A new year, a new international crisis.
Unfortunately, this crisis may well be vastly dangerous than the Afghanistan crisis, which in and of itself is incredibly dangerous.
As widely reported in the media, Putin appears poised to make an imminent strike on Ukraine, likely heading straight to the capital of Kyiv.
Needless to say, Biden’s weak speech didn’t assist (at all) with delaying Putin’s timing.
If anything, it escalated Putin’s advancement.
Leaving the United States in a very sticky predicament internationally, one in which the beleaguered Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has to address once again, as he did during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“Do you see any scenario in which more U.S. service members become involved here?” CNN reporter Dana Bash inquired.
“One of the things that we’ve been very clear about,” Blinken began aggressively, “besides the massive economic financial consequences that would befall Russia if it further commits aggression against Ukraine, is the ongoing continued buildup of defense capacity in Ukraine and equally continuing to build up NATO’s defensive capacities, including on the so-called Eastern flank, the countries near Russia.”
One of the things that is very “clear” from the reply is that Blinken is hoping that long-windedness will distract from the fact that he clearly and totally dodged Bash’s question, not even bothering to answer it vaguely.
However, the Secretary of State also continued onward to declare that NATO “is looking at very practical and important measures that it would take in the event of further Russian aggression.”
Right. Such as doing nothing if Putin engages in a “minor incursion.”
Of all the gaffes Biden has made, perhaps none have been as catastrophic, which is precisely why The Guardian branded that particular gaffe “excruciating,” not to mention remarkably dangerous from a geopolitical security standpoint.
Though Blinken, in the spirit of Psaki, opted for lovely sounding generalities that will do little to dissuade Putin from an imminent invasion.
“You can choose the path of diplomacy that can lead to peace and security or the path that will lead only to conflict, severe consequences, and international condemnation,” Blinken droned.
While Blinken is absolutely correct, it’s a real shame that the Biden administration did not exactly place Afghanistan on a path that led to “peace and security.”
Quite the contrary, it appears, which has clearly emboldened Russia.
Moreover, the Biden administration abruptly departed from Afghanistan without a shred of diplomacy as far as NATO is concerned, with the UK and other close allies expressing utter disbelief at Biden’s disregard for their input regarding the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
After all, their soldiers were there as well, though the Biden administration did not seem terribly inclined to concern itself with their safety.
For all we know, Biden’s fiasco of a withdrawal from Afghanistan is precisely why the UK preemptively announced Putin’s all-too-likely plot to take over Kyiv, particularly in view of the Bien administration’s habit of keeping its allies in the dark.
Keeping allies in the dark is even more inadvisable when nations such as Germany start engaging in highly questionable behavior, particularly in terms of it economic relationship with Russia.
Needless to say, Senator Tom Cotton is not terribly impressed by Germany’s foreign policy.
“Germany made extremely poor policy choices about energy over the last decade –shutting down all of its nuclear power plants for instance – making them more dependent than they already were on Russian gas,” Cotton observed, noting that it is now possible for Russia to switch off the gas to Ukraine and Poland without adversely impacting Germany.
“Russia will now be able to turn off the gas to those countries in the winter with no consequences for Germany – meaning the German government will be much less likely to take a firm stance against Russia,” Cotton continued, “this is just another example of these long lines of bad decisions and appeasing decisions that the German government across two different administrations has made towards Russia.”
In other words, Putin is effectively treating multiple countries like chess pieces (i.e., pawns), whereas the Biden administration appears to become more impassioned over transgender bathroom rights.
Much to the detriment of global security, as a “successful” Russian invasion of Kyiv would entail significant consequences for the Asia-Pacific region as well.
“If Vladimir Putin can get away with this in Ukraine, what does that say to Xi Jinping about what he can do in Taiwan or to threaten our military positions in the western Pacific?” Cotton queried.
Clearly, Xi already felt empowered as Cotton gave his interview, with Fox News reporting that China launched 39 aircraft, the majority of which were fighter jets, near Taiwan on Sunday, which was “the largest show of force in months.”
Meanwhile, Psaki is undoubtedly preparing “strongly worded” statements that will, in all likelihood, cause Putin to chuckle rather than quake in fear.
Author: Jane Jones
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