Some commentators have accused President Biden of invoking “the lessons of Munich,” in reference to the Ukraine War, and particularly of citing those lessons erroneously in his address to the United Nations last week. Meticulous scrutiny of his text discloses no reference to Munich or to the practice of “appeasement” in international relations.

Mr. Biden did say that if the world had not reacted to the unprovoked attack upon Ukraine by Russia, then no country would be secure against such an attack by some other country. This may be hyperbole, but it is a reasonable formulation: if the international community does absolutely nothing when large countries attack smaller countries without any resemblance of a casus belli.