The Russia-Ukraine crisis has thrown Linda Thomas-Greenfield into the global spotlight, transforming the seasoned diplomat into a major force behind the Biden administration’s strategy confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, it was Thomas-Greenfield – not Secretary of State Antony Blinken or National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan – who hit Sunday morning’s talk shows to outline the White House’s latest response to the crisis.
The 69-year-old Thomas-Greenfield appeared on CNN, CBS and NBC to defend Biden’s handling of the situation, particularly his decision not to impose sanctions on Moscow until after Putin had launched a massive military invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. made clear early on “we will escalate” as Russia escalates, she said. “The Russians can be assured” the U.S. will continue to tighten the economic vise on Russia if Putin intensified his attack.
“They will feel the pain,” Thomas-Greenfield said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 25: Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, addresses the media after the United Nations Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters on February 25, 2022 in New York City.
Perhaps Thomas-Greenfield’s most harrowing experience came in the diplomatic corps.
In 1994, Thomas-Greenfield was dispatched to Rwanda to assess refugee conditions amid the genocide in that country. She said she was confronted by a “glazed-eyed young man” with a machine gun who had apparently mistaken her for a Tusti he had been assigned to kill.
“I didn’t panic. I was afraid, don’t get me wrong,” she said in her 2019 remarks. She asked him his name, told him hers, and managed to talk her way out of the situation.
Allies call Thomas-Greenfield ‘a diplomatic powerhouse’ Thomas-Greenfield’s colleagues and friends call her smart and respected around the world.
“She understands peacekeeping, she understands the UN, she understands the developing world,” said Wendy Sherman, who served as undersecretary of state for political affairs in the Obama administration.—Agencies
