Politico discusses a recent documentary on Macron’s diplomatic efforts to prevent and then stop the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The documentary features a series of conversations French President Emmanuel Macron has had with a bunch of foreign leaders, including the leaked conversation with Putin several days before February 24. The film confirms that Macron runs France’s foreign policy on his own with only a few advisers who are not challenging the President in any meaningful way, writes Politico. Former ambassador and adviser at the Montaigne Institute Michel Duclos comments this centralized foreign policy manner as outdated and “reaching its’ limits”. According to Duclos, Macrons’ uncompromising commitment to talks with Putin has its’ cost for him and for France in terms of the country’s credibility with the allies and partners. Overall, while the film intended to demonstrate European affairs and efforts are taken to counter the invasion, in reality, it reveals excellent insights into Macron’s motivation.
Eliot A. Cohen, a former Counselor of the Department of State, wrote an op-ed on The Atlantic, where he compares Putin to Al Capone and offers the “Chicago way” of responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Al Capone, writes Cohen, is a prone metaphor for what represents Russia: a vicious mix of Mafia mentality, hyper-nationalist doctrine, and totalitarian approach. Therefore, the West should respond to the Russian aggression accordingly. As Ukraine demonstrates the ability to effectively deploy high-end military hardware, like with HIMARS [high mobility artillery rocket systems], the US should scale up transfers of these and like weapons as fast as possible, writes the author. Cohen cites Jim Malone, Eliot Ness’s counselor in The Untouchables, to describe the “Chicago rules” – “You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way! And that’s how you get Capone.” While the Biden administration claims the objective of US and allies’ aid to Ukraine is to avoid Ukraine being defeated, the Chicago rules suggest the goal should be ensuring Russia’s defeat. While Russia is weak and its’ leadership is incompetent, “a mangy, myopic, and rabid bear” is still a dangerous beast, writes Cohen. Therefore, Russia has to be weakened further to the point when it is not able to rearm on a large scale after the war is over.