Putin, Biden and their “Plans”

I see the Ukraine-Russian “crisis” as the catalyst for some really cool conspiracy theories. And I’ll admit, I’ve probably considered most of them, at least for a time. But given what’s been going on in Moscow and Washington — sadly, the EU nations are really irrelevant when it comes to serious matters — it’s apparent our president is totally clueless. 

Vladimir Putin is obviously in control of the entire event and all its weirdness, something that has led our president to talk a lot but do absolutely nothing. Yes, President Biden has moved a few additional troops into NATO nations, something that generated a laugh or two over vodka at the Putin dacha in Sochi on the Black Sea. And President Biden has threatened all kinds of things, seemingly horrendous sanctions, but none will be implemented unless and until Putin acts…maybe. And yet, at the same time, our president is not actively considering the implementation of the most effective sanctions, things like cutting off Russian banks from access to the West’s banking system or the closure of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. In truth, the best sanctions would be for Europeans to cut themselves off from Russian oil and gas, but that’s highly unlikely. 

The very idea of preventative sanctions — i.e., sanctions to punish in advance of hostile actions, and the only kind that actually prevent — against someone who is threatening another country seems to be far beyond our president’s strategic thinking. Had I been in charge — something for which the American people have been happily spared — I would have left our advisors and trainers in western Ukraine, and wouldn’t have evacuated our embassy in Kiev. Their very presence would have given Putin pause. Of course, after the Afghanistan debacle, who knows? The administration apparently doesn’t care if Americans are slaughtered and is too cowardly to respond to attacks on American troops and civilians. I would also never reveal what we we intend to do or what we would never do. 

So, what’s the latest conspiracy theory? It’s that Biden and Putin are in cahoots. You see, according to this theory, Putin has all kinds of garbage on Joe Biden, some from his own security services and some from his new friends in China. It’s the kind of garbage that, at the very least, would evict Biden from the White House and, at worst, would send him and his not so very smart son to prison. What’s the scheme? Briefly, to do what they’ve already done. To make a very big deal out of this supposed invasion of Ukraine, but then…nothing. This way, Putin is able to get some desirable concessions from the feckless Europeans while President Biden promotes himself as the hero who single-handedly stopped the invasion of Ukraine. Interestingly, should Putin decide to invade anyway, he will likely avoid debilitating sanctions and make our president look rather foolish. For Putin, whatever he does is a win-win.

What a world! And just imagine what the Chinese are thinking, and planning, and will actually do.