Asia & the Pacific

CNBC's Eamon Javers reports from the White House on the press conference with Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, and President Donald Trump. With CNBC Contributor Larry Kudlow; Nicholas Burns, Harvard's Kennedy School; and CNBC's Mike Santoli.

"One overlooked feature in this ongoing tragedy is that Trump isn't wrong about everything. Some of his critics won't admit it, but several of the themes he sounded during the 2016 campaign — such as the need to rebuild America's deteriorating infrastructure — were correct (if far from original), and some of his foreign-policy instincts were sound even if his command of details was not. A minimally competent president could have made substantial progress on most if not all of these fronts, thereby leaving the country better off and enhancing his prospects for a second term."

"As bad as Trump's first six months have been, there are a number of major foreign-policy blunders he hasn’t made yet and for which we should therefore be grateful. Unfortunately, there are also signs he's contemplating several of them, and plunging ahead may look more tempting as his political fortunes erode. The more desperate he gets, the more he may be inclined to divert attention from his incompetence here at home by stirring up trouble somewhere else."

"Instead of relying on U.S. guidance and (generally) supporting U.S. policy initiatives, states that lose confidence in America's competence will begin to hedge and make their own arrangements. They’ll do deals with each other and sometimes with countries that the United States regards as adversaries."

"Government bureaucrats have been held in low regard for a long time, which makes them an easy target. But you also can't do anything in public policy without their assistance, and my guess is that Americans will be mighty unhappy when budget cuts, firings, resignations, and the like reduce government performance even more. Get ready for a steady drip, drip, drip of leaks and stories emanating from dedicated civil servants who are committed to advancing the public interest and aren't going to like being treated with contempt and disdain by a bunch of hedge fund managers, wealthy Wall Streeters, or empty suits like Energy Secretary Rick Perry, all led by President Pinocchio."

Recent ethnic Russian demonstrations in Eastern Ukraine and fistfights in the Ukrainian parliament are more dramatic displays in the ongoing saga of a country unraveling. Furthermore, Putin's words--Crimea ibeing his last territorial demand--and actions--moving thousands of troops to to the Ukrainian border--aren't matching up.

Professor Burns writes about the need for a strong reponse from the U.S. and Europe. He suggests two options: imposing tough economic sanctions and moving NATO forces to the Baltics and Poland. Our allies, as well as Putin, are looking to see if Washington will display confidence, toughness, and leadership in the most serious security crisis in Europe since the Cold War’s end.

Professor Burns writes that President Putin's "extraordinarily powerful, provocative, acerbic, and self-pitying" March 18 speech to the Duma reveals three myths about his rule and ambitions: 1) Russians as victims of history; 2) Misguided U.S. policies forced Putin to react; and 3) Putin’s on a roll, and we can’t stop him.

Porfessor Burns believes that, as in the Cold War, the United States should stick to its defense of freedom and wait out Putin. Further, NATO and the EU are stronger than the Russian dictator in right and might as well as spirit.