From Mr. Putin\u2019s point of view, in a war in which almost everything is going wrong, nuclear blackmail is working. Why wouldn\u2019t he double down on the one tactic that works?<\/p>\n
The only way to deter any possible use of nuclear weapons is to make Mr. Putin believe that the consequences of such use will be ruinous for Russia as a state and for him as its ruler, and that the West won\u2019t flinch when the time for action comes.<\/p>\n
To make his threats credible, Mr. Biden needs, first, to make up his mind that he is prepared to stay the course. \u201cThe double-minded man is unstable in all his ways,\u201d the Bible tells us. Facing down Mr. Putin in a nuclear standoff is not a course for a man who lacks conviction.<\/p>\n
If Mr. Biden is sure of himself, he must build an ironclad coalition at home and abroad behind those threats. Rather than playing down the danger, he needs to dramatize it. Making a prime-time speech to the country, addressing a joint session of Congress, holding an emergency NATO summit\u2014these can all demonstrate Mr. Biden\u2019s commitment to respond with overwhelming force to Russian nuclear attacks.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Is Germany willing to lose Berlin to save Kyiv? Are Americans ready to risk New York to keep Odessa free? These are the questions Putin is asking himself, writes @wrmead<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/pFDIE0M9lp<\/a><\/p>\n — Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) October 7, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n