Why is everyone in an uproar?

[peggysue2]

75. True, regime change won't come from the outside

But if you look at the entirety of the speech, President Biden directly reaches out to the Russian people. He says quite directly that this war is not worthy of a great nation, one that suffered greatly during WWII. He refers to the Siege of Stalingrad, a parallel to what the Russian people suffered at the hands of the Nazis. Putin is doing that now to Ukraine. He also says the Russian people are not our enemy.

I listened to an interview with Vladimir Kara-Muzra a week ago. He was poisoned twice by Putin's henchmen. He's fighting still from the outside and has stressed that any real, lasting change in Russia can only come from inside, forced into being by Russian citizens.

POTUS's entreaty: Be Not Afraid is a message to the Russian people as well as the rest of the world. It's basically a call to come out of the darkness, so we can all stand in the light. I suspect it will appeal to the younger generations in Russia.

As for the last nine words? Yes, I think they were personally directed to Putin, a shot across the bow. Biden isn't naive or a babe in the woods when it comes to diplomacy and foreign policy. Words matter. President Biden knows Putin; he's dealt with the man for years and knows who and what he is. No doubt Biden has also been afforded excellent intelligence regarding what's going on inside Putin's inner circle. He's rattling the cage at a moment of internal strife bc this war and the subsequent economic sanctions are turning into a debacle for Putin.

In addition? Biden is telling the truth, Putin's Kryptonite.

As for the walk-back? The words of warning and truth are out there regardless of the step back.