On Sept. 2, Russia and China outlined their vision of a multipolar world that would likely see democratic Europe largely abandoned by the U.S. and facing the nightmare scenario of direct confrontation with an emboldened, war-hungry Russia.

Two days later, democratic Europe responded with a plan for stopping Russian aggression in Ukraine that almost certainly won't work.

The plan, presented by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, relies entirely on the goodwill of two of the very people r