Brett Bruen: Russia-Ukraine tensions need a unified NATO response. But Biden shook the alliance. - NBCNewsTHINK
In both cases, the American president said only what many had already speculated. But saying the silent part out loud is serious stuff in diplomacy. It’s been clear for months now that Washington would prefer not to get entangled in a significant spat with Moscow. During their summit in Geneva this summer,, and later the news media, that as long as he doesn’t meddle as much, we can live with it.
This is unfortunately part of a broader, more detached approach to foreign crises that the White House has taken. The Kremlin took it as a major moment to move ahead with an ambitious attempt to assert more control over its neighbors. What should Biden have said? He needed to channel Winston Churchill: Describe in stark terms the gravity of our present predicament. The sovereignty of a nation’s borders is a fundamental principle of international law, and threats to breach them demands more than piling on a few more sanctions, which is the diplomatic equivalent of a slap on the wrist.
Biden should have looked past the reporters in the room and straight into the camera, speaking directly to Putin. The Russian leader needed to hear in no uncertain terms that we will use absolutely every asset and technique at our disposal to push his forces out of Ukraine. These include military, intelligence, economic, communications and diplomatic tools. Should he move in, we will massively increase military support to Ukraine, as well as other Russian neighbors.
Every week, the U.S. could release new intelligence about corruption and mismanagement at the Kremlin. Every week, we could increase distribution of Russian language materials on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Every week, we could flood the internet with satiric content that punctures Putin’s propaganda.
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