Cleaning up after the Republicans… again

Hi, it's Bill Palmer. I'm as sick of Donald Trump as you are. I'm expanding Palmer Report's operations so we can lead the fight against him. Click here to donate $25 or $50.

Once again, Democrats are obliged to clean up another Republican mess. Putinโ€™s current aggression in Ukraine is an attempt to restore control of Russiaโ€™s own back yard that it had during the Soviet Era. Some experts argue that Putin and many Russians hold 30 years of pent-up anger over the humiliation of Westโ€™s โ€œtriumphalismโ€ after the 1990s fall of the Soviet Union under pressure from Republican paladin Ronald Reagan.

That is not to say that Russia and Putin have not always been feudal and prone to aggression. Russia expanded to a world power by refusing to compromise, invasion, and cheating. Putin, a former KGB officer, uses that underhanded playbook strategically to sow chaos and maintain control. Now, he is reasserting himself with the objective to destabilize NATO and Europe, not unlike he did by weaponizing the Syrian migrant crisis in 2016.

Putin has used an aggressive misinformation campaign to buttress his new incursion into Ukraine, falsely depicting Ukraine as โ€œnot even a country.โ€ On the contrary, Ukraine is the largest country in Europe, and it PREDATES Russia. The former country called โ€œMuscovyโ€ was renamed Russia in the late 16th century when early tsars appropriated the โ€œRusโ€ name from the people of Kyiv to enhance their ancestry.

Putinโ€™s current goal is to reverse the treaties of 1990s, while NATOโ€™s goal is to rebuild and strengthen those security arrangements. Following the 1994 Budapest Memorandum to respect Ukraine sovereignty in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons, the U.S. has a duty to defend Ukraine. Putin may be continuing the Russian tradition of refusing to compromise. But that doesnโ€™t mean Biden has to.

Biden is playing Putin beautifully, using his own truth campaign, releasing Intel to gain public support against Russian aggression in Ukraine. For example, we now know that Russia has created lists of Ukrainian residents identified for โ€œtargeted killings, kidnappings/forced disappearances, unjust detentions, and the use of torture.โ€ Biden has also responded with swift sanctions including cutting correspondent banking ties.
Biden continues to apply pressure to force Putin back to the negotiating table. We should be thankful that we have such an experienced and savvy POTUS during this truly scary time. It will be tricky, but we can count on Biden to do the right thing.

Hi, it's Bill Palmer. I'm as sick of Donald Trump as you are. I'm expanding Palmer Report's operations so we can lead the fight against him. Click here to donate $25 or $50.