Joe Biden’s Surprise Ukraine Trip Is Already a Disaster

Wow. I can’t believe you cannot figure out the objective. The objective is to stop Russian aggression with a show of strength. If Russia is successful in their invasion of Ukraine, they will not stop there. They will move against any of the prior Russian states. If they win, it will embolden China to try and take over Taiwan and show other dictators no one will stand up to them. I prefer a peaceful solution to this crisis but Putin will never stop this aggression. He’s fully committed.

And then there’s the question you don’t ask: is the U. S. willing to put American troops in Ukraine? Because in all likelihood that is what ejecting Russia from all erstwhile Ukrainian territory will require and that is the stated Ukrainian objective.

And to be fair, Washington likely doesn’t have a concrete goal for this conflict that can be stated for the benefit of the media and its readers. It’s more likely a daily moving target, weighing the overall costs and benefits. Washington will start reducing support whenever it wants to, without ever having stated a final target. It’s politically easier to do it this way.

Biden, in Ukraine, reiterated, the U.S. will continue to support Ukraine for “as long as it takes.”

Commenter: “The objective is to stop Russian aggression with a show of strength.”

There is a vague objective… help Ukraine achieve a position of strength, then have a “Winners” negotiation with Russia… Secretary of State, Tony Blinken.

Or is the goal to “weaken” Russia, as Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, stated last Spring?

Or is the goal to insure Ukraine ejects Russia from all Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, as stated by Victoria Nuland?

Vague or varied objectives lead to hard to define metrics of accomplishment… the measuring stick of success or failure of any given policy.

This is by design, I think.

Without a firm goal Biden can fudge whatever he thinks is possible at any moment in time, given the current political support for the policy.

Is the American public ready for another “forever” war, albeit without official American boots on the ground?

Obviously, many readers, here, are all in on another forever war… but I submit the general public is not.

How much time & money does Biden have before the public sours on this war?

While this war maybe “forever” for many, Americans’ patience is not “forever.” And, I suggest, Americans’ patience is shorter than for Iraq or Afghanistan.

Once burned, twice shy.

That’s the price of failure.

Jim,

LoL, your faux notion of ‘forever war’ is your usual inversion of reality.

‘Forever War’ is what Russia has been doing to its neighbors for centuries. Putin talks about his place in that imperialist history all the time.

But then again you have proven time and again that you have near zero understanding of relevant history.

As well, See my above post of a better understanding of where things are, and what lay ahead.

Have a liberating day.

You are crazy. We are there to stop Russia from taking over Europe. We are there because of the atrocities that Russia is committing in Ukrainian. Russia has stated that Moldova would be next. Then Poland. For you to say Biden has no reason and no foreign policy regarding this is crazy. You are obviously pro Russian. We should load everything up in Ukraine and attack Russia. All of NATO. Most of Russian technology doesn’t work anyway.

Biden’s visit was not only to support Ukraine, but to show the PRC (China) that we will oppose their plans to bolster Russia with military support. Look at the big picture – the remaining Communists (Putin & Xi) are forming a new axis that will be very disruptive of the world. This must be opposed, and Pres. Biden is doing exactly that.

You are using subtrifuge to make some trivial point. War is Hell, the policy that escapes you is Russia must remove it’s presence on all Ukraine territories and pay for all the damage they have caused. Got It? Remember It!!!

You are really a simpleton! What is so hard to understand. Are you pro Russian? Would you like your previous president just let Russia run wild?
Thankfully we have a president now who understands the importance of stopping them in their tracks!

Unless we help Ukraine defeat Russian artillery, it will loose.
We are talking switchblade 600, excalibur, GLSB, artillery munitions in great quantities.
Battle tanks and fighter jets cannot fully offset the Russian artillery and Rocket artillery advantage. Loosing 100+ Ukrainian soldiers in Bakhmut every day is not sutainable for Ukraine.
Russia has increased munition production 50 fold, while Nato has refused to ask for war production modus of its member nations. That is a clear recipe for defeat.
We are not doing what needs to be done.
The military draft has to come back in the US and other Nato members as recruiting is taking a nose dive.
Our nuclear forces need to be expanded.
The UK ministry of defence needs at least 11 billion pounds to replace its delivered arms and munitions, but this is blocked by its treasury.

