Richard Fontaine (@RHFontaine) / X

Richard Fontaine

4,440 posts

Richard Fontaine

@RHFontaine

CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Anthropic Trustee. Former NSC, State Dept, Advisor to Sen. John McCain. Tweets reflect personal views.

Washington, D.C.

cnas.org/people/richard…

Joined January 2009

Pinned
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Jun 11, 2024
New book out today 👇 Lost Decade: The US Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power Bob Blackwill and I examine the decade-plus effort to put Asia first in U.S. foreign policy, investigate China’s rise, and make the case for a new pivot to Asia. amazon.com/gp/aw/d/019767…
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Feb 28, 2022
Since the invasion began, the scale and rapidity of geopolitical shifts have been astonishing. Already:
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Sep 21, 2022
Good POTUS speech at the UN, especially on Ukraine. Explains why resistance to Russian aggression is about more than Ukraine. A world in which big powers can violently swallow their sovereign neighbors is the law of the jungle. Those are the stakes in Ukraine.
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Feb 28, 2022
Replying to @RHFontaine
Neutral Switzerland – Switzerland! – will freeze Russian assets as a result of Moscow’s aggression. Full neutrality has become untenable given popular revulsion at the invasion. (5)
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Feb 28, 2022
Replying to @RHFontaine
Finland and Sweden are firmly aligned with the West and against Moscow, and the invasion may tip them into NATO membership. (4)
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Feb 28, 2022
Replying to @RHFontaine
All this and more over a long weekend. We don’t know how this war ends, other than in tragedy for all those caught in its grasp. But already some geopolitical outlines are coming into focus. There will be more to come. END
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Feb 28, 2022
Replying to @RHFontaine
Germany has moved from a pacifist laggard on defense spending to announcing a huge increase, moving ahead of 2% of GDP. “We must put a stop to warmongers like Putin,” the new Chancellor says. “That requires strength of our own.” A new Germany. (3)
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Feb 28, 2022
Replying to @RHFontaine
The European Union, which for two decades has talked about taking on a military role, with very little to show for it, is suddenly providing EU-funded fighter jets to Ukraine. Crossing a Rubicon. (8)
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Feb 28, 2022
Replying to @RHFontaine
Russia has moved from a sullen, revisionist state to a clear and present danger to its neighbors, and has directly threatened countries beyond Ukraine. Governments have no trust in or tolerance for the Putin regime. (1)
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Feb 28, 2022
Replying to @RHFontaine
The sanctions response has been global, with Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore and more joining the anti-aggression bloc. Economic and geopolitical implications stretch well beyond Europe. (6)
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Feb 28, 2022
Replying to @RHFontaine
China is badly exposed, having trumpeted a “no limits” friendship with Russia. It is openly siding not with the numerous wealthy, powerful, and unified countries opposing Moscow’s aggression, but rather with a reckless country that is being isolated and impoverished. (7)
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Feb 28, 2022
Replying to @RHFontaine
The world is disconnecting Russia from globalization’s benefits: trade, travel, finance, technology, & drawing a curtain around the country. The result will be a poorer, more isolated & weaker Russia. A bet on diminishing Russian capability rather than changing its behavior. (9)
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Feb 28, 2022
Replying to @RHFontaine
The world’s major economies, save China, have combined to foment a financial crisis in Russia, casting aside the previous worries about systemic economic risk. That, in turn, may provoke domestic unrest with unknown implications. (2)
Richard Fontaine
@RHFontaine
Aug 15, 2021
Fly them out now - to Guam, to Qatar, to Kuwait, wherever available - and process their cases from there. Saving the lives of our partners has to take precedence over paperwork.
Afghans Despair Over Long Visa Process as Taliban Close In on Kabul
From wsj.com