Ukraine war: after burning fingers in Iraq and Afghanistan, US shuns regime change strategy in Russia

The White House rushed to downplay the phrase after Biden last week said Russia’s Putin ‘cannot remain in power’

The clarification shows that even hinting at such a tactic appears taboo in Washington following attempts to overthrow authoritarian regimes by force in the Middle East

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Demonstrators dance around a burning effigy of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Tbilisi, Georgia, on March 27. Photo: AP

Published: 12:30pm, 29 Mar 2022Updated: 12:33pm, 29 Mar 2022

The United States says it is not seeking a “regime change” in Russia, hasty clarification that shows the strategy once popular among neoconservatives has become a hot-button issue after negative experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

President Joe Biden caused a stir on Saturday when, during an impassioned speech in Warsaw, said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.”

The White House rushed to downplay the phrase, which was not part of Biden’s prewritten remarks, insisting the US leader was not suggesting a regime change in Moscow.

But Biden refused to walk back the comment Monday, although he said he was only expressing his “moral outrage,” not outlining a policy to overthrow Putin.

Even hinting at such a tactic appears taboo in Washington.

“Regime change might sound appealing because it removes the person associated with policies we don’t like,” Sarah Kreps, a government professor at Cornell University, said. “But it almost always leads to instability.”