Russian outcry after Ukraine’s attack on Crimea is not World War III, but a game of Chicken with Joe

Moscow on Sunday blamed the United States directly for a Ukrainian attack on Kremlin facilities in Crimea, claiming that U.S. forces supplied and even targeted the missiles, proving once again that Vladimir Putin’s main weapon for deterring America from unconditional support for Kyiv is … boastfulness.

Sadly, the Biden White House and the isolationist right fall for it every time.

Ukrainian troops attacked targets near Sevastopol using US ATACMS long-range missile systems; a Russian interceptor blew up one of the systems over the city, killing at least four people.

That is, Russia bears direct responsibility for the deaths – not to mention the fact that it attacked Ukraine in the first place and that Crimea is occupied by Russia. Ukrainian Area.

Now comes the big riot, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov He boasted that this could have “inevitable consequences” for the USA, and Putin’s favourite Dmitri Medvedev threatened America with “earthly fire”.

In other words: more of the same.

Putin is aggressive and bloodthirsty, yes.

But he will not start a nuclear war. That would be devastating for him too.

He is simply playing games with the White House because he knows that Biden will always be the first to give in and the geopolitical pundits on social media will scream “World War III.”

Our president refuses to learn from the examples of all previous successful US deterrence measures against Russia.

Namely, to defend ourselves decisively against anyone who has an interest in overthrowing the post-war global order.

Let us consider the ATACMS question in isolation: Joe hesitated for more than a year about giving the weapons to Ukraine in the first place and then handing them over with conditions for their use – no attacks on targets inside Russia, even though Russia carries out attacks throughout Ukraine – which made them almost pointless.

No: Putin is so afraid that Biden will show backbone and revoke the condition he has. his lackeys shout empty threats. (He is also probably concerned about the domestic political implications of the deaths of civilians under his regime. encouraged to vacation near important military targets.)

And Putin’s worries there are Good Thing: A wiser US president would actually make this the beginning of a new deterrence.

Still, internet “experts” were quick to agree that this latest wave of threats marks the beginning of a global apocalypse, not just the next phase of Putin’s bluff against Biden. And the White House will no doubt cite the same false concern to justify the lameness of whatever response it chooses.

Ronald Reagan put it best: “War does not come when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak. That is when tyrants are tempted.”

Biden would do well to remember this.