The year 2003 called - it wants its foreign policy back. The world has changed and we need to start acting like it.

The world is not the same as it was 10 years ago.

Or even five. 

And world leaders need to start acting like it.

Under Vladimir Putin, Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Putin was ready. Moscow was prepared. 

The United States and the European Union were not. In retrospect, it should have been obvious.

The most casual review of the geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine would have revealed Vladimir Putin’s plan. Russia had already been at war with Ukraine since at least 2014, and probably before. 

The asymmetrical warfare tactics used by Russia to annex Crimea in 2014 should have been enough to make Western nations take Putin seriously and literally when he said, publicly, over and over, that Ukraine was Russian territory.

But they ignored him. Western leaders ignored Russia’s backslide into Iron Curtain policies under Vladimir Putin. They ignored the open secret of Putin’s history with the KGB.

Under Putin, incidents of Russian dissidents and journalists shot, stabbed, poisoned, arrested, or imprisoned rose sharply. 

World leaders ignored it.

Getting EU nations deeply dependent on cheap Russian energy via the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 was obviously part of Putin’s strategy. After he invaded Ukraine — as he planned all along — Russia’s strong-man president knew he would face harsh criticism from Western leaders.

But that was about it.

Knowing their distaste for boots-on-the-ground warfare, Putin knew the world’s nations would try embargoes on Russian oil. Thanks to his long-term planning and preparation, the EU nations who would object so strenuously to the invasion would be so dependent on Russian oil and gas, embargoes would be half-hearted — at best.

And indeed, four years into Russia’s war against Ukraine, EU nations are still punishing Putin with sanctions with one hand while they pay him for their basic energy needs with the other.

The world ignored and dismissed Vladimir Putin. Invasions, wars, the forcible annexation of other nations was all in the past, they told themselves while the world edged closed to war.

Had Western leaders treated Putin like the threat he always clearly was, Ukraine could have been included in NATO a decade ago. Barring that, at least powerful countries like Germany could have produced their own energy, instead of outsourcing such a vital national security piece out to someone who had openly expressed a desire to reunite the nations of the USSR under Russia’s banner.

Only they didn’t and here we all are — closer to World War III than we’ve been since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Iran and its proxies have been the architects of brutal acts of terrorism, repression, and and violence in the Persian Gulf. And yet, Western leaders have largely turned a blind eye.

Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the sponsorship of terror proxies in the Gulf and Middle East, the regime’s brutal repression of the Iranian people: World leaders ignored, downplayed, and dismissed it all. Plus, they allowed Iran to flout international edicts pertaining to nuclear inspections.

The Iranian regime’s many lies to the West equal or exceed that of Vladimir Putin — who lied about Russia’s intent to invade Ukraine even as tanks and soldiers could be seen amassing on the border, right up until the moment the invasion took place. Putin lied right to the face of Western governments, including (famously) French President Emmanuel Macron.

The EU should never have believed Vladimir Putin. And the world should never have believed Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, either. Iran’s sponsorship of terror proxies, its nuclear ambitions, were impossible to ignore.

And yet, world leaders ignored them. Right up until the moment Hamas terrorists attacked, terrorized, murdered, and raped their way across Israel on October 7, 2023.

The attack shocked the world to its senses — at least it should have.

World leaders need to start treating the threats to democracy, sovereignty, and peace as they must be treated.

If the world had prepared for Vladimir Putin to attack Ukraine, he might never have done it. Countering Putin’s chess moves back in 2014 could have prevented the invasion of Ukraine and saved countless lives.

If the world had treated Iran as the threat it was, not a legitimate government separate from known terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, October 7 might never have happened. Thousands of innocent Israelis and Iranians might still be alive today, Khamenei’s regime might have been crushed under the weight of united global action long ago.

And what are we doing now to prepare for what’s next?

Still outsourcing vital national security and entire industries to countries like China and Russia.

China’s Xi Jinping has designs on Taiwan, as everyone knows. He has been completely open about it.

If Beijing’s army was to descend upon Taiwan tomorrow, world leaders would be in the same situation they were with Putin four years ago. Our economies and industries are too dependent on China.

World leaders need to prepare their countries for the worst. In doing so, we may prevent the worst from happening. 

U.S. President Donald Trump wants the U.S. to acquire Greenland. Instead of a knee-jerk response, serious political analysts should consider it — and look for ways to shore up their own nations and borders.

Canada may not like Donald Trump; Canadian citizens would enjoy Vladimir Putin even less. Putin actually is what U.S. media outlets like to pretend Donald Trump is.

And if Putin invaded Greenland tomorrow, or Canada, what would we do?

World leaders would be forced to defend their turf by force. The U.S. couldn’t allow Putin to get a foothold on our doorstep.

Bad actors are sensing weakness in their geopolitical opponents and they are acting accordingly. The rest of the world needs to unite in security collectives, foster energy independence, and fortify borders.

The post-WWII honor system is no longer working. World leaders need to start acting like it. Yesterday.

(Contributing writer, Brooke Bell)