U.S. House demands Obama respond to Russian aggression with lethal aid

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Hot Air:

The House of Representatives is tired of waiting for Barack Obama to finish his process of deep contemplation regarding whether to provide lethal aid to pro-Western fighters in Ukraine resisting the advance of Russian forces and pro-Moscow rebels. On Monday, a bill compelling the president to provide Ukraine with “military assistance to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity” passed the House with bipartisan support.

 

The language in the bill is clear about the precise nature of the threat to Ukrainian sovereignty and does not obscure the fact that it is the Russian Federation that is trying to destabilize and absorb portions of its neighbor’s territory. The House bill charges Russia with providing weapons, training, and logistical support to the rebel factions in eastern Ukraine. It asserts that Russian soldiers have infiltrated Ukrainian territory and is providing “direct combat support to the separatists groups.” Finally, the bill contends that the aggression against Ukraine and the occupation of its territory by Russian soldiers is an unprovoked violation of international norms and an effort to erode the foundations of international peace “established” and “defended at great cost by the United States and its allies in the aftermath of World War II.”

 

“[T]he House of Representatives strongly urges the President to fully and immediately exercise the authorities provided by Congress to provide Ukraine with lethal defensive weapon systems to enhance the ability of the people of Ukraine to defend their sovereign territory from the unprovoked and continuing aggression of the Russian Federation,” the bill concludes.

 

The president and his administration have made every effort to contend that they have not presided over the establishment of a new Cold War between the West and irredentist elements in Moscow, but the reality is plain for all observers to see. Russia is not only reasserting its prohibitive influence in its “near abroad,” but it is also seeking to revive its Soviet-era relationships with its former proxies all over the globe.

 

“Russia is rekindling its once-strong ties to Nicaragua, possibly including providing the Central American nation with jet fighters, stoking unease as far away as the Andes in South America,” McClatchy reported on Monday. “The rumored provision of the Russian jet fighters to Nicaragua has spawned fears of an arms race in Central America and once again made Nicaragua a bit player in the geopolitical to-and-fro between Washington and Moscow.”

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In any international power vacuum, somebody will step in. Reset!