Who Will Stop Biden?

Political scientist Edward Lozansky on new U.S. anti-Russian sanctions and intra-American apprehension.

Whenever it is said that the relations between Russia and the United States have reached a historic low, it turns out that the deterioration continues further. Moreover, steps toward confrontation are simultaneously coming literally from below, in the words of some members of Congress, “from hell.”

According to news agencies, the Joe Biden administration is finalizing its review of Russia’s alleged activity and may soon announce additional measures against the country. These steps could entail sanctions against people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the expulsion of Russian diplomats who, according to the United States, have connections to Russian intelligence, and a number of other measures, including cyberattacks on government agencies.

The rationale for the sanctions will be “retaliation” for the hacking of the SolarWinds software company and alleged meddling in the 2020 presidential election. All of these accusations are unfounded, as the U.S. has not provided any evidence, while Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement.

During congressional hearings, current and former SolarWinds directors testified that the “solarwinds123” password for the software company had been available online for years, and a cybersecurity expert who previously consulted SolarWinds said that hacking “could have been done by any attacker, easily.”

Last month, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released its assessment of the campaign allegedly ordered by Putin to vilify Biden during the 2020 presidential election. Again, the assessment lacked any evidence or explanation as to how U.S. intelligence reached this conclusion.

Another issue that the Biden administration said was addressed early on was the claim that Russia was offering bounties to the Taliban for killing U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan. This accusation first appeared in The New York Times last June, but since then nobody has been able to confirm this information. Accordingly, this accusation was removed from the list of anti-Russian talking points.

President Biden also ordered a review of the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which could lead to additional sanctions.

The Nord Stream 2 project continues to receive particular attention, and a whole set of new sanctions is also being prepared to block construction of the nearly completed gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. Restrictions may be enacted against insurance firms and other companies providing auxiliary ships and materials.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “the sanctions legislation Congress passed in 2019 and expanded in 2020 has significant support from a bipartisan congressional majority. The Biden administration is committed to complying with that legislation.” According to many experts, if the rhetoric with regard to the latest events in Ukraine is also taken into account, this situation resembles the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world was on the verge of a nuclear war. Common sense won then, but Biden’s track record of voting for all the many American wars of this century that resulted in enormous human and material sacrifices, could lead to a worst-case scenario.

All of this is causing serious concern in America itself. Recently, 27 left-leaning Democratic Party organizations urged Biden to halt the use of “reckless” rhetoric against Russian President Putin and instead conduct “constructive bilateral talks.”

Even some White House officials, who prefer to remain anonymous, understand that imposing sanctions without proven charges would not be entirely legal. Interestingly, in one of the most anti-Russian think tanks, the Atlantic Council, sober voices are also being heard about the dead-end U.S. foreign policy, for which these political scientists are being attacked by their colleagues. This is reminiscent of the speeches of Soviet writers accusing the Nobel laureates Boris Pasternak and Alexander Solzhenitsyn of being agents of American imperialism.

Civil society representatives are also voicing their opinions. Thus, several dozen American and Russian organizations will hold an online conference between Moscow and Washington. Friendship Trees will be planted to signify amity between the peoples of Russia and the United States. The conference will be held on April 25, to coincide with Elbe Day.

As for Nord Stream 2, Biden must ultimately decide whether to risk imposing sanctions on Germany and other European companies, given the inevitable political consequences.

Meanwhile, the influential newspaper, The Washington Times, has confirmed a forthcoming publication by American scientists calling on Presidents Biden and Putin to immediately begin negotiations to prevent a global crisis that could lead to unpredictable and disastrous consequences.

The author is the president of American University in Moscow.

The author’s opinion may not reflect the views of Izvestia’s editorial board.