Biden promises Western allies would respond if Russia uses chemical weapons : NPR
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Updated March 24, 20222:54 PM ET Originally published March 24, 20221:16 PM ET
Franco Ordonez
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President Biden attends a G7 leaders meeting during a NATO summit on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, on Thursday. Henry Nicholls/Pool/Getty Images hide caption
toggle caption Henry Nicholls/Pool/Getty Images
President Biden attends a G7 leaders meeting during a NATO summit on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, on Thursday.
Henry Nicholls/Pool/Getty Images
President Biden promised allies would respond if Russia uses chemical weapons against Ukraine.
"It would trigger a response in-kind," Biden told reporters. "Whether or not you're asking whether NATO would cross, we'd make that decision at the time."
Biden is in Brussels meeting with NATO allies for emergency talks as Russia's invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth week.
At a press conference at NATO headquarters on Thursday, Biden said that more weapons were flowing into help Ukraine as Western leaders met to discuss contingency plans in case Russian aggression intensifies.
Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin had misjudged the unity of the West.
"NATO has never, never been more united than is it today," Biden said. "Putin is getting the exact opposite of what he intended to have as a consequence of going into Ukraine."
Biden added that he thinks Russia should be ejected from the G-20, but noted that decision will be up to the group. If members object, he thinks Ukraine should be able to attend the next meeting.
Russia had been part of the G-8 group of major economies until it was kicked out for annexing Crimea in 2014.
"Putin is getting exactly the opposite of what he intended to have as a consequence of going into Ukraine," Biden said.
Biden bristled at suggestions that sanctions failed to deter Putin from invading Ukraine
"Sanctions never deter," he said, adding that keeping sanctions in place for the months ahead is "what will stop him."
Biden's mission ahead of Thursday's meeting was "to ensure we stay united, to cement our collective resolve, to send a powerful message that we are prepared and committed to this for as long as it takes," said his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
Politics
Biden and major allies are meeting about Russia's war in Ukraine
Earlier in the day, administration officials told reporters the U.S. plans to welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians and other displaced people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, and will provide $1 billion in new funding for humanitarian aid for Ukrainians and refugees in neighboring countries.
The Biden administration is also planning new sanctions on Russia, including on members of the Duma and defense companies, is partnering with the G-7 and EU on a new initiative to prevent China or other countries from helping Russian banks do business abroad and will crack down on sales of Russian gold.
From Brussels, Biden heads to Warsaw on Friday to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and visit with U.S. troops.
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America's Senior Statesman - President Joe Biden
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The Leader of the Free World - President Joe Biden
Damn scary thought, isn't it?
If you are named Vlad and live in the Kremlin...
Doesn't seem to scare or deter Putin at all does it?
Damn scary for the rest of us though.
Fucking idiot's mouth is writing checks the rest us will have to cash. It isn't like he or his family will be sent to the meat grinder in the event of war with Russia. Just like he and his family aren't the ones suffering from his sanctions and fucked up policies (He wants us all to forget about the high gas prices and rising inflation before the war started. It is all Putin's fault now. Another Russian conspiracy to foil a moronic Democrat.)
He keeps yapping like an idiot; and he will take this thing nuclear yet.
Or employed by the Kremlin.
So....
Biden is scared of Biden?
Ten years ago:
“We have been very clear to the Assad regime, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus.”
We had received reports about a month earlier that the regime was preparing to use chemical weapons against the opposition, or transfer them to the terrorist organization Hezbollah. We issued private warnings to Iran, Russia, and the Syrian government; it's clear to Assad that the world was watching, and that Assad would be held accountable by the international community should he use those weapons.
Then on August 21, 2013, news broke of a catastrophic chemical-weapons attack in Syria. The calculus hadn't changed at all.
He also gave himself an out when he also said that the type of response would depend on "the nature of the use."
But wasn't that the entire line before in that the sanctions were put in to deter Putin from his actions? Could have sworn I heard both Harris and Blinken talk about the sanctions as being a tool to deter the actions of Putin.
It depended on the day and who from the Biden admin was talking. Mixed messages from the administration would be an understatement.
Putin didn't get the message. Just like the US and NATO didn't get Putin's repeated warnings about continuing to flip former Soviet satellite states over to NATO.
The US and NATO still are not listening to him now. The rhetoric on both sides is getting thicker by the day. Only problem is Putin doesn't have anything to lose. Russia has nukes; and he has his nuclear force prepped and ready. The planet is full of dumbasses on all sides.
I suppose now we should expect to see Russian troops using tear gas to disperse protesters and civilians attempting to interfere with military operations.
Biden isn't leading the free world; Biden is leading the NATO bloc that the United States dominates. NATO may be united but are still afraid to step across the red line that Putin has drawn in Ukraine. Apparently the NATO bloc isn't too stupid to understand that Putin is provoking them to begin the real war.
Technically that is a chemical attack.
I really hope that Biden and NATO aren't that stupid.
Technically tear gas is a chemical weapon banned by the Geneva protocols. So, the political bullshitting will be over whether or not crowd control is a act of war. Is the military in a battle zone also a civil authority? There's all sorts of opportunities for political bloviating and bullshitting.