https://ift.tt/no12Ohx U.S. President Joe Biden been boxing in his Russian counterpart, making it awkward for Vladimir Putin to order a “shock and awe” invasion of Ukraine?
The Biden administration’s tactic of publicly disclosing real-time intelligence has raised the eyebrows of some spies, who favor more reticence, but it is drawing praise from information-war specialists and Western diplomats.
Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, said on Twitter that he thinks the administration may have surprised the Kremlin with how it has competed in an information war that is shaping public perceptions and, possibly, decision-making and even real war planning.
After Biden told reporters in Washington that he is now convinced Putin has chosen to invade Ukraine, including striking at Kyiv, McFaul and other former and current diplomats speculated about whether Biden was carefully hemming in his Russian adversary.
“Biden has given Putin a brilliant off-ramp,” McFaul tweeted. “By announcing to the world that Putin plans to invade, Putin can now embarrass Biden by not invading and blaming the West for beating the ‘drums of war.’ Take it Mr. Putin. Embarrass my president! (Small price to pay for avoiding war),” he added.
Earlier this month, U.S. and British officials pointed to Feb. 15 or 16 as the likely start date for a Russian invasion of Ukraine. When the invasion did not happen, Kremlin officials quickly ridiculed Washington for its prediction.
“February 15, 2022 will go down in history as the day when Western war propaganda failed,” said Maria Zakharova, the combative Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson, on social media.
“They were humiliated and defeated without a single shot,” she added.