Biden gives Putin a win with his indefensible decision to deny Ukraine fighter jets
Category: News & Politics
Via: vic-eldred • 2 years ago • 63 commentsBy: John Bolton (New York Post)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the war with Russia was at a "strategic turning point." Unfortunately, America and NATO may have missed it. President Joe Biden's decision to reject transferring Polish MiG fighter jets to Ukraine is inexplicable and indefensible.
Kyiv's heroic resistance to unprovoked aggression has exceeded pre-war expectations, both NATO's and Russia's. Innumerable Russian mistakes and failures, from strategy down to basic logistics, have been equally startling. The Kremlin has not achieved key objectives, its advances have been slowed or halted, and its casualties are reportedly rising alarmingly.
But there is no guarantee that Ukraine can maintain the present standoff, let alone repel the invasion and restore the status quo ante bellum. It is not enough to say that Zelensky is losing slowly, especially if and when the moment for negotiations comes. Nor is it politically helpful for his purported allies to publicly refuse requests for help, like the MiGs or a no-fly zone over Ukraine, even a partial no-fly zone to stem the surging humanitarian tragedy of millions forced to flee their homes.
Biden's White House has offered numerous rationales for rejecting the MiG transfer, so many that it suggests a desperate effort to hide the real reason: Biden is intimidated by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Whereas Biden's effort to deter Russia's invasion failed, Putin's efforts to deter the United States from responding adequately have unfortunately been all too successful.
Washington in fact actively considered the Polish MiG transfer and sent signals it was all but approved. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said so expressly. CBS anchor Margaret Brennan asked him March 6, "If, for instance, the Polish government . . . wants to send fighter jets, does that get a green light from the US, or are you afraid that that will escalate tension?" Blinken replied, "No, that gets a green light. In fact, we're talking with our Polish friends right now about what we might be able to do to backfill their needs if, in fact, they choose to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians."
Washington in fact actively considered the Polish MiG transfer and sent signals it was all but approved. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said so expressly. CBS anchor Margaret Brennan asked him March 6, "If, for instance, the Polish government . . . wants to send fighter jets, does that get a green light from the US, or are you afraid that that will escalate tension?" Blinken replied, "No, that gets a green light. In fact, we're talking with our Polish friends right now about what we might be able to do to backfill their needs if, in fact, they choose to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians."
The administration and its media stenographers worked overtime to shift blame away from Biden, thereby revealing the weakness of the case against the MiG transfer. They said Poland could have made the transfer on its own. Of course, as a dependable ally, Poland wanted assurance that NATO's leader — that would be the United States — supported the idea. Otherwise, Biden's team would have complained Poland had gone rogue.
Next were arguments that Ukraine didn't need the planes. The Pentagon said it was "simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it." But Biden has long made it clear there would be no US combat role in the war. Why undermine the judgment of those actually engaged in combat, with the very survival of their country at stake, especially at no effective cost to Washington?
Finally, the real argument: Biden feared he would cross a Putin red line, thereby risking all-out war in Europe. We risk that war already, however, by supplying anti-aircraft and anti-tank systems, intelligence and cyberwarfare capabilities. All this aid has to cross NATO borders to get to Ukraine, just like the MiGs. Anything other than Ukraine's unconditional surrender risks displeasing the Kremlin. There is no legal, moral or military rationale that supports disapproving the MiGs but allows other advanced-weapons assistance, only fear and sophistry.
Indeed, the administration is also leaking assiduously that it is considering alternative forms of aid. Undoubtedly, steady increases in rhetorical bombardments, permanent deployment of Vice President Kamala Harris to Europe to boost our allies' confidence, ramped up White House and Pentagon press briefings and longer telephone calls from Biden to Zelensky are all under active consideration.
We cannot precisely measure the intangible effects on morale, both in Kyiv and Moscow, of Biden's rejection of the MiG transfer. It would be stunning, however, if Zelensky's advisers and Ukraine's military were not dismayed and Putin's elated. Whatever the precise operational value of the Polish MiGs, such a tangible sign of American and NATO support could have been inspiring. With both the MiGs and no-fly zones off the table, Ukraine's options are narrowing.
The White House has offered several excuses as to why they denied the Ukrainian's request.
