “escalation paralysis” seen so far in this conflict. Rather, the paralysis must be forced upon Putin and his cronies in the Kremlin. It is they who should fear the power of freedom, not us who should fear the decrepit stench of Russian tyranny. Likewise, China’s communist regime should fear going down a similar path in Taiwan.

The risk that must be taken now is to fast-track Ukraine to NATO membership. Biden should not be slow-walking the process. It is not his place to say that Kyiv has not yet earned the right.

The largest war in Europe since World War II is already playing out. Ukraine, mainly equipped, trained and mentored by NATO partners, is the bulwark presently protecting all of NATO from Russian aggression.

Kyiv’s accession to NATO has already been paid for in the blood of its soldiers who have fought valiantly now for more than 500 days against a nuclear superpower willing to commit nearly every conceivable type of war crime in order to win. Ukraine’s civilians during that time frame have endured Russian massacres and withstood constant and intentional targeting by the Kremlin of Ukrainian non-combatants with missiles. They have stood strong and united in the face of Putin’s “special military operation.”

Accession should, of course, come with caveats. For instance, Ukraine should be prevented from invoking Article 5 until this war is over, unless Russia employs nuclear weapons, destroys nuclear power plants, or deploys other weapons of mass destruction such as germ warfare. This, at least initially, would prevent NATO from being immediately drawn into a hot war with Russia.

Critically, however, even such a provisional version of Ukrainian membership in NATO should give Putin pause. His Russian state-controlled media talking heads and pundits, who clamor for dropping nukes on Washington, London and Berlin, would have to think twice about risking a nuclear or WMD option. 

This would also turn Biden’s “escalation paralysis” into Putin’s by taking nuclear fears from the table. 

Unfortunately, however, as NATO’s elected leaders meet in Vilnius Tuesday and Wednesday, any appetite that existed for this kind of boldness has already been dashed. Biden has announced Ukraine is not ready for NATO membership. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg admirably came closest to this kind of bold approach by pushing a concrete plan outlining Kyiv’s accession. But after Biden’s declaration, he was forced to backtrack and offered instead watered-down promises in its place.

For now, the old men in NATO are prevailing. They are playing it safe. Meanwhile, the young men of Ukraine and the Ukrainian civilians on the home-fronts across their war-torn country are paying the price. 

Enough is enough. Old men have risen before in defense of liberty — namely Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. The Atlantic Charter they forged on August 14, 1941, aboard the U.S.S. Augusta in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, represented a decision by two old men to find their inner, younger selves and risk all in defense of liberty against Nazi tyranny.

It is that same kind of resolute spirit that Biden is decisively lacking as NATO holds its meetings in Vilnius. 

There is still time for Biden to correct course. The old men of NATO can and should be inspired by the young men of Ukraine — and by a young Zelensky, who is aging before our very eyes under the burden that the defense of freedom entails. 

Mark Toth writes on national security and foreign policy and is an economist, entrepreneur, and former board member of the World Trade Center, St. Louis. Jonathan Sweet, a retired Army Colonel and 30-year military intelligence officer, led the U.S. European Command Intelligence Engagement Division from 2012 to 2014.