Despite the fact that the Russians are dealing in bad faith and there is renewed Russian aggression in Ukraine, the White House and the EU are split on further sanctions on Russia. This is despite further Russian aggression, including the seizure of a TV station in Donetsk by Russian special forces, Russian irregulars, and pro-Russian protestors. And this is despite the Russians dealing in bad faith over the European hostages that were seized by their allies.
So far, Mr. Obama has opted to stick close to the Europeans to maintain an undivided front, even at the expense of more punishing sanctions and quicker responses to Kremlin provocations. But some inside and outside the administration argue that the United States should act unilaterally if necessary, on the assumption that the Europeans will ultimately follow.
The issue came to a head in recent days as American and European leaders tried to coordinate a new round of sanctions after the collapse of a Geneva agreement to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine. Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a blistering public attack on Moscow on Thursday night for not living up to the agreement, but the plan to follow that up with sanctions on Friday fell apart while Washington waited for Europe, postponing action until Monday at the earliest.
The question is whether Europe would still follow the US lead. The problem is that the NSA spying scandal has seriously damaged relations between the US and its European allies to the point where they no longer agree on the approach that should be used against Russian aggression. And Putin, an opportunist, is taking full advantage of the situation. There is only so much that the US can do; however, the more that they drag their feet on reigning in the NSA, the more it will damage our national security because of the way it cripples our ability to work with our allies. The fallout is still continuing; for instance, German opposition leaders are demanding that PM Merkel request the destruction of the file that the NSA has compiled on her. And the more that the US drags its feet on reforming the NSA, the more that RT and Press TV will lecture us on human rights. That is a major embarrassment for our country.
The problem with the US moving in lockstep with the EU is that it might not go far enough.
Some officials, however, privately argue that the administration has made coordinating with Europe too high a priority and that effectively deferring to the 28-member European Union is a recipe for inaction. The United States, these officials contend, should move ahead with more decisive action on the theory that Europe wants leadership from Washington and historically joins in eventually.
In the meantime, the Russians are dealing in bad faith in East Ukraine. The foreign militants, Russian special ops forces, and pro-Russian protestors seized members of a European military observer mission. They released one member for health reasons; however,
they paraded the rest of them in front of reporters in Slovyansk.
The observers, whom Mr. Ponomaryov has branded as spies, were escorted to seats once used by the city’s administrators. He then yielded the floor to the German officer leading the observers, Col. Axel Schneider, who held a long question-and-answer session with journalists.
The video that I saw of Schneider was deeply disturbing. He was visibly frightened as he talked in front of the media. Yesterday, the Russians publicly called for these people to be released; however:
But Mr. Ponomaryov, who referred to members of the team as “prisoners of the situation,” said he has heard nothing directly from Russia. He gave no timetable for any decisions, but insisted that the observers had been and would be treated well.
The Russians have an obligation to contact Ponomaryov and demand that these hostages be released. If they continue to drag their feet, they risk turning themselves into a pariah state similar to Iran. Back in 1979, the Iranian government seized the American Embassy and held their people hostage for 444 days. Iran is still dealing from the blowback from this blatant act of terrorism.
It won't do them any good to deny that they have control over these people. More evidence surfaced today of Russian involvement in Eastern Ukraine.
The statements of Russia's leaders, along with Russia's show of force when Ukraine attempted to storm Slovyansk implicates Russian special forces in this operation.