In 1938, various world powers negotiated an appeasement treaty with Nazi Germany, allowing Hitler to keep the region of Czechoslovakia he’d just conquered. Afterwards Neville Chamberlain, the prime minister of Britain, said he had helped achieve “peace in our time.”

Tuesday, President Biden followed Chamberlain’s formula. After Russian troops invaded two sections of Ukraine and declared both to be “independent republics,” Biden took the podium. He spoke for nine minutes, ceding Ukraine to the Russians but vowing that America will “reinforce and reassure our NATO allies.”

In light of Biden’s present response, this vow of protection seems empty. He imposed a range of slap-on-the-wrist sanctions, none of which cripple the Russian government. 

He “cut off Russia’s government from Western financing. It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either.” In essence, this is a restriction of Russian economic sway in the West – however, it has no bearing on Russian borrowing from China, its most powerful ally. Further, Biden plans on punishing “Russia’s elites and their family members” with economic restrictions.

On the ground, this means nothing. Biden’s plan is to “wait for a month” and see if these sanctions work. Meanwhile, Russia is bombing Ukrainian cities, and Putin has no expectation of a serious response from President Biden. Under Presidents Trump and Obama, Putin never considered an attack like this; but now, the chief executive’s weakness sends a clear message: that America is not a nation to be taken seriously.

Common sense dictates that appeasement, the likes of which Biden is practicing, is never effective. To leave aggressive behavior unpunished is to reinforce that behavior; to allow Putin to take one section of Ukraine only encourages further conquest. Thus empowered by Biden’s policy of cowering, Putin’s forces are moving ever westward – the question is one of when, and how, they might be stopped.

Biden’s inability to do this is apparent. After nine minutes of incoherent remarks on Tuesday, he left the podium without taking a single question. His plans to “reinforce and reassure” our allies remain murky, and his indecision only encourages the Russian dictator.

If history is of any relevance, Biden’s strategy of appeasement is only laying the groundwork for devastating war. If Russian aggression doesn’t end here, where will it? Can our NATO allies actually expect our assistance if attacked by the Russians? And if we allow a tyrant to annex a sovereign nation, what does that say about us, our resolve, and our influence on the world stage?

Neville Chamberlain, of course, was wrong in his assessment. Eleven months after Chamberlain achieved “peace in our time,” Hitler’s forces invaded Poland. World War II, the most devastating conflict in human history, began.

Working under this precedent, Biden is bound to produce a similar result. As American influence weakens, as diffidence and passivity become the hallmarks of American foreign policy, as our president remains muddled and submissive, one thing is clear: Biden is unequipped to handle a crisis, and for that the world will suffer.