Pentagon officials rightly remember Clausewitz's insight: "Everything is very simple in war, but the simplest thing is difficult." Biden took a simple idea, made it difficult and then rejected it. Congratulations.
John Bolton was national security adviser to President Donald Trump from 2018 to 2019 and US ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006.
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At least two Iranians belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ covert-action Quds Force have been plotting to assassinate former national security adviser John Bolton. The Washington Examiner quoted a source in the Justice Department with direct knowledge of the investigation into the planned assassination.
The source has to remain anonymous.
The whistleblower told the Washington Examiner that the department possesses indictable evidence against the Iranians but that Biden administration officials are resisting publicly indicting the men. They don’t want it to interfere with the nuclear deal with Iran that is near completion [thanks to negotiations FACILITATED BY RUSSIA AND CHINA ].
I thought that John Bolton has the reputation of being a devil-may-care warmonger. I think he was too extreme even for Trump.
He believes in America First.
I think he was too extreme even for Trump.
A clash of egos really.
"He believes in America First."
The only one whatshisname believes comes first is himself.
czar a lardo?
Ya! I didn't realize they were talking about Bolton.
It is the dweller at Mar-A-Lardo who believe in himself first and no one else.
That is awful. John Bolton shouldn't live in fear.
AOC also receives credible death threats daily...
President Biden and his administration are getting praise from everyone, except for Russia, China and North Korea, for his leadership in this world crisis.
America's enemies want a US war in Iran. Do you?
China wants a USA vs Russian escalation. Do you?
What makes them credible?
The FBI says. Not good enough for you? Sorry!
Number 1, you didn't provide a link or any evidence.
Number 2, it implies the FBI is already on the case.
Number 3, in Bolton's case, the Biden administration played it down to get another insane deal with terrorist Iran.
Of course they're credible - those threats against Ms. Ocasio-Cortez are all coming from supporters of the 'right' and the alleged conservatives/gop/gqp.
Prove it you cannot
We've heard that falsehood before.
Nice deflection; but in case you hadn't heard death threats have risen for both Democrats and Republicans.
Show where a foreign power is threatening AOC? Especially one that we are in negotiations with to remove all sanctions; recognize their nuclear program; and buy a large amount of oil to finance it.
So would any elected leader of the US; because NATO and the world are scared shitless. They need the good old US of A to do all of the heavy lifting against Russia and potentially China. After Biden's fucked up withdrawal abandoning US citizens; Green Card holders; and Special VISA holders in Afghanistan- the US looks like shit to the rest of the world. But shit is all they have; so they have to make the best of it.
Funny, the only people I hear talking about war with Iran are on the left. So there are only two options? Complete capitulation or all out war. Nothing reasonable like leaving all of the sanctions on Iran in place so they cannot develop nuclear weapons; telling the Iraqi government it is time to chose between the West and Iran; and threatening to pull all US troops and personnel out of Iraq and putting a no fly zone back in place to protect the Kurds and Sunni?
Anyone that wants an escalation between the US/NATO and Russia is an idiot. WWIII will be nuclear and will not end well for anyone. Have any evidence that Xi is a self destructive idiot that the rest of us don't know about? How about calling out the members of Congress on both the left and right demanding a no fly zone over all or most of Ukraine? (I won't mention all of the media talking heads- their opinions don't count; and are mostly for getting views.)
You did not address the rest of my comment...
I addressed all of your comment. If you don't like the answers, then tough.
Do you have credible evidence of that? What benefit would China achieve from that? Bringing on a nuclear holocaust? Losing or debilitating its best customer? Notwithstanding China staying as far out of the conflict as it possibly can, America is just furthering its "Contain China" cause by doing and saying whatever it can to pin China to it. America sent weapons to Ukraine, China sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, China sent nothing to Russia.
I am no fan of Brandon; but I can understand the reluctance of having the MIGs depart from a US base to Ukraine.
Russia has the same type of satellite surveillance that we do. They will be able to see where the MIGs take off from; and where they cross into Ukraine at. It would be the same if they departed from Poland into Ukraine. (Forget about who is going to be flying the planes into Ukraine. Ukrainian pilots are busy fighting; and getting them into any NATO country would be a problem. Polish and US/NATO pilots are out of the question- as Putin will take it as an act of war.)
