Biden-Putin Sanction Circle Jerk

Because Joe Biden is a serious political adversary….cough cough….eyeroll….yawn…. when he announced sanctions on Russia for “attempts to interfere in and influence the 2020 presidential election” and listed ten Russians diplomats that needed to leave the United States, Putin responded in kind and instantly did the same.

Russia recently expelled ten U.S. and three Polish diplomats, they’re recommending that we recall our Russian ambassador, eight U.S. officials have been added to sanction lists, and Moscow will limit or stop the activity of some U.S. non-governmental organizations.

Joe Biden shook his fist at a bully and got pushed over into the sand. All that’s left now is to wait and see if the tit-for-tat will continue. Experts warn that tougher sanctions have the potential to hurt Western businesses and increase the already rampant anti-U.S. attitudes amongst Russian citizens.

Russia is still pushing troops into Ukraine and Crimea like they’re having two-for-one sales on bottles of poison over there. There are still a few of Putin’s political opponents alive and living outside of jail, and he certainly can’t abide that sort of insult. Some think these military moves put Putin in a precarious position where he will be cautious and not try to strain relations with other countries more than necessary, but I really don’t think he gives a damn.

After this week, Russia and China will now have further reason to band together and oppose the U.S. with a united front as they oppose the similar human right’s sanctions that have been imposed on both countries. Decisions about Russia’s stance in Syria, Iran, and Afghanistan may all be affected by further sanctions. As someone with family members and friends in some of these places, I can only hope that Joe Biden sleeps through his next international conference call and gives his team some time to plan the coming steps thoughtfully.

I’m not saying that Joe Biden shouldn’t sanction Russia when necessary. I’m saying I have more faith in gas station sushi than I have in Joe knowing what sanctions are necessary, how to impose them, and what the potential fallout might be. I don’t even know if HE knows what sanctions ARE. I’m not sure if Joe Biden knows he’s talking to Putin or if he think he’s playing with his grandkids and talking on a plastic toy phone. Press conferences definitely leave the impression of the later, but for the sake of our country I’m hoping he’s playing some sort of long-game, 3-D chess. Look, I was only pretending to be drooling on myself and mumbling incoherently, but I’m really out here studying the board and making genius moves. Hey, I can dream!