Foreign policy priority: Keep NATO alliance united and strong

Let's stipulate that a lot of very smart, very experienced, and very plugged-in people have made a number of predictions about the war in Ukraine that have turned out to be very wrong,

Chief among these is that Russia would quickly roll over Ukraine's military, seize Kyiv, and install a puppet government. Yet, here we are.

Even in the lead-up to this week's NATO summit, most thought that Turkish President Erdogan was not prepared to end his objection to Swedish membership in the alliance, particularly when he seemed to link it to progress in Turkey's path to EU membership. Wrong again.

Even with the continuing flow of Western weapons, a lot of analysts have assumed that Ukraine will not have the power to evict Russia from all of the captured territory, including Crimea, and that there will have to be a diplomatic solution - perhaps an armistice on the Korean model.

Let's not pretend anyone knows how this will end. Did anyone see the Wagner Group forces come within 125 miles of Moscow?

The just completed NATO summit gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy much of what he wanted, but clearly not everything. While he knew Ukraine could not achieve membership in the alliance as long as hostilities continued, it was clear that the fear that eventual membership could slip away was not unfounded.

If some are right that, ultimately, a diplomatic solution is inevitable can one imagine Russian President Putin agreeing to a deal that would allow Ukraine to achieve both EU and NATO membership? Those things can never be bargained away. Ukraine, as a sovereign nation, has the right to choose its path.

The task before the United States and the NATO alliance is the same as it was on February 23, 2022, as stated by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley:

How do you underwrite and enforce the value-based international order against a country with extraordinary nuclear capability without going to World War III?

In his speech at Vilnius University, President Biden hinted that he foresees a lengthy struggle. Russia's forces might have taken horrific casualties, might be poorly led and equipped, and poorly motivated, but

they are not stupid. They have learned from some of their mistakes and they have dug in deeply in eastern Ukraine. Prying them out will be hard.

So the show of unity in Vilnius has to be more than a photo-op. With elections looming in America, and leftists and right-wing populists/isolationists in America and Europe questioning the cost of the war, remaining steadfast is absolutely crucial. Even President Zelenskyy faces his voters in 2024.

Let's remember some things we do know. Europe can certainly do more, but it has done a lot. If you count the support for millions of Ukrainian refugees, Europe has contributed more in dollars than the U.S. Add countries like South Korea, which has provided desperately needed artillery shells and it is clear the U.S. is not shouldering this burden alone. But let's also keep in mind that Texas has a larger GDP than Russia.

Holding this alliance together, particularly if the going gets tough as Ukraine's counteroffensive unfolds, will largely fall on President Biden's shoulders.

Hawks will argue he could have moved faster and provided more weaponry to Ukraine, but he deserves credit where credit is due. Ukraine is still standing, Russia has been stymied, the NATO alliance is both larger and stronger, and we haven't stumbled into World War III.

As our election season unfolds, American voters will focus on the economy or reproductive rights or voting rights or dozens of other issues, but voters need to carefully consider which candidate will best hold the NATO alliance together and help Ukraine achieve victory.

• Keith Peterson, of Lake Barrington, served 29 years as a press and cultural officer for the United States Information Agency and Department of State. He was chief editorial writer of the Daily Herald 1984-86.