Putin has already stated he is going to attack supply lines coming into Ukraine (shocking he tolerated them for this long). Imagine Russian jets intercepting MIGs coming from a NATO country- or worse still a US military facility. Any encounter would more than likely cross back and forth a NATO country's and Ukraine's borders/air space. Would that constitute an act of war and drag US/NATO into the conflict?
Putin has already stated he will take any war with the US/NATO nuclear; and is having his nuclear teams practicing and on alert. He has nothing to lose. He cannot possibly think his military can defeat US/NATO forces with the trouble they are having with Ukraine.
Someone should have thought of the logistics of this to begin with; before all the hoop jumping began. No it is a mess; and there is no good answer.
First of all, my friend, Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded in an interview with "Face the Nation:" "That gets a green-light," when asked whether the Polish government, a member of NATO, could send fighter planes to Ukraine. It appears he never consulted with Poland because Poland offered to send the planes to a US air base without consulting him. That is where this all began.
Second, the Ukrainians are using surface-to-air missiles that the US gave them. They have done a number on the Russian air force with them. Why hasn't Putin reacted with nuclear war? What is the difference between those missiles and aircraft?
Finally: Nuclear deterrence is based on both sides being equally afraid of nuclear war. Putin has correctly determined that Joe Biden is far more frightened than he is. Thus the vague reference to a deliberately vague, terrible Russian response.
Your comment illustrates that you are incapable of recognizing that a green light for Poland to send MIGs to Ukraine is NOT a green light for Poland to send MIGs to a NATO facility in Germany.
Conversely, your seed and comment could just be a sad attempt to gaslight 'our readers'.
Good to know we are still friends. Some days it is really duck and cover around here; instead of the just an exchange of opinions and ideas like it is supposed to be.
I understand that. The logistics needed to be worked out before this idea was ever openly discussed using the media. Media diplomacy is not good under any circumstances. We basically told any NATO country with MIGs they could donate them and we would take care of replacing them. What we never discussed was how to transport them to Ukraine. I know it makes us look weak; and afraid of Putin- but it is better than WWIII.
Putin is finally threatening to crack down on the supply lines coming into Ukraine from NATO countries; which he should have done from the start. MIGs coming in from any NATO country would illicit a response from Russia. This isn't some hand held weapons that can smuggled in by ground convoy among the humanitarian aid; and might have some chance of not being tracked. These are planes that any satellite can pickup easily. It is not like there is a lot of outside air traffic coming into Ukraine- except from Russia that is. I don't think any country wants to risk an encounter between those aircraft and any Russia might move to intercept them.
I agree. Nuclear deterrence is based on both sides being equally afraid of nuclear war. I just don't think Putin is afraid of it anymore. This is all or nothing for him. Either he wins in Ukraine (he will have to accept a very narrow definition of winning at this point); or he admits defeat and waits for whichever of his inner circle is able to depose/replace him. I think he fears being cast on the heap of failed Russian leaders far more than nuclear war. He has witnessed that since the fall of the Soviet Union with all of his predecessors.
Oh but the defense department didn't explain it that way, did they?
“That is something that we are not going to explore right now,” Kirby said, adding that adding aircraft to Ukraine's fighter fleet was “not likely to significantly change the effectiveness” of the Ukrainian Air Force against Russian capabilities.
“Therefore, we believe that the gain from transferring those MiG-29s is low.”
I agree to everything but the danger of WWIII. Putin would never launch nuclear missiles.
Putin is finally threatening to crack down on the supply lines coming into Ukraine from NATO countries; which he should have done from the start. MIGs coming in from any NATO country would illicit a response from Russia. This isn't some hand held weapons that can smuggled in by ground convoy among the humanitarian aid; and might have some chance of not being tracked. These are planes that any satellite can pickup easily. It is not like there is a lot of outside air traffic coming into Ukraine- except from Russia that is. I don't think any country wants to risk an encounter between those aircraft and any Russia might move to intercept them.
You think NATO pilots would fly those planes over to the Ukrainian air bases that Russia just destroyed? I would expect that Ukrainian pilots would go to Germany and operate them from there. I would also expect that Russian intercepts would only engage them once they entered Ukrainian air space. I guess we'll never know.
