Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World

by Adam Tooze

To the indignation of right-wingers in Congress, all that the EU could agree to were individualized sanctions against eighteen leading Russian figures. Senator John McCain was moved to declare, “If the Europeans decide that the economic considerations are too important to impose severe sanctions on Vladimir Putin . . . then they are ignoring the lessons of history.”54 Appeasement had failed against Hitler in 1938. It would fail against Mr. Putin. In May transatlantic tensions were mounting to such a pitch that Merkel and Obama hastily convened talks in the White House. Merkel had no doubt about the need for action, but she could not ignore European public opinion, and McCain’s outbursts were not helpful. The two agreed that Obama would restrain the American hawks while Merkel moved to build a consensus in Europe around tougher measures.