Meet Joe Biden, Putin's $5 million man
Tom Rogan 14 hrs ago
The United States might not often negotiate with terrorists. Under President Joe Biden, however, the U.S. seems pretty happy to be extorted by Russia.
Vladimir Putin wearing a suit and tie© Provided by Washington Examiner
ConsiderBloomberg's reporting on Thursday that Colonial Pipeline paid $5 million to the DarkSide hacker group to regain access to its networks. This is a huge victory for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, one that must have Putin and his security chief Nikolai Patrushev in hysterics.
So much for the Biden-to-get-tough-on-Putin narrative.
To be sure, former President Trump was often delusional in his Putin dealings. For whatever reason, Trump genuinely seemed to believe that Putin sought compromise with America and its allies. Trump's July 2018 summit in Helsinki was a particular low point. But at least Trump never abandoned a U.S. company to pay blackmail payments to extensions of the Russian state.
Let's be clear, that's what Biden has done here.
The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack — which significantly disrupted energy supplies to the East Coast and led to panicked hoarding — was conducted by hackers with links to Putin's intelligence apparatus. As I explained earlier this week, Putin knows that the U.S. knows this. That understanding might explain why DarkSide released a statement earlier this week saying that it only wanted money and had no intention of causing public disruption. Put simply, the Russians might have — and certainly should have — feared U.S. retaliation against their own energy infrastructure. That's what Biden should have put on the table. He should have called Putin and said, "Tell Sergei Korolyov to tell his boys to unlock Colonial Pipeline. Do it now. Or get ready for a blackout in Moscow and St. Petersburg."
Any fears Putin might have had were obviously misplaced.
After all, Joe Biden isn't the tough-on-Putin man, he's the pay-a-$5 million-ransom man.
We should have seen it coming. We had our first hint on Monday, when the White House publicly abandoned Colonial Pipeline. The Washington Examiner's Jerry Dunleavy encapsulated the absurdity.
Imagine if Trump had done this?
It's at once pathetic and truly absurd. The Russians will be laughing. We should be more concerned. Get ready for more extortion efforts, and disruption. Oh, and more RF/MW attacks on our personnel.
Putin learned a dangerous lesson today. American deterrence is hibernating under President Biden.
Tags: Opinion, Beltway Confidential, Russia, Foreign Policy, National Security, Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Colonial Pipeline
Original Author: Tom Rogan
TOODLES
Tom Rogan 14 hrs ago
The United States might not often negotiate with terrorists. Under President Joe Biden, however, the U.S. seems pretty happy to be extorted by Russia.
Vladimir Putin wearing a suit and tie© Provided by Washington Examiner
ConsiderBloomberg's reporting on Thursday that Colonial Pipeline paid $5 million to the DarkSide hacker group to regain access to its networks. This is a huge victory for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, one that must have Putin and his security chief Nikolai Patrushev in hysterics.
So much for the Biden-to-get-tough-on-Putin narrative.
To be sure, former President Trump was often delusional in his Putin dealings. For whatever reason, Trump genuinely seemed to believe that Putin sought compromise with America and its allies. Trump's July 2018 summit in Helsinki was a particular low point. But at least Trump never abandoned a U.S. company to pay blackmail payments to extensions of the Russian state.
Let's be clear, that's what Biden has done here.
The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack — which significantly disrupted energy supplies to the East Coast and led to panicked hoarding — was conducted by hackers with links to Putin's intelligence apparatus. As I explained earlier this week, Putin knows that the U.S. knows this. That understanding might explain why DarkSide released a statement earlier this week saying that it only wanted money and had no intention of causing public disruption. Put simply, the Russians might have — and certainly should have — feared U.S. retaliation against their own energy infrastructure. That's what Biden should have put on the table. He should have called Putin and said, "Tell Sergei Korolyov to tell his boys to unlock Colonial Pipeline. Do it now. Or get ready for a blackout in Moscow and St. Petersburg."
Any fears Putin might have had were obviously misplaced.
After all, Joe Biden isn't the tough-on-Putin man, he's the pay-a-$5 million-ransom man.
We should have seen it coming. We had our first hint on Monday, when the White House publicly abandoned Colonial Pipeline. The Washington Examiner's Jerry Dunleavy encapsulated the absurdity.
Imagine if Trump had done this?
It's at once pathetic and truly absurd. The Russians will be laughing. We should be more concerned. Get ready for more extortion efforts, and disruption. Oh, and more RF/MW attacks on our personnel.
Putin learned a dangerous lesson today. American deterrence is hibernating under President Biden.
Tags: Opinion, Beltway Confidential, Russia, Foreign Policy, National Security, Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Colonial Pipeline
Original Author: Tom Rogan
TOODLES
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