Mr. Kazianis. Rather than foaming at the mouth, please elaborate on ‘Why US and Biden should not help Ukraine?’

What should Biden do then? Condition help to Ukraine to getting dirt on Trump or GOP?

I know they say that all PR is good PR, but this guy must be really starving for attention.

1.
“Has Joe Biden ever articulated exactly how he wants to see the war in Ukraine come to an end?”
Yes: Russia withdraws, and Ukraine is restored to international recognized borders.

2.
“Will Biden press Moscow and Kyiv to start negotiating once say Ukraine pushed Russia out of all lands it took beginning one year ago?”
If he intends to, he need to keep his mouth shut about it (just like he does now). It would be unwise both from a militarily and a political point of view to state such a policy. It would just give Russia a better starting position in any future negotiating and assure Russia that Crimea is safe and give them the opportunity to prioritize other areas.

3.
How long will America keep taking ammo and weapons out of its own stocks to help Ukraine fight?
Do we really need to explain why it would be a mindboggling stupid idea to give Russia an expiration date for US and western help to Ukraine?

4.
“You can’t answer that until you get some sort of idea about the administration’s end goals and what the strategy is to get there.”
End goal: see number 1 and perhaps 2.
Strategy: see number 5.

5.
“This isn’t a war we can keep supporting forever and ever – no nation can or would.”
True, but it is also true for Russia. Maybe you should look up the CIA world factbook and fire up your calculator. Look up all the nations in the western alliance supporting Ukraine, and Ukraine itself, on the one side and Russia, Belarus, North Korea, and Iran on the other. Aggregate BNP on both sides. Look up military expenditure for both sides. Look up corruption levels on both sides. Who’s got the best technology and industrial capacity (present and near/medium future). Combine that information with what you have already learned about the state of the Russian Army and their failures in the field and mobilizing new manpower, also consider the disparity in morale of the Russian and Ukrainian troops.
Now imagine how much of the vastly greater economic power of the alliance it would require to outproduce Russia and set Ukraine on a winning path. Then compare that to the human and economic cost if Russia is victorious in Ukraine and then emboldened embarks on a quest to reestablish the Russian empire.

Seems to me the administration is playing out a very effective policy, one to destroy the Russian military and armament stockpile without military to the US and NATO (except for needing to rebuild our stockpiles, but much of what has been used was old expiring munitions anyway). The longer this plays out the better for the West and the higher cost on Russia. Ukraine pays the blood cost, but the US doesn’t really care about that. What happens with the other Russian satellites when Ukraine wins? Seems like a pretty good strategy to me.

Gary, what is your definition of forever war?

Surely, you have a definition which applies to this war.

But more important is the definition the general public has for a “Forever War”… and how anxious they are to avoid another forever war… on the taxpayer’s dime.

Suggesting that the US make the determination as to when and how to end the war is a ridiculous notion. Biden has articulated the support for Ukraine and has supplied weapons necessary to do the job. It is Ukraine’s responsibility to choose how to end the this conflict and they have clearly articulated that the job won’t be done until they are free from all occupation.

Harry, you’d best go back to the Heritage Foundation and huddle for a new strategy to attack Biden. You are an embarrassment.

Dear Mr Kazianis,

I would say the US objectives are quite clear:

Help Ukraine defeat Russia so thoroughly that Russia will not soon try again to invade Ukraine.

Ensure that Ukraine regains most of its lost territories, so that Russia clearly does not gain much of value from the war.

Nice side benefits: Russia’s military is degraded for many years to come, without a single US soldier being killed. China gets a clear warning that it is really difficult to defeat a determined opponent. NATO is strengthened.

