WhatsappMarc Thiessen has an interesting take on the Joe Biden speech in which the American President made it clear that he supports regime change in Russia. Thiessen was bothered more by the walk back that the people around Biden did than by Biden’s speech. When the American President finally gave a speech that showed some backbone, the Democrat leadership could not handle it and basically quickly retracted it.
Tough talk backed up by tough actions is exactly what is needed. But Joe Biden only has the tough talk side, and he doesn’t have the backing of his own advisors. That is what Vladimir Putin understands well, and that is why Ukraine is being pummeled.
Brutal dictators stay quiet when they have more reason to stay quiet than to make trouble. When brutal dictators see an opening, they attack. Today is a time when the dangerous people of the world see a world of opportunity. Therefore, the world is now discussing the potential of World War III, and certainly the potential of Chinese aggression following Russian aggression.
Biden’s speech was actually a breath of fresh air. But it was sucked right back in within hours of him making it. Courage is needed in order to make bold decisions that are indeed dangerous. Ronald Reagan spoke boldly about defeating the Soviet Union. This sparked a lot of concern about a spiraling nuclear buildup leading to Armaggedon. The concern was correct. Reagan took America on a dangerous path. But the alternative was more dangerous. A Soviet Union that had more nuclear power than the United States was a mortal threat to the entire free world. Reagan chose to battle the Soviet Union on the economic angle via a major investment in weapons. This led the Soviet Union to put more and more of it’s resources into the military. But the Soviet Union economy was too weak to handle this big change, and ultimately, the Soviet Union buckled financially.
If the United States would work to buckle the Russian economy today then this would be a sound policy. But China is basically keeping Russia going via massive gas and oil purchases which offset the sanctions in place. We need a more sound policy that will be backed up by the administration of the President.
