After promising to get tough on Russia, Biden hesitates out of the gate

[Counselor706]

President Biden's early actions on Russia are somewhat confusing. For much of the presidential campaign and for the entirety of the Trump presidency, Biden and other Democrats called for tougher responses to Vladimir Putin's aggressions. So one might have expected Biden to take action to that effect in his first few days in office. Whether the Russian SVR's recent SolarWinds hack, the Kremlin's push to complete the Nord Stream II pipeline, or Putin's detention of thousands of peaceful protesters this weekend, Russia has given Biden ample cause for immediate action.

Instead, Biden has apparently adopted a let's-be-nice-to-Putin strategy. Biden has agreed to extend the New Start arms control treaty without any new conditions. That is music to Russia's ears. Putin has taken advantage of weaknesses in New Start's verification protocols to advance its secret development of new nuclear weapons and delivery platforms. Thanks to Biden, they got away with it.

The Biden administration has also offered effective silence over Putin's vicious crackdown against supporters of Alexei Navalny. White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday asserted that the administration was reviewing intelligence related to Russia's August poisoning of Navalny. Such a review is utterly unnecessary. So Biden already appears to be backpedaling on his promised "get tough" approach.

Meanwhile, Biden's assault on U.S. fossil fuels, including both his nixing of the Keystone Pipeline and his 60-day freeze of leasing on new lands, no doubt made Putin smile.

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[Lazaran]

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Not knowing what sensitive information Russia obtained through its hacking of the Trump administration, and the threats that information poses to intelligence assets and to critical domestic infrastructure, President Biden is being quite prudent before announcing or authorizing broad reprisals.

That is not to say there has been no action taken. I would imagine there are a suite of covert options at President Biden's disposal, and it is quite likely several have been acted upon.

It's very similar to President Biden's order to have all agencies review Trumps actions that harm the environment. President Biden can make an informed decision about how to undo the damage caused by Trump's policies once the agencies report their findings and recommendations.

President Biden has obviously prioritized the federal governments response to Covid after Trump's failed policies, so it isn't surprising that action on some other issues are temporarily delayed.

I DO like how the bar on the President has been raised again!!!

If only republicans had held Trump to the same standard as President Biden........