The Secret Service motto is “Worthy of trust and confidence.” The Army Infantry School’s motto is “Follow me.”
Rejecting the former organization’s concerns and embracing the latter’s motto, President Joe Biden should travel to Bucha, Ukraine, and meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen did just that on Friday. Her reaction at being shown the bodies of civilians murdered by Russian troops was striking. Von der Leyen may have had a disastrous tenure as the former German defense minister, but she deserves credit for her leadership during this crisis. As von der Leyen put it on Friday, “Russia will descend into economic, financial, and technological decay, while Ukraine is marching toward the European future.”
The leader of the free world needs to be present in this moment.
As Russia escalates its campaign of terror, echoing the same Nazi tactics it ludicrously claims to oppose, Biden needs to set a different example for the world. The importance of his physical presence cannot be overstated. A visit to Bucha would show Biden’s acceptance of personal risk in pursuit of the nation’s highest moral ideals. It would thus show America’s enduring commitment to take a physical stand, as well as a political stand for what is right. And what’s happening in Ukraine offers a profound distinction between right and wrong. On one side are the people of Ukraine, those who are fighting against an invader determined to strip them of their democratic rights, personal freedom, and very lives. On the other side is President Vladimir Putin’s Russia, an autocracy for which atrocities offer the architecture of foreign statecraft. A war machine near broken by its own ineptitude and the better courage of those who resist it. A gang of war criminals facing defeat by firing missiles into crowded train stations.
That brings us back to the infantry school’s motto. This principle of personal leadership underlines the importance of leaders who set an example through their courage. Standing amid the rubble and bodies of Bucha, Biden would show that America’s superpower status remains of absolute importance. The alternative leadership model, after all, is that of Communist China. A regime that turns its greatest cities into vast COVID-19 concentration camps, sends its minorities into literal concentration camps, and claims to own sole rights over the future of Taiwan, the South China Sea, and the entirety of global intellectual property rights and commerce.
Yes, the Secret Service will surely oppose any visit from Biden to Ukraine. Its latest scandal notwithstanding, the Secret Service is the finest protective force in the world. Its risk assessments deserve prudent attention and respect. Still, the Secret Service and the American president are not one and the same. Giving the service time to prepare and time to offer a degree of confidence for the president’s safety, Biden should visit Ukraine. This could be done in a manner that mitigates the risks to Biden. The deployment of Secret Service personnel and complementing elements from other government institutions could provide an umbrella of protection. The Secret Service retains highly advanced counter-sniper, counter-assault, anti-drone, and anti-surveillance capabilities to mitigate Biden’s vulnerability. And any Russian attack or attack by its proxies would be an act of war that would force Russia to choose between its destruction as a functioning state and its deposing of Putin from power.
But Biden must go to Ukraine. He must set an example of courageous American leadership in the 21st century. He must send Ukraine’s people a message: America stands with their struggle for freedom.
And another message to Russia and, by association, China. A message that America will not yield the 21st century to the forces of evil and injustice.
