By Jennifer Rubin
Columnist |
Today at 6:32 p.m. EST
You could feel President Biden’s indignation as he announced on Tuesday that he would make good on his vow to enact crippling sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
“Who in the Lord’s name does [Russian President Vladimir] Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belong to his neighbors?” Biden asked. He quickly answered his own question: “This is a flagrant violation of international law and demands a firm response from the international community.”
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Biden made clear that while Putin has hit the trip wire for sanctions, his invasion is just starting. “To put it simply, Russia just announced it is carving out a big part of Ukraine,” he said, adding, “He’s setting up a rationale to take more territory by force.”
Biden then announced the toughest sanctions in history against Putin’s regime, including measures to block companies from doing businesses with two large Russian financial institutions, VEB and the country’s military bank; cut off the country from international financing; impose restrictions on Russian oligarchs and their families; and push Germany to halt certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
“The United States will continue to provide defensive assistance to Ukraine in the meantime,” Biden said. “And we’ll continue to reinforce and reassure our NATO allies.” Look for additional forces to shore up NATO’s eastern flank.
The Nord Stream 2 cutoff, in particular, never would have happened without the Biden’s team’s persistence, given the resistance from Germany. Despite sniping from Biden’s critics that the president had not achieved unity, this was a powerful demonstration that even our most reluctant partners on sanctions were fully on board. As Alina Polyakova, head of the Center for European Policy Analysis, put it: “The Biden Administration has done an impressive diplomatic job coordinating the allies.”
Reaction to the sanctions was overwhelmingly positive in foreign policy circles, even among staunch Russia hawks. Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group observed that “today’s [U.S./European Union] sanctions on Russia are significant and — most importantly — unified.” He added that “if Putin thought his speech yesterday would drive a spike in the NATO alliance, he was seriously mistaken.”
Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, was succinct on Twitter: “I applaud the new sanctions just announced.” Polyakova deemed the actions “a solid step.”
Meanwhile, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo — who just a few days ago despicably praised Putin as “very shrewd" and “capable,” adding that he has “enormous respect" for the Russian dictator — took time out to rail against Biden for showing “enormous weakness.”
And judging from the initial snarky tweets and whining that the sanctions were insufficient, MAGA Republicans seem disinclined to stop partisan swipes at Biden. Nor will they repudiate their support for his predecessor, who continued to swoon over Putin on Tuesday, calling his invasion “genius.” (Recall, this is the former president who sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence on 2016 election interference; wanted to readmit Russia to the Group of Seven; echoed Kremlin propaganda about Crimea; and gave away code-word-protected secrets to the Russians in the Oval Office.) So much for “America first.”
This is a defining moment for Biden, NATO and a rules-based international order. It will determine whether the West has the fortitude to defend its principles. It will also test Republicans to see whether they can finally wean themselves from the increasingly anti-American former president and support Biden during the most acute international crisis since the end of the Cold War.
So far, the West is performing well. The Republicans? Not at all.
Columnist |
Today at 6:32 p.m. EST
You could feel President Biden’s indignation as he announced on Tuesday that he would make good on his vow to enact crippling sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
“Who in the Lord’s name does [Russian President Vladimir] Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belong to his neighbors?” Biden asked. He quickly answered his own question: “This is a flagrant violation of international law and demands a firm response from the international community.”
Opinions to start the day, in your inbox. Sign up.
Biden made clear that while Putin has hit the trip wire for sanctions, his invasion is just starting. “To put it simply, Russia just announced it is carving out a big part of Ukraine,” he said, adding, “He’s setting up a rationale to take more territory by force.”
Biden then announced the toughest sanctions in history against Putin’s regime, including measures to block companies from doing businesses with two large Russian financial institutions, VEB and the country’s military bank; cut off the country from international financing; impose restrictions on Russian oligarchs and their families; and push Germany to halt certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
“The United States will continue to provide defensive assistance to Ukraine in the meantime,” Biden said. “And we’ll continue to reinforce and reassure our NATO allies.” Look for additional forces to shore up NATO’s eastern flank.
The Nord Stream 2 cutoff, in particular, never would have happened without the Biden’s team’s persistence, given the resistance from Germany. Despite sniping from Biden’s critics that the president had not achieved unity, this was a powerful demonstration that even our most reluctant partners on sanctions were fully on board. As Alina Polyakova, head of the Center for European Policy Analysis, put it: “The Biden Administration has done an impressive diplomatic job coordinating the allies.”
Reaction to the sanctions was overwhelmingly positive in foreign policy circles, even among staunch Russia hawks. Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group observed that “today’s [U.S./European Union] sanctions on Russia are significant and — most importantly — unified.” He added that “if Putin thought his speech yesterday would drive a spike in the NATO alliance, he was seriously mistaken.”
Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, was succinct on Twitter: “I applaud the new sanctions just announced.” Polyakova deemed the actions “a solid step.”
Meanwhile, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo — who just a few days ago despicably praised Putin as “very shrewd" and “capable,” adding that he has “enormous respect" for the Russian dictator — took time out to rail against Biden for showing “enormous weakness.”
And judging from the initial snarky tweets and whining that the sanctions were insufficient, MAGA Republicans seem disinclined to stop partisan swipes at Biden. Nor will they repudiate their support for his predecessor, who continued to swoon over Putin on Tuesday, calling his invasion “genius.” (Recall, this is the former president who sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence on 2016 election interference; wanted to readmit Russia to the Group of Seven; echoed Kremlin propaganda about Crimea; and gave away code-word-protected secrets to the Russians in the Oval Office.) So much for “America first.”
This is a defining moment for Biden, NATO and a rules-based international order. It will determine whether the West has the fortitude to defend its principles. It will also test Republicans to see whether they can finally wean themselves from the increasingly anti-American former president and support Biden during the most acute international crisis since the end of the Cold War.
So far, the West is performing well. The Republicans? Not at all.
