The people now gunning for a showdown with Putin were gunning for a showdown with Saddam Hussein two decades ago—with the same promises of a happy outcome.

U.S. national security figures get that information war is the new battleground. But “how many freaking times do they need to warn that anything may be imminent?” one asked.

It is so rare to see an actual journalist rather than a regime stenographer in the US mainstream media that there really needs to be a federal “endangered species” protection designation. In this case it would be AP’s Matt Lee, their diplomatic affairs correspondent, who’s been around the block many times and whose reputation is that he takes no crap from flacks regardless of party. Imagine that!

“All concerned [must] take immediate steps to deescalate tensions and continue on the diplomatic path.” That is the emphatic plea of UN Secretary General Guterres. It was presented on January 31 to the Security Council. Its meeting that day was called by the United States to “discuss Russia’s threats to Ukraine,” according to the Guardian.

In 2014, when Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to a U.S.-backed coup that ousted a pro-Russian regime in Kyiv by occupying Crimea, President Barack Obama did nothing.

While these comprehensive peace agreements with Russia and China would not be without challenges, they would provide an unprecedented opportunity for Biden to secure his presidential legacy as a transformational peace president while also serving to safeguard vital U.S. national security interests.

Group wants the administration to stick to its pledge of diplomacy, stop NATO expansion, and refuse to send troops to Ukraine.

It seems the administration just wants to soothe (and bluster) but take no concrete actions over Ukraine. It won’t work this time.

Upon taking office, US President Joe Biden had an opportunity to engineer a reset in international relations, engaging constructively with China and Russia to figure out how to manage the new multipolar world. His administration has done the opposite, apparently believing that America is still the global hegemon.

President Biden and other administration officials have stated emphatically on multiple occasions that the United States is firmly committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. In his April 2, 2021, telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky, Biden affirmed “the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression in the Donbas and Crimea.”