I agree. Nuclear deterrence is based on both sides being equally afraid of nuclear war. I just don't think Putin is afraid of it anymore. This is all or nothing for him. Either he wins in Ukraine (he will have to accept a very narrow definition of winning at this point); or he admits defeat and waits for whichever of his inner circle is able to depose/replace him. I think he fears being cast on the heap of failed Russian leaders far more than nuclear war. He has witnessed that since the fall of the Soviet Union with all of his predecessors.
Putin is not mad. He isn't doing any of this for an ideology. He is acting as a modern day "Peter the Great." It's going to be hard to watch the brave people of the Ukraine go down. It may be even worse to watch the west stand by.
A Modern Day Peter The Great? Balderdash...
That line must be straight out of the Kremlin.
Slavish praise for that mad man is disgusting!
Actually, they did and if you weren't so fucking enamored with relying on truncated snippets hand fed to you by bias media, you wouldn't have made that claim.
Or maybe you would...
Here is a transcript of what Kirby said:
Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby Holds a Press Briefing, March 9, 2022 > U.S. Department of Defense > Transcript
If you doubt it's content, you could always watch the press conference on C-Span and read along...
Note that the snippet from your block quote is highlighted in red.
Here is were the other snippet came from:
So as any thinking person can see, Kirby WAS talking about Poland giving the MIGs to the US for us to transfer to Ukraine.
Any thinking person can also see that Kirby clearly stated that Poland, as a sovereign nation, can do what they want to do. It could just be that Poland now agrees with our assessment and has decided NOT to transfer the MIGs.
Your source conflated snippets from two separate comments.
CONTEXT matters, intentional misrepresentation lacks credibility.
In short, since you incessantly hang your hat on unvetted sources, your comment is an utter FAIL.
So now you like John Bolton ? lol.
I don't know who that is addressed to, but I posted an opinion piece which is worthy of serious discussion.
Any thoughts at all?
Biden is handling it with bravery and grace!
Many would disagree:
A strong majority - 71% - of respondents to the poll on Ukraine said they believed the United States should provide it with weapons to respond to attacks that have seen Russians bomb urban areas as a six-day assault on its neighbor stalls.
But America has been providing it with weapons.
Belatedly:
"There is a behind-the-scenes story to President Biden’s sudden announcement Saturday of more arms for Ukraine as Vladimir Putin tries to swallow up the former Russian possession.
Stingers are the shoulder-mounted heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles that sent Soviet troops retreating from Afghanistan. Javelins are the U.S. Army’s top anti-tank weapon. President Trump made the first-time shipments to Ukraine . The Baltic states have sent U.S. Stingers.
In January, the administration briefed House members that sending Stingers “might escalate the situation,” the source said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, flak jacket in place, is defying the Russian strongman and his huge approaching army by staying put. He rejected an offer by Biden aides to spirit him to safety.
“I need ammunition, not a ride,” he said.
The brave president underscores what the congressional source is telling me: The Biden team has been too slow to beef up Ukraine even as Mr. Biden repeatedly served as a crisis broadcaster of a sure invasion.
The irony of the sudden rush to send arms by Mr. Biden now that Mr. Putin has invaded was not lost on Richard Grenell, Mr. Trump’s former top intelligence official.
“Really late,” he tweeted Saturday morning as the State Department spokesman announced the arms shipments for “further defensive support.”
Mr. Grenell added, “You’ve been telling the world that a bloody war was coming but waited to provide serious support until the war started.”
Bill Gertz’s Inside the Ring column reported exclusively on a Feb. 3 written request by the Polish military to the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw for permission to send Javelins to Ukraine . The missiles remain unshipped to this day.
Army legislative affairs told Capitol Hill on Feb. 14, “At the current moment, the U.S. Army is still sorting out multiple requests and what may be available for these high-demand assets. So a final decision is still pending.”
There is more Biden indecision.
Ukraine wants anti-ship missiles, but no luck. Russian ships are now blocking parts of the Black Sea. Ukraine said a warship machine-gunned to death 13 guards as it seized the strategic Snake Island.
“They refuse to release U.S. stocks of stinger wartime reserves,” said the congressional source. “That is why other nations sent their own.”
Meanwhile, congressional staff are being briefed by the administration that it might not have the authority to arm a Ukrainian resistance against what would surely be a brutal Putin occupation with many murders.
My source says there has been a “raging debate” inside the intelligence community over whether Mr. Putin is mentally unstable.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, the top Republican on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, tweeted this Friday night:
“I wish I could share more, but for now I can say it’s pretty obvious to many that something is off with # Putin . He has always been a killer, but his problem now is different & significant.
