Western sanctions look like more bluster than facts

 Washington Examiner:

The Western sanctions response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine is already wobbling.

In an uncertain press conference performance, President Joe Biden refused to announce sanctions on Vladimir Putin's person and failed to answer repeated questions as to why he was not doing so.

Concerned about U.S. energy prices, Biden also pledged that new sanctions would not target the Russian energy industry. Yet, considering that the Russian energy industry is the overwhelming centerpiece of its economy, Biden's decision to shield that industry from sanctions represents a huge win for Putin. The undeniable link between Biden's heavy regulation of domestic energy production and foreign policy weakness is on full display. Biden's publicly emphasized desire to shield Russian energy interests will also encourage Putin to unleash his semi-deniable cyberoffensive actors against the U.S. energy industry.

That wasn't the only problem with Biden's statement.

Biden also noted that removing Russia from the SWIFT financial network is not currently on the table. Reports suggest that Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Cyprus are opposing efforts by the U.S., Britain, and other European Union nations to expel Russia from SWIFT, which enables speedy and secure transactions across international borders. Russia's loss of access to the system would drive up its transaction costs and deter economic engagement with its financial interests. Biden insisted that his sanctions targeting Russian bank assets would be stronger than possible SWIFT restrictions, but this is not true. The U.S. sanctioning of Russian banks is important and will be bolstered by the United Kingdom's announced support for similar action. However, if those banks can retain easy access to international clearinghouses, they will be able to shield themselves from devastating losses.

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It looks like Putin is winning his gamble that Biden would not do anything serious about his aggression.  As I noted before,  Biden looks like all hat and no cattle when it comes to dealing with Putin and his bluster during the campaign that Putin wouldn't want him as President also looks like a fraud.  One of the reasons Putin is being successful is because of Biden's absurd limits on US production of energy.  That has allowed him to finance his aggression and even after doing it, Biden is not willing to challenge Russia's energy business.  Biden looks more like a fraud every day.