New Sanctions Against Russia—a Badly Needed First Step
The election of 2016 may be remembered historically for the
cyber-attack on US democracy that put at risk America’s venerable political strength
and remarkable history of bold leadership. The election of Trump was a function
of Russian manipulation of the US electorate. Trump was not Putin’s preferred candidate for
political reasons; he was preferred for global economic, military and strategic
reasons. A reasoned set of observations of Trump policies and actions support a
finding that he has weakened the US in strategic and important ways. The preliminary
conclusion is that these actions have both weakened the US and strongly favored
Russia.
Collaboration with the Enemy…
The Trump for President campaign was led for a while by Paul
Manafort a former advisor to the deposed President of Ukraine. ( Viktor
Yanukovich was- in both Ukrainian and international opinion- a Putin puppet.)
The Trump campaign abruptly changed the GOP platform in July 2016 to eliminate
the international sanctions against Russia, and to accept the occupation of
Crimea. Revelations from intelligence and other sources have outlined a litany
of high level contacts between High-level Russian agents and officials and the Trump campaign, transition, and Administration.
The Trump parties included the national security advisor, the Attorney General,
senior advisor Kushner, and Trump Jr. The record shows an active working relationship between the Russian effort to destabilize the election process and the Trump campaign.
Later, after the inauguration, the Trump Administration abruptly
announced acceptance of the murderous Assad Regime in Syria. Most recently Trump tried to weaken or block Congressional
sanctions for Russian interference in the election on Trump’s behalf. A distinct pattern connects these events of
the US making sudden and factually unsupported policy reversals that fit
Russian interests and violate US interests in peace, democracy, and international
justice. The Russians were not just helping Trump to scold Hilary or to create
chaos in US politics—they saw a chance to weaken the strongest nation on earth severely,
a precise shot like David and the sling…
A Democracy in Imminent Peril
The Trump approach has been to shamefully discard civil
accord and hard-fought US traditions. He wants to rig the next election by suppressing votes from ordinary citizens—veterans, families that sent children
to war, all can be suppressed by the voter racial-purity zealots that he has
assembled and authorized. The suppression team have begun work with personal
track records that put Blacks, Latins, and Democrats in their cross hairs. Some future historians might note the severity
of the risk to Democracy by adding together the below-listed dramatic circumstances.
- · Russian influence over the Presidency, and the GOP acquiescence
- · Republican majority control of the House and Senate
- · Republican control over the Supreme Court
- · An unprecedented racial assault on voting rights; and cyber-threats based on
- · Gathering all the available voter data into a central and vulnerable depository.
Trashing the Obama Successes
President Barack Obama initiated an international coalition
to oppose Russian military aggression in Eastern Europe, Syria, and elsewhere
in the world. He created an effective non-military weapon that stopped the Russian
invasion of Ukraine and limited its ability to carry out military missions in
other theaters of hostilities. The Obama Doctrine used banking systems and
precisely drawn economic sanctions that deprived the Russian military of the economic
support needed to carry out its vicious military aggression.
Ukraine at the Nexus
The sanctions specifically targeted the oil sector of the
Russian economy and punished the violations of international law and national
sovereignty in the invasion of Ukraine and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The hostilities in DonBas under Russian backing, support, and direction have cost thousands of lives and displaced more than 100,000 persons.
This week, the Congress joined the
American people in opposing
Russian domination of the US political system. The Congress in sequential actions
in the Senate and House has agreed on a package of sanctions against Russia
that also include sanctions against Iran and North Korea.
The End Game in Ukraine
The occupation of Ukraine is an important step for Putin;
Ukraine is the largest European nation and it has a vast potential to become a
leading economy in Eastern Europe. The end game for Putin in Ukraine is to take
it back within Russia’s political and governmental sphere. Following a series
of secret meetings between Trump and Vladimir Putin at the recent G-20
Convention, the dots have begun to appear on a plausible forecast for the next
stage of Russian aggression in Ukraine.
-
Dot One-The rebel forces in Donbass region
announced the formation of a new Ukraine. They would dissolve the current
government of Ukraine and re-establish the traditional little Russia or Malorussiya.
-
Dot Two- Trump stops the Obama sanctions and
vetoes the new sanctions.
-
Dot Three-One can foresee a Putin -style referendum
focused on RTV viewers and Russian speakers in the East Ukraine and a declaration
of independence.
-
Dot Four- Rather than breaking the Ukraine into small
pieces, this new potential end game gambit would simply swallow it whole and preserve
the population, economy, and infrastructure essentially intact.
An Act of National Submission
The annexation of Ukraine would require submission by the US
and an extremely grudging acceptance from central Europe. The plebiscite theory
has a surface appearance that can attract the support of Russian allies and
those simply unwilling to engage in a resolution that could end in open
hostilities and regional warfare.
Putin Trump Secret Meetings…
The Putin-Trump intrigue suggests that Trump might well be
willing to surrender Ukraine to Russia under some pretense of correcting
relations with Russia. After all, his predecessor brought the Russian economy to
its knees in retribution for its illegal conduct.
Playing Progress in Reverse
If the current pattern of reversing the Obama achievements persists,
then Trump might logically assume it is time to reward Russia for its criminal
conduct. The UN-DO Obama Doctrine has been on display for six months. Surrendering
on Ukraine makes about as much sense as destroying Obamacare and leaving 36 million
Americans uninsured—Putin might approve of that policy too. So much of Trump's
actions since taking office attend Putin’s ultimate goals for weakening America
one significant, and chaotic step at a time.
