The Bible says, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

In other words … believe what people do, not what they say. Or as Ronald Reagan once said, “trust but verify.” Great advice.

Vladimir Putin talked peace, self-defense, reduction in force … lots of quasi-convincing words (that the world wanted to believe) before his massive invasion of Ukraine last week. He threw off the sheep’s clothing (which wasn’t very deceptive, in any case) and revealed the ravening Russian bear underneath.

Ukraine is full of resources and access points and people, and as a self-determining democracy, had emerged from and developed upward from its decades of domination by the Soviet Union. Now this country is on the brink of failure; Europe is destabilized; markets have reeled; and the world ponders what’s next, as the bear tears its way forward.

War may be quick, and retribution may take decades, but the West and its democratic al...