The situation continues to decline for Vladimir Putin. In fact, the Russian army has suffered so many casualties that Putin has now resorted to conscription, an unpopular move that has prompted many Russians to apply for asylum in other countries. Some places like Estonia, however, are refusing to take them.
But in a news conference last week, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced that the United States will welcome those who do not want to fight in "Putin's war." Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), calls that ill-advised.
"I think draft dodgers is the wrong term," he begins. "They are resisting their conscription into an illegal and immoral war being waged by Vladimir Putin, and that is perfectly understandable. But like any other despot, he needs to be confronted by people from within his country. If you are going to have any kind of meaningful change, it has got to come from within."
Mehlman also considers the matter of national security.
"It is not unusual for people like Putin to infiltrate the countries where people are going with his own operatives under the guise of being political dissidents," he notes.
So by inviting Russians to seek asylum in America, the FAIR spokesman says Biden is giving Putin the same leg up that he has given China in urging protesters to leave Hong Kong; freedom fighters, Mehlman warns, are silenced, and unopposed authoritarianism reigns supreme.
