The Washington Post - USA (2022-03-27)

A12 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, MARCH 27 , 2022

BY AMY CHENG

Tyler Jacob, a 28-year-old

American who was teaching in

Ukraine, has been released from

Russian custody and reunited

with his wife and daughter, Sen.

Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said

Friday.

Jacob, a Minnesota native, was

detained by Russian troops

roughly two weeks ago while he

was fleeing the southern Ukrai-

nian city of Kherson, his parents

told CBS affiliate WCCO-TV. He

was on board a bus evacuating

people from the city to Turkey

when he was taken away by

Russian soldiers at a checkpoint

in Crimea, his father said. Russia

annexed Crimea from Ukraine in

2014.

Jacob was the only U.S. citizen

on the bus, according to his

father, who said Russian state

media had made a “heart-

wrenching” propaganda video

featuring his son. Jacob was later

taken to Russia, where he was

held for 10 days, Klobuchar said

in a statement, adding that his

release was secured with the

assistance of the State Depart-

ment and the U.S. Embassy in

Moscow.

“While this is good news, my

heart remains with all those

separated from their loved ones

or in danger,” Klobuchar said. “As

Vladimir Putin continues his

senseless war, our commitment

to supporting the people of

Ukraine is steadfast.”

A State Department spokes-

person said the agency was

aware of the reports of Jacob’s

release but declined to further

comment because of privacy con-

cerns.

Jacob’s mother, Tina Hauser,

said on CNN’s “Don Lemon To-

night” that she spoke with her

son on Friday. She said he was in

a NATO member state, though

she did not specify the country.

“It sounded like angels singing

in my ear, hearing his voice,”

Hauser said. “It’s going to be

astronomical, the feelings that

are going to flow through me,

when I get to give my son a hug

for the first time.”

Jacob said he had been treated

very well in Russian custody and

had “no complaints,” his father

said.

Kherson, home to some

290,000 people before the inva-

sion, is a vital port and Black Sea

shipbuilding city. It was one of

the first Ukrainian cities to come

under heavy Russian shelling

and, later, occupation, but the

Pentagon said Friday that Mos-

cow appeared to have at least

partially lost control of Kherson.

Another U.S. citizen, WNBA

star Brittney Griner, has been

detained since February by Rus-

sian authorities. The two-time

Olympic gold medalist was ar-

rested after Russian officials said

they found vape cartridges con-

taining hashish oil in her luggage

at a Moscow airport.

Griner “is doing as well as can

be expected,” the State Depart-

ment said after a U.S. consular

officer was able to visit her this

Wednesday.

war in ukraine

A merican

teacher

released

by Russia

am a gaffe machine,” has a long

history of veering from the care-

fully crafted text of his speechwrit-

ers, and the inability to control his

words has been a running joke

among staffers for decades.

“I feel very capable of using my

mouth in sync with my mind,” he

told reporters, with more than a

hint of defensiveness, in 1987.

At the launch of his 2008 cam-

paign, Biden came under criticism

for calling Barack Obama “the

first mainstream African Ameri-

can who is articulate and bright

and clean and a nice-looking guy.”

Later, as Obama’s vice president,

Biden was captured on a micro-

phone whispering an expletive to

Obama at the bill signing for the

landmark health-care law.

Biden drew significant ire from

Obama and his aides when he

announced his support for same-

sex marriage before Obama or

many other prominent politi-

cians.

During the presidential cam-

paign, Biden referred to Margaret

Thatcher instead of the more re-

cent British prime minister There-

sa May, and he misstated when he

had met with students impacted

by a shooting in Parkland, Fla.

As president, aides have often

worked to keep him on message.

Sometimes that means limited ex-

posure in formal settings — he

waited longer than any president

in at least a century to hold his first

formal news conference — and it

also means trying to keep him

tightly to a script.

But there is little any aide can

do when the president decides to

extend his remarks and tuck in,

almost as an aside, a declaration

that he wants to see Putin re-

moved from power.

“God bless you all. And may

God defend our freedom,” he said

after suggesting Putin’s removal.

“And may God protect our troops.

Thank you for your patience.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank

you.”

Viser reported from Washington.

States seeks. His ouster and sys-

temic change.”

He said the remark overshad-

owed an otherwise relatively

smooth trip aimed at building ad-

ditional support for Ukraine,

bulking up additional sanctions

enforcement and further unifying

NATO allies.

“What’s frustrating about this

is, up to now, the Biden adminis-

tration has conducted itself with

significant discipline. ... This goes

against the grain of their handling

of this crisis,” Haas said.

“They obviously recognize that,

they walked it back in a matter of

minutes,” he added. “The problem

is, from Putin’s point of view the

president revealed his and our

true intentions.”

David Rothkopf, a foreign

policy analyst and CEO of the

Rothkopf Group, compared

Biden’s speech to President John

F. Kennedy’s speech in Berlin ex-

pressing solidarity with German

citizens in 1963.

“There is within Biden’s com-

ment a kernel of truth,” Rothkopf

said. “Vladimir Putin can’t lay

waste to a country, kill tens of

thousands of civilians, commit se-

rial war crimes and expect to be

welcomed back into the commu-

nity of nations. If Russia wants to

be part of the community of na-

tions, then they are going to have

to produce change.”

“The statement I think is natu-

rally going to be a bit of lightning

rod as it has already been,” he

added. “It shouldn’t distract from

the much more important speech,

but it also wasn’t wrong.”

Biden entered office with sig-

nificant foreign policy experience

and frequently touted his rela-

tionships with world leaders and

ability to forge diplomatic com-

promise.

