Biden wages first showdown of new Cold War-style duel with Russia

 Punishing sanctions were never going to stop Russian missiles, tanks and bombs. But the Biden administration hopes they offer an early edge in the first showdown of a new and dangerous 21st century coda to the Cold War.

Hours after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, the US drew battle lines for what is sure to be a bitter standoff with the Kremlin likely to last at least until President Joe Biden or Russian President Vladimir Putin leaves power.

The US leader vowed on Thursday to make Putin a "pariah" by isolating Russian banks, punishing his rich cronies, supporting Ukrainians and containing the Kremlin's attempt to roll back the outcome of the last generational Washington-Moscow struggle, which brought democracy to Eastern Europe.

While Russia seeks to clamp down on Ukraine, biting sanctions are sure to trigger a reaction that will escalate the confrontation between the Russian leader and the West. Referring to the impact of economic warfare, James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, told CNN's Erin Burnett: "I rather doubt Putin will sit still for that," predicting he could seek to inflict pain on the US, for instance, with cyberattacks.

A third factor will also dictate this first chapter of the new US-Russia showdown -- the capacity of the Ukrainian people to resist invasion, a possible occupation and what could turn out to be puppet pro-Moscow leaders. A related question of whether the United States should send arms to support a rebellion against Moscow is about to become a hot political issue in Washington.

History may record this as the moment when the United States girded for a second great, years-long confrontation against Russia -- this time one rooted in a battle between democracy and autocracy, rather than between communism and capitalism.

"Putin's actions betray his sinister vision for the future of our world, one where nations take what they want by force. But it is a vision that the United States and freedom-loving nations everywhere will oppose with every tool of our considerable power," Biden said in his Thursday speech at the White House.

His message of freedom echoed President Harry S. Truman's speech at the beginning of the original Cold War, which coined the Truman Doctrine that set the stage for years of US policy against the Soviet Union.

"Putin will be a pariah on the international stage. Any nation that countenances Russia's naked aggression against Ukraine will be stained by association," Biden said.

By ostracizing Russia, Biden will change the world. And there will be costs for the United States. Other nations will once again be forced to choose between Moscow and Washington. Putin, spurned in polite diplomatic society, will have an incentive to cause maximum possible disruption to US foreign policy. Russia has been a vital player in attempts to quell the Iran and North Korean nuclear showdowns but may now perceive an advantage in blocking Washington on issues vital to US national security. And Putin's isolation may push him further toward China, America's rising superpower rival, which has a strong interest in seeing the US bogged down in Europe.

But Biden has very little choice but to try to punish and contain Russia. The size of Putin's invasion, his assault across Ukraine instead of in pro-Russia separatist areas and the alarming rhetoric that he spewed this week mean the world is in a far more dangerous place than it was three days ago.

"What do we do with a country that has simply flaunted the entire international system of rule of law?" asked Steve Hall, a former CIA chief of Russia operations, said on CNN on Thursday. "The answer is we somehow have to contain them and make them a pariah state," Hall said.

Former US Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder agreed. "The need now is to focus on containing ... and through containment effect internal change in Russia," Daalder told CNN. "It's the only way we won the Cold War and how we have to fight this new fight, which is not for weeks or months, it's going to be years."