Biden announces aid packages for Israel and Ukraine
After returning from his Middle East trip, US President Joe Biden addressed the nation in a televised speech, explaining why it is vital for the US to support both Ukraine and Israel financially and militarily. He said that "terrorists" like Hamas and "tyrants" like Putin must not be allowed to win. Biden has requested further aid packages for the two countries from Congress.
Finally explaining what the war is all about
Biden has made up for an omission, explains John Herbst, former US ambassador to Ukraine, on NV:
“One thing the White House had not done was to explain to the American people why the United States was leading this major effort. Biden checked that box tonight. He explained that if Putin wins in Ukraine, he might march west and attack our NATO allies, which the United States would be obliged to defend. He reminded the American public that Ukraine was only asking for the means to defend itself. Providing the military and economic assistance that Ukraine needs is therefore the smart and economical way to protect the United States and its allies.”
Long-term damage to Russia's image
In a Facebook post historian Andrei Zubov sees Biden's speech as proof of Russia being stigmatised for the Western world for a long time to come:
“Putin and his cohorts can be proud of themselves. ... Despite the Comintern, even the USSR was never classified as a terrorist state (unfortunately, because it actually was one), but Putin's Russia is considered one - and rightly so. Gorbachev managed to correct the image of the USSR shortly before its collapse, and Yeltsin benefited from its new reputation as a 'normal civilised country'. Even Putin took a leap of faith because of this period. ... There will be no such advance trust from the civilised world for Russia a second time. ... With each passing day, Russia's return to the civilised world becomes more difficult, almost impossible.”
Biden advocates democratic values
Diário de Notícias looks at the domestic dimensions of the speech:
“The presidential election is just over a year away. And Biden, whom only health problems could prevent from running for a second term, expressed a desire for unity, condemned antisemitism and Islamophobia. ... In a divided America where millions believe Donald Trump would be a better president and should return to the White House, Biden wanted to make a difference, promising a country that remains true to its democratic ideals. He even spoke of the US as a lighthouse - a lighthouse for itself, a lighthouse for the world.”