But if some other leaders oper-

ate as discrete poker players with

cards close to their chest, Biden

has often failed to hide his true

intentions and thoughts when he

is before a microphone.

The man who once confessed, “I

which White House aides quickly

said was simply him “speaking

from the heart.” But within a few

days, U.S. policy changed as Blink-

en also called Putin a war criminal

and released a formal assessment

on war crimes committed by Rus-

sia.

Biden’s comment was particu-

larly striking because his adminis-

tration has taken pains to avoid

even implying that regime change

is a goal of the Western response to

Russia’s aggression.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry

Peskov told state news agencies,

“That’s not for Biden to decide.

The president of Russia is elected

by Russians.”

Some officials, both in the Unit-

ed States and abroad, said Biden’s

comment was an honest acknowl-

edgment of reality — the United

States will probably never have a

normal relationship with Putin

after the invasion. But the bigger

worry may be that, in the short

term, Biden’s rhetoric could esca-

late tensions and make any diplo-

matic off-ramp harder to find.

“There ought to be two priori-

ties right now: ending the war on

terms Ukraine can accept, and

discouraging any escalation by

Putin. And this comment was in-

consistent with both of those

goals,” said Richard Haas, a vet-

eran diplomat and president of

the Council on Foreign Relations.

“It discourages Putin from any

compromise essentially — if

you’ve got everything to lose, it

frees him up. Why should he show

any restraint?” Haas added. “And

it confirms his worst fears, which

is that this is what the United

Biden could close his eyes tomor-

row and have 10 wishes, one

would be there’s a leadership

change in Russia.”

But the comment also seemed

to provide a window into Biden’s

current thinking, and some of the

mind-set that the administration

has with regard to Putin.

“What it tells me, and worries

me, is that the top team is not

thinking about plausible war ter-

mination,” said Michael O’Han-

lon, a senior fellow at the Brook-

ings Institution and author of the

book “The Art of War in an Age of

Peace: U.S. Grand Strategy and

Resolute Restraint.”

“If they were, Biden’s head

wouldn’t be in a place where he’s

saying, ‘Putin must go.’ The only

way to get to war termination is to

negotiate with this guy,” O’Hanlon

said.

“When you say this guy must go

you’ve essentially declared you’re

not going to do business with

him,” he added. “However appeal-

ing at an emotional level, it’s not

going to happen. We can’t control

it, and it probably won’t take place

anytime soon.”

Over the past few weeks,

Biden’s rhetoric on Putin — a man

he once recounted telling to his

face, “I don’t think you have a soul”

— has become increasingly point-

ed. He has called him a “butcher”

“pure thug” and a “murderous dic-

tator.” So saying that he should be

removed from power could

viewed as the logical next step.

It also is in line with Biden at

times articulating policy before

his aides are ready. Last week, he

called Putin a “war criminal,”

Biden created an unwanted dis-
traction to his otherwise forceful
remarks by calling for Russian
President Vladimir Putin to be
pushed out of office.
“For God’s sake, this man can-
not remain in power,” Biden said.
It was a remarkable statement
that would reverse stated U.S. pol-
icy, directly countering claims
from senior administration offi-
cials, including Secretary of State
Antony Blinken, who have insist-
ed regime change is not on the
table. It went further than even
U.S. presidents during the Cold
War, and immediately reverberat-
ed around the world as world lead-
ers, diplomats, and foreign policy
experts sought to determine what
Biden said, what it meant — and, if
he didn’t mean it, why he said it.
Shortly after the speech, a
White House official sought to
clarify the comments.
“The president’s point was that
Putin cannot be allowed to exer-
cise power over his neighbors or
the region. He was not discussing
Putin’s power in Russia or regime
change,” the official said.
Biden’s line was not planned
and came as a surprise to U.S.
officials, according to a person
familiar with the speech who
spoke on the condition of ano-
nymity to discuss a sensitive situa-
tion. In the immediate aftermath
of the remark, reporters rushed to
find Biden aides and seek clarity
on the president seemingly sup-
porting a regime change in Russia.
But Biden aides demurred, re-
fusing to comment as they scram-
bled to craft a response.
White House officials were ada-
mant the remark was not a sign of
a policy change, but they did con-
cede it was just the latest example
of Biden’s penchant for stumbling
off message. And like many of his
unintended comments, they came
at the end of his speech as he
ad-libbed and veered from the
carefully crafted text on the tele-
prompter.
“The speech was quite remark-
able,” said Aaron David Miller, a
veteran diplomat and senior fel-
low at the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace. “This is
one of those speeches where the
one-liner in many ways drowns
out the intent of the speech. Be-
cause that’s exactly what people
are focusing on.”
Miller said that had the White
House not immediately clarified,
the comment would have led to a
significant shift in policy and sig-
naled to Putin that the United
States would attempt to drive him
out of office. It is unclear what the
full impact of the comment may be
in coming days.
“I’m risk-averse by nature, espe-
cially with a guy who has nuclear
weapons,” he said. “But will it have
operational consequences? I don’t
know.”
It probably signals to Putin
what he already suspected about
Biden’s true feelings, and it almost
certainly will be used as part of
Russia’s propaganda.
“I guess you can call this a gaffe
from the heart,” Miller said. “If

SPEECH FROM A

O∞cials scramble to clarify Biden’s impromptu remark

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

President Biden delivers a speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw on Saturday. White House officials were adamant Biden’s remark was not

a sign of a policy change, but they did concede it was just the latest example of his penchant for stumbling off message.

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