Well, now the Russian Federation has done it: After it struck down a U.S. drone over the Black Sea this week, President Joe Bidenās administration sounds like itās about to give Vladimir Putin a very bad performance review the next time heās up for evaluation.
At least, thatās what one word from its messaging seems to indicate. As former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany noted, part of the Biden administrationās messaging response to the Tuesday downing involved one strange word: āunprofessional.ā
What, was Putin wearing casual Friday clothes when he heard about the intercept, even though it was a Tuesday? Downloading Video games on the work computer he used to order the attack? Using locker-room language in the congratulatory emails he sent to the Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet pilots who downed the drone?
In a tweet Wednesday, McEnany ā now co-host of Fox Newsā āOutnumberedā ā shared a clip from that dayās show about the administrationās strange use of the word āunprofessionalā to describe the shootdown, in which two Su-27 Flanker jets intercepted and downed an Air Force MQ-9 drone over the Black Sea.
A U.S. European Command news release said the incident occurred after one of the Russian aircraft collided with the drone.
In the media release, the command said the Russian pilots āconducted an unsafe and unprofessional interceptā with the drone.
According to the release, Air Force Gen. James Hecker said the MQ-9 āwas conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9.ā
National Security Council member John Kirby used similar language during a Wednesday interview on CNN.
āWe brought the ambassador into the State Department yesterday here in Washington, D.C. We certainly conveyed a direct message to him about our deep concerns over this reckless, unprofessional behavior by Russian pilots,ā Kirby told host Don Lemon.
āSo, yes, we have communicated directly through diplomatic channels as appropriate with the Russian government,ā he said.
McEnany also noted Kirby brought up āenvironmental concernsā that seemed wholly extraneous when the world teeters on the brink of war and the Russkies are picking off U.S. drones.
āBut āunprofessionalā is the word that stuck out to me,ā McEnany said.
āThat term stuck out to me because I recall ā¦ a time when ā¦ the National Security spokesperson ā she said āthe Taliban have shown flexibility, and they have businesslike and professional in our dealings with them in the effort,'ā she said, referring to the administrationās chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Biden, apparently, has a very low threshold for whatās considered āprofessionalā behavior. (Iām sure thereās a Hunter Biden joke in here somewhere, but Iāll leave it to you, the reader, to find it.)
Whatever the case, however, the āunprofessionalā nature of the downing didnāt exactly humble Moscow, as Russia announced it planned to attempt to retrieve the wreckage of the MQ-9 from the bottom of the Black Sea, according to the U.K.ās Guardian.
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U.S. officials have said such a recovery would be difficult and wouldnāt yield useful intelligence ā which is exactly what they would say if neither of those things were true, too, so who knows?
However, itās worth noting that U.S. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the aircraft had gone down in waters up to 5,000 feet deep, which would indeed require a significant effort for what likely wouldnāt be a substantial reward.
And yet, still ā āunprofessional?ā
This is the point where, in any Tom Clancy novel, both Washington and Moscow begin scrambling all of their Military assets toward the North Atlantic and Jack Ryan somehow has to unscramble things before the nukes start flying.
The world isnāt āThe Hunt for Red October,ā of course, but neither is the downing of an American drone āunprofessional.ā
Furthermore, McEnany is right to express grave concern about an administration that uses the word āprofessionalā when dealing with the usurping, rapacious Taliban regime in Afghanistan, as if the dire state of geopolitical relations can and should be framed using corporate-speak.
It indicates nothing but weakness ā which, unfortunately, is par for the course for this administration.
Consider the fact, too, that this comes in the wake of the Chinese spy balloon incident, something Vice President Kamala Harris said was ānot a major breachā and hadnāt changed our relationship with Beijing.
With this in mind, how, pray tell, do they intend to solve the Russia-Ukraine conflict? Thinking outside of the box? Devising a win-win scenario? Getting all their ducks in a row?
It isnāt the loss of U.S. power and prestige thatās the embarrassment here. Itās the idea that the worldās problems can be solved, at least publicly, by treating it as if it were one huge human resources department.
If the past few years have taught us anything, itās that Vladimir Putin and the rest of the Kremlin donāt care about the performance reviews theyāre getting from the White House ā and the rest of the world doesnāt seem terribly interested, either.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.