Putin's War and Biden's Presidency

[babylonsister]

Putin’s War and Biden’s Presidency
Today on TAP: Will Biden get the credit he deserves for his leadership?
by Robert Kuttner
February 28, 2022


Joe Biden has never been more impressive. I say that with mixed emotion, because I would rather be celebrating his prowess in getting Build Back Better through Congress. But you play the hand you are dealt, and Biden is playing this one exceptionally well.

In a sense, it is small comfort that Biden turns out to be a superb foreign-policy leader, because the Ukraine War is the most dire threat to world peace since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, and it’s far from clear how it will end. If it does end well, that result will be much to Biden’s credit.

He has been masterful at rallying reluctant Europeans to support Ukraine, at using release of raw intelligence reports to smoke out Putin’s intent and throwing Putin off balance, and at maximizing the use of economic weapons to punish Russia’s economy and weaken Putin’s domestic support.

In a sense, all this is what the foreign-policy establishment does best. Containing Russia is in their DNA. Yet this foreign-policy success—if it does end well—was not the work of Biden’s senior staff on autopilot. It is a credit to Biden’s own leadership.

The wild card in all this is of course Putin. Until last week, as he sent one false signal after another, observers assumed he was crazy like a fox. Now, it’s increasingly clear that he is just plain crazy. A rational leader would be cutting his losses and looking for a face-saver. Even if the West offers that, Putin may keep escalating unless his own generals desert him.

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https://prospect.org/blogs/tap/putins-war-and-bidens-presidency/