Biden deserves props for his masterful Ukraine policy

[LetMyPeopleVote]

President Biden has managed the assistance to Ukraine in a masterful manner. For comparatively little, the US has provided assistance that has in effect destroyed Putin's military

Link to tweet

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/17/biden-deserves-props-ukraine-russia-missile-poland/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWJpZCI6IjM0NTk0MzEyIiwicmVhc29uIjoiZ2lmdCIsIm5iZiI6MTY2ODg2MjA2NiwiaXNzIjoic3Vic2NyaXB0aW9ucyIsImV4cCI6MTY3MDA3MTY2NiwiaWF0IjoxNjY4ODYyMDY2LCJqdGkiOiIxYzczOWI3MS03MzY0LTRkYTMtYTc0MS1kNTdjNzliOTgyM2QiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy53YXNoaW5ndG9ucG9zdC5jb20vb3BpbmlvbnMvMjAyMi8xMS8xNy9iaWRlbi1kZXNlcnZlcy1wcm9wcy11a3JhaW5lLXJ1c3NpYS1taXNzaWxlLXBvbGFuZC8ifQ.kpXGpn__ERETOeb-uuRPgaV5EEfFezMTF8BOgz7B8Hw

But that ignores the key fact: America’s primary national security interest is to keep our potential enemies far away from our shores, and the least costly and most effective way of doing that is to assemble a network of allies across the globe. We take interest in their security objectives; they, in turn, assist us in obtaining ours.

Biden understood from the start of the conflict in Ukraine that our European allies in NATO viewed Russian designs very differently. Our allies in Eastern Europe, such as Poland, feared they would be next if NATO allowed Ukraine to be conquered. Our allies in Western Europe, such as Germany and France, also feared an aggressive Russia but thought that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be bought off with his country’s extensive economic ties with their countries. Balancing those views was the most important principle animating U.S. policy in the run-up to the invasion.

Thus came Biden’s elegant two-step: First, he warned the world that the invasion was coming and that there would be serious consequences if Russia went through with it. Second, he let Germany and France take the diplomatic lead, giving them the opportunity to prove that their assessments of Putin were correct. Biden also chose not to rush massive amounts of arms to Ukraine, an act that would have given Putin a pretext for the invasion he had already decided to launch. Being too quick to provide weapons also would have harmed Biden’s ability to rally recalcitrant allies in an anti-Russian cordon.

This dance worked perfectly. The Eastern allies knew we shared their fears, and the Western allies were shocked into action after their views about Putin proved dangerously naive. This gave Biden massive credibility to shape the alliance’s actions regarding Russia......

But those concerns are in the future. For now, it appears that Biden has reinvigorated NATO and brought the Europeans closer to our views on China. That’s cause for celebration across the partisan divide.

[crickets]

1. Yes! More like this, please. The praise is well deserved. nt

[Just A Box Of Rain]

2. The one knit-pick I have is over the articles characterization of US weapon's delivery.

While it may be true that we didn't begin making "massive" arms deliveries of the sort that we pre-staged in case of an invasion that Joe Biden correctly saw was imminent, it wasn't like we did nothing.

Very stealthily, we provided easily distributable and simple to use weapons systems like Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stingers that made a huge difference in stalling Putin's forces.

We gave the right assistance at the right moment. That is an important part of the story that is missing from this article.

Another thing the Biden administration got right.

Our president deserves major props.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

3. Biden knows what he's doing. Actions speak louder than golf.

[brer cat]

4. Well played, Hermit!

And I agree with you.