From JFK to Joe Biden.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine" "to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine" and "accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia's demand to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and offer Moscow security guarantees", AP. "As Putin spoke before dawn, big explosions were heard in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and other cities across Ukraine." Putin's demands seem entirely logical. In 1960, President John F Kennedy declared a "quarantine" around Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from carrying missiles to the island, Britannica. To avert a nuclear war, on 28 October, Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev informed Kennedy that "work on the missile sites would be halted and that missiles in Cuba would be returned to the Soviet Union. In return, Kennedy committed the United States to never invading Cuba. Kennedy also secretly promised to withdraw the nuclear-armed missiles that the United States had stationed in Turkey in previous years." Today, "Historians tend to rate JFK as a good president, not a great one. But, Americans consistently give him the highest approval rating of any president since Franklin D Roosevelt," The Atlantic. Both FDR and JFK were from the Democratic Party, as is President Joe Biden, the present incumbent of the White House. The world has not forgotten the panicked withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan just 6 months back, leading to chaotic scenes at Kabul Airport as the Taliban just overran the Afghan army, CNBC. "National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said..that a 'fair amount' of US weaponry had fallen into the hands of the Taliban," Fox. To show-off, the Taliban paraded around in M117 armored security vehicles carrying American-made M4 assault rifles with M-17 helicopters patrolling overhead, CNN. This time Americans were not as terrified as when they fled Saigon from the advancing Vietcong, some even hanging from helicopter skids, CBS. In a knee-jerk reaction to the invasion of Ukraine, Biden immediately announced sanctions on two Russian banks, on the country's sovereign debt and on three individuals, CNBC. Biden announced plans to send "800 infantry soldiers and up to eight F-35 fighter jets to locations along NATO's eastern flank, a US official said, but are a redistribution, not additions", Reuters. Russia has been preparing to shield itself from sanctions since 2014 when it annexed Crimea by reducing dollars in its foreign exchange reserves and shifting its trade towards China, BBC. Problem is, "President Joe Biden may face a particular challenge no president has faced in midterms for nearly 50 years: declining incomes due to high inflation," Vox. Price of crude oil has surged with benchmark Brent crude trading at $100.04 per barrel, ET. This could feed into inflation the longer it drags on. All Biden has to do is to tell Putin that Russia is safe. Just as JFK did 61 years ago.