Ukraine Crisis: U.S. Must Use Restraint

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has put the world on high alert, and many politicians and activists are calling for the United States to play a decisive and commanding role in the conflict, even to the point of putting American troops in harm’s way.

Will Ruger, the newly appointed president of the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER), disagrees. A veteran of the Afghanistan war, he holds a Ph.D. in foreign policy, served as vice president of research at the Charles Koch Institute, and was nominated to be ambassador to Afghanistan late in the Trump administration (his confirmation was never brought to a vote).

Ruger is a proponent of what he calls “libertarian realism” in foreign policy, meaning that America’s interventions abroad should be focused on defending a narrowly defined national interest and that the use of military force should be strictly subjugated to diplomacy