The Ukraine crisis has provided President Biden with one significant benefit. It has suffocated virtually all the news about the tragic conditions in Afghanistan due to his unilateral decision to surrender. It has limited media attention of the continuing humanitarian crisis at America’s southern border.
Unfortunately for Biden and the Democrats, however, the Ukraine situation is still all bad news. Whether Russian madman Vladimir Putin invades at this time or not – he wins. There will be concessions if he does not.
In his recent appearance before the press, Biden doubled down on his major blunders. He repeatedly – and with great emphasis – assured Putin that there will not be any American or NATO boots on the ground in Ukraine.
Even if there was some private decision to not engage militarily, a good negotiator would never, never, never take the military option off the table. With Biden broadcasting the fact that we will not support the Ukrainians in the most meaningful way possible, Putin is seeing the light at the border going from red to green.
In his remarks, Biden AGAIN intimated a difference between a limited incursion and an all-out invasion. No one in the press seemed to pick up on it – at least not immediately – but you can bet Putin did. Was it another gaffe, or is Biden willing to reduce the level of sanctions depending on the nature of the incursion?
So, what has Biden done to deter Putin? He talks and talks about some Draconian sanctions that will cripple Russia. So far, the sanctions threat has not slowed down the Russian build-up.
Biden has put 8500 American troops on alert. They MIGHT BE deployed to the western border of Ukraine to increase the protection for the NATO nations to the west of Ukraine. Biden will protect borders of nations that Putin is not threatening to invade – and would likely be blocked by Article Five of the NATO Charter that states that an attack on one is an attack on all.
Ukraine would not be the first time that the United States confronted Russia in a war – although both sides try to only kill the locals. President Reagan shot down Libyan fighter jets that were provided and often flown by Russian pilots – it was only circumstance that those downed plans were flown by Libyan pilots.
Not long after that incident, the Russian ambassador told me that the downing of the Libyan jets chilled the folks in the Kremlin because there was no way for Reagan to know if the jets were being flown by Libyan or Russian pilots – and he did not care. They realized that Reagan could not be taken lightly. That is the kind of strength that Biden lacks.
We also faced down Russia in Syria. First when Trump bombed the airstrip used by Russian planes and again when he refused to obey Russia’s orders not to fly over what they claimed to be their airspace. Again, America did not discount the use of the military. In fact, in Syria, American forces killed a number of Russian soldiers attacking American forces — without any losses on the American side.
It is stated that Putin only responds to force – or the credible threats of force. Saying the military actions is on the table does not mean that it will have to be used. It is often the best way to avoid conflict.
We should know soon if Putin intends to enter Ukraine – either to bite off another piece or to go for total takeover. If he does, it will be a clear indication that Biden’s policies have been an utter and tragic failure. And since we will have expended every non-military response, what next?
So, there ‘tis.