“It would be a mistake to assume this Putin would react the same way he would have 5 years ago.”
washingtontimes.com/news/2022/feb/26/biden-has-denied-slow-walked-arms-kyiv/Including surface to air Stinger missile systems.
Yup, it was President Trump that made the first-time shipments.
The US is supplying Ukraine with weapons...
Russia is losing and the US is not in the war.
Just imagine the rightwing outrage if US planes or advance weaponry fell into Putin's hands!
The majority of Americans also want the US to send the Polish MIGs to Ukraine.
Biden is taking a beating on this; and rightfully so. This is the reason it is never wise to conduct diplomacy and negotiations by media. Someone calmer and more detached would have brought up the logistics of transferring the planes from Poland to Ukraine at the start. Until everything was worked out and the transfer had occurred, the media shouldn't have been informed.
Instead the Poles are pissed since we used the media to bully them into acting. They thought this was a done deal. They give up their MIG's and we give them an updated air force complete with training. What a great deal for them! And their government gets the added boost as being seen helping Ukraine! Only one problem; Poland doesn't want the MIGs leaving from their air space. Poland has been under Russian occupation; and knows full well what they are capable of. So they go to the media and agree to send the MIGs to a US air base; to put us on the hook. They do so not once; but twice. And we flat our reject them both times.
Also, it would be good if the Biden administration had worked out if they should even attempt the deal in private among themselves before making the media offer.
The article shows just how much of clusterfuck the entire process was. The Poles have every right to be pissed. We hung them out to dry publicly not once; but twice.
Stop listening to the media morons. Russia is not going to lose this war. This is the normal stupid Russian war slog. They are still fighting like it is WWI. They have far more resources to bring to the conflict yet.
The Russians are taking heavy losses; and so are the Ukrainians. Guess which ones can replace their losses fastest; and have more reserves to spare? It is debatable which side has less to lose.
You mean the Russians need more than Brandon gave to the Taliban! They really must be morons not to be able to reverse engineer all of the weapons the Taliban are selling them. The Taliban have so many they are selling them on the internet!
The hypocrisy of your statement is almost as high as Democrats downplaying Afghanistan withdrawal debacle; of arming the Taliban with US weapons and vehicles; and leaving US citizens behind.
The US started suppling security cash and equipment as far back as 2015. The equipment was upgraded to more lethal weapons during the Trump admin including Javelin anti-tank weapons and rocket launchers. Trump approved $250M in aid (most of which was exactly the same as under the Obama admin), then froze it and later unfroze it.
Not only is the US under Biden suppling arms to Ukraine, but most of NATO. The first (as many as 200 units) Stingers went to Ukraine at the end of Feb.
Wow! That is exactly what Russian news says!
If Russia is winning, as you contend, and we give Ukraine planes then Russia gets them...
We can only imagine how you would like that!
And guess which losses are due to their utter incompetence. Your Russians.
The Russian military has shown itself to be totally unprepared for any kind of military action. They are finding themselves being repulsed by a vastly inferior force where their only choice now is to overwhelm Ukraine with sheer numbers.
Guess which one should not need to call in reserves for such a small campaign.
Imagine that...
“They are finding themselves being repulsed by a vastly inferior force…”
History shows those ‘vastly inferior’ forces become much more difficult to overcome when they are fighting and dying for their homeland.
Sadly, history also shows the inevitability when facing a better equipped and heartless foe.
Songs will be written, epitaphs will be etched in stone, but… as always, to the victor go the spoils.
Just another chapter in our tragic history as we have yet to figure out how to co-exist…
Huh? It's putin who invaded and is killing Ukranians for absolutely no reason and 'we have yet to figure out how to co-exist' . . . . . ?
Uhh, where do you think Poland got the MIGs from to begin with? Russia already has them; they are the ones that built and sold them to Poland.
“Huh?”
Perhaps further clarification is necessary here.
The comment was neither an endorsement of Putin nor an excuse for his inexcusable actions. He will go down in history as just another pariah whose personal ambitions are bringing death and misery to innocents.
The intent was to put his megalomaniacal actions into historical context. He is certainly not the first, and sadly will not be the last…unless we somehow, some way, someday learn how to ‘co-exist’.
