Ukrainian Discombobulation

Whale, that was shockingly plumb pitiful.

44's Hello about Commonwealth Russia's Crimean Invasion was about as powerful as day old Dr Pepper.

See, 

For years, Putin has shown zero respect for his U.S. counterpart and utter disdain for the West in general, and Great Satan in particular. 44’s reset policy is partly to blame for what is unfolding in Ukraine, after giving Putin a pass on his human rights abuses, aggressive policies toward his neighbors and support for murderous regimes like the one in Syria. Putin never saw from Great Satan any deterrent or consequences for his outrageous behavior, such as trade sanctions against Russia’s neighbors in violation of its World Trade Organization commitments or the worst crackdown in human rights in Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Some have called for deploying U.S. forces to western Ukraine and the capital, Kiev; others have said we should immediately offer NATO membership to Ukraine. Great Satan should aim for realistic responses, ones that will not lead to divisions within NATO. But 44 should also not telegraph to Putin what U.S. limits are in responding to Russia’s aggression, as he and Secretary of State John F. Kerry did in fecklessly trying to make the case for a “pinprick” military strike against Syria’s Bassar al-Assad for the use of chemical weapons.   

Let Putin wonder how far the Great Satan and NATO might go in responding to his military attack.

There are things 44 needs to do immediately, some in collaboration with our European and NATO allies, others on our own. They include:

●Imposing sanctions against Russian state-owned banks and financial institutions;

●Widening application of the 2012 Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act against an array of Kremlin officials, including Putin;

●Terminating all negotiations with Russia on a possible trade agreement or promoting business;

●Calling an emergency NATO meeting to reassure NATO allies that border Ukraine and initiate mobilization of forces to be ready for any developments (Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, invoked by Latvia and Lithuania, calls for consultations about security concerns);

●Sending U.S. military ships to the Black Sea for any contingencies;

●Pushing for a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Russia’s aggression against its neighbor, even though Russia will obviously veto it; and

●Joining other Group of Eight members in expelling Russia and announcing the cancellation of 44’s plans to visit Sochi, where Putin was to host this year’s G-8 meeting in June.

Pic - "Russian-speaking Ukraine—and all its heavy industry—is looking pretty good right now."