Putin and Ukraine: Democrats in the White House Means Putin Does Land Grabs

In 2012, during a presidential debate, Barack Obama mocked Mitt Romney for saying Russia was the biggest threat to the United States at the time. Social media blue check marked accounts laughed and ridiculed Mitt Romney.

Two years later, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Barack Obama’s response was sanctions. Today, Russia still holds Ukraine.

Now, with Joe Biden in the White House, Russia wants more of Ukraine. Our response will again be sanctions that do nothing.

The after effects of our withdrawal from Afghanistan keep reverberating around the world.

It is vitally important to understand Democrats have so emotionally invested in the idea that Donald Trump was a Russian stooge, they become enraged when you point out Russia makes its land grabs with Democrats in the White House.

To be sure and to be fair, Trump botched Syria and essentially allowed Syria to become a puppet Russian state, but that nation already had strategic agreements with Russia and Russian troops were already on the ground. Trump abandoning the field, just let Russia stretch its legs more on the ground. Democrats can scream about Helsinki and Trump all they want, but Putin wasn’t invading his European neighbors with an erratic and unpredictable narcissist in the White House.

Only with Democrats in the White House have the Russians done land grabs. From Afghanistan under Carter to Ukraine under Obama and Biden, Soviet/Russian leaders know they’ll get sanctions and tough talk from Democrats. Republicans actually tend to counter them with alliances, troops, and money.

Unfortunately, with Biden-Harris-Klain screwing up again, we won’t have a lot of solutions. Many Americans see this as no big deal, but if anyone listened to Putin yesterday, this is the first move toward a forced realignment of European interests. That realignment works against us and our allies. If allowed to go forward, it also undermines our alliances and calls our leadership into doubt.

We will need to impose aggressive sanctions against Russian interests and its oligarchs, each of whom is a pressure point against Russia. We will also need to move more troops and military resources into Eastern Europe. Remember, when outnumbered American forces engaged Russian “mercenaries” in Syria, we dominated them. Russia remembers that.

Problematically, Russia is going to ally with China. Richard Nixon, for all his faults, worked tirelessly to make sure that did not happen. Republicans and Democrats have both forgotten that plotline. Now it is happening. However, the Russian and Chinese philosophies are so different with such a multi-generational history, it probably won’t be stable. On top of that, Putin is old and in poor health. But for now, if I were in Taiwan, I’d be planning my exit strategy.

Americans are going to have to get comfortable again being on the world stage and leading. The wokes are going to realize they aren’t the most important issue here. The anti-patriots who protest and demand we recognize we’re on conquered land can shut up now. The United States has to lead again.

But we can’t as long as Grandpa Dementia relies on Ron Klain. For now, it is Putin’s game and the world is a more dangerous place.