INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
President Joe Biden's apparent call for Vladimir Putin's exit reverberated instantly around the world, sparking an administration rush to
analyst said it could have the effect of lengthening the war.And even France's president warned such language could "escalate" a conflict
the United States and its NATO allies have sought at all costs to contain, and undercut Western efforts to help suffering Ukrainians.The
remark came as Biden wound up a forceful speech on Saturday capping what had been a widely-praised European visit, aimed at presenting a
advisers off guard.The White House sprung immediately into action, clarifying within minutes that Biden was not advocating "regime change"
into high gear to mollify the criticism.No 'regime change'U.S
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Jerusalem, joined in forcefully denying Biden was calling for Putin's ouster.Biden's point, Blinken
said, was that "Putin cannot be empowered to wage war, or engage in aggression against Ukraine, or anyone else."The choice of Russia's
leader, Blinken said, is "up to the Russians."The administration sent out the U.S
does not have a policy of regime change towards Russia, full stop."Biden's comments, Smith told CNN's "State of the Union," were "a
principled human reaction to the stories that he had heard" during an emotional visit with Ukrainian refugees.But President Emmanuel Macron
vital humanitarian efforts, including hopes of evacuating the devastated city of Mariupol.As noted by a senior Republican lawmaker, Senator
Jim Risch, the remarks ran 180-degrees counter to the Biden administration's constant efforts until now to stop the conflict from
escalating."There's not a whole lot more you can do to escalate than to call for regime change," he told CNN.Reputation for gaffesBiden has
Risch, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the president had again shot himself in the foot.Biden
delivered "a good speech," Risch told CNN, with "a horrendous gaffe right at the end of it.""My gosh, I wish they would keep him on
Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, told NBC's "Meet the Press:" "Anyone who's a war criminal, who attacks a neighboring country,
who's doing all these atrocities..
definitely cannot stay in power in a civilized world."And Michael McFaul, a former U.S
ambassador to Russia, said on Twitter that Biden's words needed to be read with nuance."Biden expressed what billions around the world and
millions inside Russia also believe
He did not say that the U.S
should remove him from power
There is a difference."But multiple experts in the United States and abroad weighed in with criticism.Richard Haass, an American diplomat
who heads the Council on Foreign Relations, said Biden had "made a difficult situation more difficult and a dangerous situation more
dangerous.""Putin will see it as confirmation of what he's believed all along," Haass said on Twitter
"Bad lapse in discipline that runs risk of extending the scope and duration of the war."Equally stern, Francois Heisbourg of the
International Institute for Strategic Studies said American leaders would do better not to "shoot off their mouths."
