Posted on 02/13/2022 9:05:08 AM PST by Kaslin
Yesterday morning I expressed some pessimism in terms of what sort of progress might be made during Joe Biden’s anticipated phone call with Vladimir Putin. After all, weeks of shuttle diplomacy Washington, Moscow, Paris, and Vienna haven’t appeared to move the needle noticeably. Did Biden have some new offer that would be acceptable to our NATO partners while convincing Putin that there was a viable compromise available?
Well, the calls between Putin and both Biden and Emmanuel Macron took place as scheduled. In a rare instance of transparency from the Biden administration, the White House put out a statement summing up the call. The result was essentially a carbon copy of what we’ve been hearing for weeks. Russia is still making demands seen as “non-starters” by NATO and Biden claims to have warned Putin of “swift and severe” consequences. If Macron made any progress with Putin, he’s not saying anything about it. (NBC News)
resident Joe Biden on Saturday warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the consequences of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which U.S. officials have said could be imminent, would be “swift and severe,” according to a White House description of the conversation.Biden told Putin that the U.S. and its allies and partners would “will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs” should Moscow move on its neighbor, the White House said.
Biden also reiterated that a Russian invasion would produce “widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s standing” in the world, the White House said, adding that Biden was “clear with President Putin that while the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy, in full coordination with our allies and partners, we are equally prepared for other scenarios.”
According to the White House release, the call lasted for a little more than an hour. What in the world could they have been talking about for that long without making an ounce of progress? We’re at the point where it would be nice if the White House would simply release a transcript of the conversation, but I seriously doubt that will ever happen.
I believe that the fact that the generally secretive Biden White House put out this summary of the call is important. Assuming it’s accurate (and that’s a big assumption), it appears that Biden’s team is desperate to give the public the impression that Joe Biden is playing the tough guy and verbally roughing up Putin. He keeps talking about “swift and severe” consequences from a unified front of NATO and EU allies. Given the public’s dismal view of Biden’s handling of foreign policy matters thus far (at least according to almost every poll taken this year), the President is badly in need of a win that he can point to.
But is there a “win” available on the board? This situation can really only head in one of two ways… either Putin invades or he pulls his troops back, right? If he pulls back, repeating his claim that he never intended to invade in the first place, then Biden is left looking like he totally botched the intelligence management process and overreacted for no reason. That’s not a great look.
If Putin does invade, Ukraine almost certainly falls, though they may wind up fighting a sustained insurgency for a while. Biden is then basically forced to keep to his word and not send any troops in to defend the Ukrainians (or even the fleeing Americans) from Russia’s military offensive. Instead, he’ll launch crippling sanctions and shut down the Nord Stream II pipeline. That will splinter the alliance between the US and Germany, which needs the pipeline to be completed. It will also be a signal that Russia can invade pretty much any non-NATO neighboring country it pleases and the combined might of the United States, NATO, and the EU is incapable of stopping them.
I’ve given up attempting to read Putin’s mind at this point. On any given morning I wake up convinced (for a few minutes) that Putin is either definitely going to invade Ukraine or that he never intended to from the start and this was all a bluff to try to build some leverage. The one thing we’ve managed to accomplish at this point is to set Putin up to be the bad guy and a bare-faced liar if he goes ahead and invades now (on any claimed pretense) after publicly insisting for so long that he wouldn’t do it. Will he care? Probably not. And Russia would be aided in working around any new sanctions by its friends in China and Iran, along with the rest of the new Axis of Evil. Either way, I’m not seeing a very happy ending to this story no matter which way it goes.
“The ideal circumstances for the Russians to invade was a month ago when the ground was hard so Russian tanks could steamroll their way through.”
Unless the Russians aren’t looking to achieve a broad breakthough and take the entirety of the country... the last war in 2014 the Russians used their tanks to strongpoint land seized by ‘insurgents’. If they repeated that same strategy then there is little need for overland operational mobility. You roll them into position using hard paved roads for the most part.
“Biden also reiterated that a Russian invasion would produce “widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s standing” in the world...”
Just like what the puppet has done to the USA. Biden policies have caused enormous inflation and suffering on the American people and diminished the USA standing.
I would advise Putin to hold the line. The American people are going to punish the illegitimate corrupt Biden regime.
“Biden will agree to not admit Ukraine into NATO”
They have said no to this in writing.
“which was never going to happen anyway.”
Russia blackmailed the West with his troops. It didn’t work.
So, he can leave the loser...or invade and be the loser. Russia can easily take Ukraine but they CANNOT hold it. Ukraine is not worthy to be a NATO member. In the future who knows. Russia can’t stay there forever.
The next test would be how far are we willing to defend the Baltics? They were former Republics in the Soviet Union. The Russians could seize them right now. All NATO troops stationed there would surrender. From there, we would have to nuke the Russians. But the Russians would gamble that we are not willing to do that. In the Cold War, they knew that we will nuke them.
Right you are, Hawaii as a state was more of stretch than Russia/Ukraine.
Hawaii never should have been a state.
I heard Putin put his phone down and had lunch while Joe yammered on.
Correct.
Team Brandon won big. Brandon said Ukraine was geeting invaded in 48 hours, Then Brandon called Putin and no invasion happened.
Exactly....Then it's next stop.....Oslo, to collect the Nobel Peace Prize, they'll probably let Kamala have one too.
The media can try that but Putin’s plan is going forward and hasn’t changed one bit. A violent border invasion was never the plan. Everything important is happening behind the scenes between Putin and Ukraine.
The people I talk to barely notice all this. They are focused on domestic issues and don’t give a damn about Ukraine.
The call transcript has been released.
Excerpt:
Brandon to Putin: “I know what your thinking Punkskie, do I have 5 or 6 brain cells left? Well, are you feeling lucky Punkski?”
We’ve got our own border to take care of.
reading the phone call, sounded more like a female presence carried the American side than a male.
that is: you better, you better, i’m gonna,i’m gonna ...don’t forget .... Russia is still sore over afghaniztan, and has been wanting a “watch tbis” moment for a while.
so, if they do move, since they don’t have to fear American airpower, they have CAS and will possibly go full end run when everybody is not watching.
Biden: “Corn Pop was a bad dude, and kids sniffed my hair”
Putin: “WE CURE WEAK LIBERALISM WITH STRONG COMMUNISM!!!”
Biden: proceeds to go number 2 in his depends and then get some pudding after his diaper change.
I have obtained a transcript of the phone call.
B: Hello? Was I supposed to take this call?
P: I call at bad time? American presidyent slyeeping again?
B: Oh, Ukraine. Yes. I mean no. Is this Zelensky?
P: Nyet. This is Vladimir, you know, the Russia collusion thing.
B: The pipe line?
P: Nyet, tupoy!
B: ZZZ
P: Mr presidyent, I remind you to take Geritol.
Do svidanya.
B: Ok, I’ll tell Jill.
No; LISTENING is!
The only outcome of the phone call was for brandon to show Putin how much more out of touch and incompetent he’s become, and an even more emboldened Putin.
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