THIS IS EFFECTIVELY A THREAT TO KILL PUTIN, SINCE HE CAN’T SURRENDER POWER AND LIVE: Biden goes there: For God’s sake, Putin cannot remain in power.

That seems unwise. “If unrest in Russia over the war ever does begin to boil over, it’ll be child’s play now for the Kremlin to convince Russians who are on the fence that anti-Putin demonstrators are stooges of the U.S. government. The specter of western-backed regime change isn’t just propaganda aimed at exploiting Russian patriotism, though. Putin fears it to his marrow. Reportedly he was haunted by the scenes of Moammar Qaddafi being killed by his subjects in Libya during an uprising supported by the U.S. and Europe.”

Well, and given that we had previously guaranteed Qaddafi’s safety, it means we can’t credibly promise anything here. Plus: “A few days ago, Putin’s spokesman was asked under what conditions he would consider using nuclear weapons. His answer: If Russia is facing an ‘existential threat.’ Putin might not distinguish an existential threat to Russia from an existential threat to his own power, though.”