The United States President, Joe Biden, has made a series of “misstatements” about the invasion of Ukraine during his four-day trip to Europe which ended on Saturday, March 27th,prompting US Government officials to step in and make clarifications.
Recall that the said “misstatements” are akin to the “missteps” President Biden allegedly took during his “botched” military withdrawal from Afghanistan, – a miscalculation that left hundreds of Americans and Afghan allies stranded when the Taliban took over power in the middle east country.
For instance, during a press conference last Thursday at a NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, Biden reportedly said that the U.S. would respond “in kind” if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine. However, the US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, later clarified that it only meant Russia would pay a “severe price,” but that “the United States has no intention of using chemical weapons, period, under any circumstances.”
In another instance at the said conference, Biden declared that “sanctions never deter” and that he never said the economic measures would stop Russian President, Vladimir Putin, from invading Ukraine. This was in spite of members of the administration, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, clearly stating that the sanctions were meant to deter.
Also on Friday, Biden while speaking to U.S. troops in Poland appeared to suggest that they would soon be in Ukraine itself when he stated thus: – “And you’re going to see when you’re there… you’re going to see women, young people standing –standing… in front of a damn tank, just saying, ‘I’m not leaving. I’m holding my ground.”
US officials have on numerous occasions ruled this out.
According to a White House spokesperson, “The president has been clear we are not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine and there is no change in that position.”
These and numerous other similar gaffes, like those made during the ill–fated hasty withdrawal from Kabul, have got many across the globe worried especially given the possible “nuclear” implications of having a world leader in the stature of President of the United States being insensitive in his statements addressing the Ukrainian crisis.