So how to achieve this? Simply: by providing the Ukrainians with what they need to fight this war. The Ukrainians have already proven that they are really good and determined at defending their country, they just need the tools. That’s a HUGE difference with say Vietnam or Afghanistan!!

Where will the borders be when all this is over? That is to be determined. Probably somewhere around where the borders were before this war began a year ago.

I pretty much suspect that the US is willing to recognize Russia’s sovereignty in Crimea, if Russia is willing to acknowledge defeat.

I also suspect that Zelensky is willing to give up Ukrainian claims on Crimea … IF the West is willing to provide ironclad security and economic guarantees. Maybe even eventual NATO and/ or EU membership! Because that is what Zelensky is really hoping for: that is the Western future he want for Ukraine. One where Ukraine is finally, after a 100 years of horrors, safe of Russia.

In other words: Crimea is the ultimate bargaining chip. And that’s why no one is giving it up as of yet. You’d be a fool to already give up that chip now by saying you are ok with letting it go.

As for the “People’s republics” of Luhansk and Donetsk, I guess we will have to wait and see how this war ends exactly. Maybe they will become a part of Russia, maybe they return to Ukraine, with some federalist formula that gives them lots of autonomy.

If you are going to compare the invasion of Ukraine to Vietnam …
You should be pointing out that it was a disaster for the invader, not for the USSR. For the USSR it was a huge win.
This time is no different. The invasion of Ukraine is a disaster for the invader, and last time I checked it wasn’t USA troops invading Ukraine.

President Biden is the commander of the Ukrainian forces. He has armed them; has coordinated assistance from our partners and has dissuaded Russia’s allies from providing Putin with armaments.

Most importantly, President Biden’s commanders and intelligence services are training Ukrainian forces and guiding those forces in shaping strategy. Strategy! And it’s no surprise that our strategy is destroying Putin’s forces and resolve.

This is Biden’s masterwork. He has been perfectly clear from 2014 to the present: Putin will leave all of Ukraine, including the Crimea. It is odd that you don’t know this.

And of course you are a Ted Cruz schmuck. It’s time for you and your American defeatists, chumps, to stop getting in the way; stop criticizing our great military. Contribute

How many lunatics does 19fortyfive have writing for them?

If the Russian military leadership were wise, they would take out Putin, Prigozhin and Kadyrov, and probably more than a few others. They they would say enough is enough, and pull their troops out of Ukraine, asking Zelensky to allow them an orderly withdrawal.

Those troops would be so happy for getting pulled out of purgatory that the generals would gain their undying (literally) gratitude. The Russian mothers of those troops would likewise cheer, and so probably would most other Russians, once they learned what was really going on.

The Russian generals would set a date for free and fair internationally supervised elections, perhaps a year from now. In the mean time they would release all political prisoners, starting with Navalny, which again would earn them the gratitude of those freed, and likely of many other Russians who silently supported those people. The generals would also give a free pass for Russian exiles to return.

Will this happen? Of course not. But it’s nice to think about.

Does the author work for the Russians?

Russia is a wounded animal- bleeding. This is good. Why would Biden put down any lines or strategies when he doesn’t have to? Meanwhile the Chinese watch what happens when you decide to annex your neighbors. This is an important stand and Biden has played the cards well.

There are people who support the Trumpist GOP and will reach for any excuse to complain about Biden. While the author raises some legitimate questions about war aims, it is hyperbolic to the extreme to suggest that the trip was a disaster. Rather, the trip was quite a success so far. It showed an 80+ President who was willing to take a ten hour (one way) rail trip through a war ravaged country to meet with an ally. Seems more like a triumph to me. Sure, there is more to this than a clandestine trip and time will tell if Biden’s highly calibrated escalation will achieve the desired results, which are; an end to the war on advantageous terms for Ukraine and the West. Right now, Russia is still doubling down, but if their big offensive fails and Ukraine can make headway in its own offensive later this spring, we i’ll see whether Putin’s appetite for more humiliations is not sated.

