8 Steps Obama Must Take to Punish Russia
By MARCO RUBIO March 01, 2014
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First, President Obama should speak unequivocally and call this what it is: a military invasion. The Obama administration must publicly acknowledge that its “reset” with Russia is dead. The president must now accept that the only way to deal with tyrants like Vladimir Putin is with a clear understanding that they can’t be trusted and that only decisive action will deter their provocative moves.
Second, President Obama should dispatch Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to Kiev to show U.S. support for Ukraine’s transitional government, and urge our allies in the European Union and NATO to send representatives there as well. The United States should convene an emergency meeting of NATO to develop a strong united response from the trans-Atlantic alliance. And we should send high-level delegations to our allies in Central and Eastern Europe to reinforce the fact that we are standing by them. As part of this work with our allies, we should develop a series of economic and security assurance measures to help the transitional government in Kiev remain stable and carry out a democratic transition.
Third, the United States should rally our allies to boycott this June’s G-8 summit in Sochi, Russia. And if Russian troops do not leave Ukraine immediately, Russia should be expelled from this group altogether.
Fourth, any and all discussions and negotiations with Moscow on any issue unrelated to this crisis, including trade and other matters, should be immediately suspended.
Fifth, the U.S. and our allies should put forward a condemnatory resolution in the United Nations Security Council. A Russian or Chinese veto would make clear to the world the hypocrisy of these governments, since they say they oppose foreign intervention into the affairs of sovereign countries—unless of course they are the ones intervening.
Sixth, we should renew a push for eventual membership in NATO by the Republic of Georgia and aim to provide the country with some of the defensive capabilities the Georgians have requested ever since they were invaded by Russia in 2008.
Seventh, the Obama administration should immediately add more Russian officials to the Magnitsky list, which places travel bans and other sanctions on them – something President Obama failed to do in December. Living in Miami, I have seen in recent years the wave of Russian tourists coming to our city and state to spend money and buy property. Many are government officials or allies whose wealth stems from allegiance to Putin, and we should limit their ability to travel here.
Finally, in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid should immediately halt his effort to force a Senate vote on Rose Gottemoeller next week to be under secretary of state for arms control and international security. As I, Sens. John Cornyn and Jim Risch said yesterday, we shouldn’t even be thinking about arms-control negotiations with Russia anytime soon. And especially not negotiations led by a State Department official, such as Ms. Gottemoeller, who has tried to play down and potentially kept information from Congress and our allies about Russian violations of arms-control agreements.
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SENATOR TED CRUZ’S STATEMENT ON THE UKRAINE INVASTION:
EXCELLENT AND STRONG: UNLIKE OBAMA’S PATHETIC, GELDING WIMPOUT
The situation unfolding in Ukraine right now is a harsh lesson that no matter how great the victory, we must never rest on our laurels. After the United States won the Cold War and the Soviet Union ceased to exist in 1991, many on both sides of the aisle believed that the Soviet threat to freedom was a thing of the past and that the new, democratic Russia would be a reasonable partner and even an ally.
The events of the last seventy-two hours demonstrate this is not case. Vladimir Putin barely waited for the flame of the Olympic torch in Sochi to be extinguished before he turned his attention to crushing the most recent attempt of the Ukrainian people to move towards freedom and the West. Despite warnings and expressions of concern from the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Advisor, the Ambassador to the United Nations and even the President of the United States, Putin apparently feels he can act with impunity in what he considers to be his exclusive sphere of influence.
He has good reason to do so. Over the five years of his presidency, President Obama has done nothing to help the people of Georgia reclaim the some 20 percent of their sovereign territory that was violated by the 2008 Russian invasion, instead instructing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to attempt to “reset” the relationship with Russia in the hopes of pursuing more arms control agreements rather than forcefully defending American national security interests, and those of our allies.
This evening, President Obama spoke about his deep concerns about reports of Russian military action in Ukraine, and urged Putin not to violate international laws. But as the President and his national security team are apparently the last to learn, Putin has scant regard for international norms when they run counter to his goal of re-establishing Soviet-style regional hegemony over unfortunate states like Georgia and Ukraine who have the temerity to want a more free, prosperous future for their people. And Putin is under no illusions that the President’s vague threats mean any more than his infamous ‘red line’ in the Syrian desert.
If we were serious about standing up to Putin’s power grab, we would immediately suspend Russian membership in the Group of Eight (G-8), which should consist of nations that can contribute to a civilized order. And if the Russians persist in this aggressive action, we should look into additional measures such as suspension from the World Trade Organization and even the United Nations Security Council.
The United States stands with Ukraine