Peace. Today, tomorrow and always.
Right. Russian news says they are winning the war in the stupidest way possible and suffering massive casualties. Better still the only way they are going to win the war is that they have far superior numbers and amount of weapons to throw at Ukraine.
Please find me the Russian media that says any of that.
Think Putin is telling his people how much in troops and resources they are losing to take a country they should be rolling through?
We get plenty of Russian propaganda here...
No really? Read any of my other posts? I am no fan of the Russian military. Think stating that they "are fighting like it is WWI" is a complement? How about saying, "They are fighting a typical sloggish stupid Russian military campaign"? Or how about, "They fucked up the only thing they did right in Georgia; and didn't secure air superiority on day 1." They aren't my Russians. Any more than the Ukrainians that are fighting are my Ukrainians. I don't have a side in this. Unlike a bunch of arm chair QB's that have turned into Ukrainians overnight.
I think all sides are complete and utter assholes:
Guess I am not as in love with war as most people. War sucks and should only be a last resort. The wrong people always die (civilians and non combatants); the people that profit from it the most never see combat (politicians, media pundits, high ranking military brass, and weapons companies); and they never solve a damn thing. They are just warm ups for the next one.
We get even more US/NATO/Ukrainian propaganda. Funny how that is accept as gospel.
Remember this Ukraine propaganda piece and the reactions to it on NT. Turned out to be a gigantic lie.
Or how about those heroic Ukrainian citizens that are being armed, trained, given grenades, and how to cook books for Molotov Cocktails and explosives. The Ukraine president and every military leader screaming that they are fighting the Russians "Building to building and street to street!" That they will "Make Russia pay in blood!" Pretty hard to do that and then scream about civilian casualties. Combatants don't stop being combatants when they decide they have had enough for the day and dump their weapons into their hiding holes; and walk home. They also put civilians at risk if they fire or launch attacks from buildings that have civilians in them or residential neighborhoods that still hold people.
But all we get from the US media is pictures of mass graves; injured civilians in hospitals begging for the monster Putin to stop; and how Putin is shelling refugees as they try to flee.
So which is it. Are these poor picked on helpless people that can't defend themselves. Or are they fighting tooth and nail for their homeland using whatever means they can? Are Ukrainian forces and militias using civilians as shields; or is Russia just bombing targets for no reason? You can't have it both ways.
The propaganda on both sides has been as stupid as it can get.
[deleted]
Yep, same as what comes out of the Kremlin!
Biden is handling it with fear and cowardice.
See there, that's what happens when you post OLD news Vic.
On Feb. 28th the Ukraine navy announced that those 'guards' were 'alive and well'.
Snake Island's defiant soldiers are 'alive and well,' says Ukraine's navy - CNN
What's even more sad is that most of the rest of the 'information' in your link is even more out of date than that.
Trump was POTUS in 2014???
"get smarter here"
/s
See any irony in that?
We can all disagree on 99% and agree on 1%...
Not so sure that giving the Migs will make a big difference. From the last estimate I saw, Ukraine has about 45 aircraft still flyable. Poland has between 26 and 33 Migs they could transfer. Against the thousands of planes that Russa has? IMO before using the MIGS to try to control the air you would first need to eliminate the air defense systems including those in Russia and Belarus first and I don't know how good those Mig's are at air-to-ground. I thought they were air superiority fighters.
Shouldn't the Ukrainians decide that?
I believe they should be part of the decision process but not the sole determiner.
Fi Fi Fo Fum, I smell Rebekah Mercer's stinkin bum!
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said so expressly. CBS anchor Margaret Brennan asked him March 6, "If, for instance, the Polish government . . . wants to send fighter jets, does that get a green light from the US, or are you afraid that that will escalate tension?" Blinken replied, "No, that gets a green light. In fact, we're talking with our Polish friends right now about what we might be able to do to backfill their needs if, in fact, they choose to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians."
This is what really looks bad. A very public green light and then withdrawing it days later. That's an incompetent administration at work.
Don't think so, Vic. Biden gives no win to the Putin. Six to ten thousand dead Russian soldiers prove that.
The only wins Putin gets are from those whom you support. Like, Trump, Carlton, that Greene mouth maw, Jordan, dirty money Johnson and the rest of the GOPER autocrat heelers.