Kevin Williamson recently asked a good question: are we at war? At first glance the answer seems simple. The US is not at war with Russia. We haven’t declared war on Russia even if we are indirectly involved by providing military hardware.

But consider the fact that few Americans thought we were at war with radical Islam until the attack on 9/11. These radical Muslim leaders were at war with us even as our leaders and the country dismissed some of the earlier attacks on our military.

Kevin Williamson argues that that “the United States is a belligerent if Vladimir Putin says the United States is a belligerent.” That is a sobering thought. Putin can make up a pretext to attack the US or NATO and justify whatever action he feels is necessary. As I mentioned in a previous commentary, his next attack might be a cyberattack.

The Biden administration apparently backed down from sending MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland to Ukraine because they would first be sent to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. They feared this might look like the US and NATO were carrying out a military operation against Russian forces in Ukraine.

Kevin Williamson said this “MiG fiasco underlined the Biden administration’s predictable fecklessness and disorganization �” America needed a Keystone pipeline, but we got the Keystone Cops.” The administration also hopes that the fighting will stay in Ukraine. But it will only stay there is Putin believes it is in his interest to keep it there and might move his troops to other countries rather than stay tied down in a quagmire in Ukraine.

We may not think we are at war with Russia, but Vladimir Putin may not see it that way. We should be prepared.