The US Federal government is basically organized crime, reminiscent of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. The Treasury is being looted, free and fair elections disappeared in 2020, the rule of law is gone in urban areas, the US DOJ is like the KGB in the final Soviet years censoring dissent and persecuting enemies of the illegitimate Regime. Be prepared.

Pathetic Joe now becomes magician stuntman Joe, conveniently arranging for the air raid sirens to go off as he steps outside with Lord Voldemort Z. into the sunlight, doing his absurd best (or, maybe rather worst), to phon-ily imitate Winston Churchill during the German London blitz. Has there ever been so contrived a stunt since Bill Clinton marched over the White House lawn with some Marines in tow? Yes, look at our big brave President daring to go outside to face the Russian Star Destroyers on their way. Turns out there were no Russian Star Destroyers with Darth Putin on board, only the fake air raid wailing. Fake wailing for a fake President, that is. Hm, in a way, too bad. Can we imagine the panic scrambling before the cameras otherwise as a general aerial bombardment swooped in? What a gleeful sight it would have been. And with both ‘leaders’ together, hey, maybe they *could* have gotten two mangy crows with one “stone”.

My gosh, the twisting, the perversion of reality is rife here, with many of the Poor Loser Party posting hate.

@Richard Smith:

You have some sort of serious and morbid suicide/death wish, right? No really, you do. Crank up all of NATO and attack Russia? Do you and other war-rooter fools commenting here know what that would unleash? Yes, we all do know. Russia has said so. Repeatedly. And has shown the world the weapons it has t mean it. Weapons you say don’t work, but how would you possibly *know* that? What an irresponsibly cavalier and arrogant dismissal. Besides, that absurd assertion has been historically proven wrong from the T-34 tank to the AK-47 rifle thru the Mig-15 and -21 fighters, for example. Do you really want to risk whether any of their ICBM’s won’t work? If you say yes, then you have the potential blood of the deaths of hundreds of millions, maybe eventually billions, on *your* hands. You, and many other people like you commenting on this website. But I don’t know when and thru whom Russia has said it plans on taking Moldava or anyone else. Who said that, and when? Russia nas never asserted it wants the whole of Ukraine, just parts with Russian-ethnic concentrations under its tutelage. Why is that the U.S.’/NATO’s business? Face it—-NATO goes in, Russia goes balls-to-the-walls nuclear at some point or another. And there are plenty of us who don’t want that. Ukraine is not worth Armageddon, it is not some sort of history’s sacred nation. And the Dark Lord who rules it is not some sort of Churchillian hero, just the opposite. He is a manipulative money-grubber like his virtual cojoined twin Pathetic Joe. Amongst other things. And the world should not be put at risk for the sake of his butt, nor that of any other national ‘leader’. Even the President of the U.S. is not worth that. Especially a fake one like Pathetic Joe. You and the NATO elitists will find this out the hard and literally terrifying painful way if and when things get out of hand regarding this situation. You and they will all burn and perish together with the rest of us, there will be no respite for any human alive. All because of your wholly phony narrative of defending a heretofore obscure non-democracy in the backwater of eastern Europe.

Ukraine has been part of Russia for a very long time & has been birthplace of at least 2 Presidents . Russia made 2014 agreement where Ukraine would be a buffer between NATO & would not join NATO. Now NATO wants Ukraine & that means Nuke missiles will most likely be installed there which is untenable since 1st strike capability would make Russian civilians likely incineration victims by Nuclear blast. U.S. & NATO are war mongering aggressors & must leave Ukrainians alone. U.S.& NATO weapons must leave Now ; just as Russian missiles were Not tolerated by Peesident John Fitzgerald Kennedy had Russian missiles only 90 miles away in Cuba. They were removed just as Russia demands that U.S. & NATO must remove their weapons Immediately from Former Russian State of Ukraine ! CREEPY Joe get outta Russia’s backyard Now ! !