With rising tensions between neighboring countries: Russia
and Ukraine, a question that comes to mind is: does the U.S. have the right to
intervene. As the Ukrainian military prepares for possible invasion of Russia,
can and will the U.S. play a role in the dispute?
Republican lawmakers are urging President Barack Obama to
begin taking actions to prevent the situation from becoming any worse. One of
the GOP’s strongest supporters, John McCain spoke out as to why we as a nation
should intervene:
"Every moment the United States and our allies fail to respond
sends the signal to President Putin that he can be even more ambitious and
aggressive in his military intervention in Ukraine," McCain said.
Tensions between
these countries escalated due to anti-government protests that have been going
on in the past 3 months in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev. The majority of the
population has been in dispute with the government’s over its decision to make
ties with Russia stronger instead agreeing with an accord from the European
Union back in November 2013. For the
past few months, the country has been in turmoil; the Ukraine government has
taken a violent retaliation against protestors. Police attacks on student
protestors, abduction and physical beatings of activists, and several new
anti-protesting laws have created a state of fear amongst the people in its
country. Former President Yanukovych of Ukraine has made his ties with Russian
President Vladimir Putin more public than ever before after being deposed.
Protecting his stance and Russia as a global power, Putin ordered troops to
Ukraine to defend “Russian-speaking citizens” in the ethnically divided
country. On March 2, 2014 Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev took to
Facebook and called for a “seizure of power” from the Ukrainian new government.
Additionally, President Putin declared war on Ukraine, claiming them to be
“Moscow’s biggest confrontation with the west since the Cold War”. In response
to this action, Ukraine is in process of currently mobilizing troops in
anticipation of invasion.
So, does the U.S. have even the right to intervene what is
going over in the east? Sanctions have been imposed on high-level Russian
officials involved in the escalating crisis in Ukraine as well as the Obama
administration suspending military ties with the country. Is this enough? The
U.S. government released a statement claiming if Moscow does not turn around in
the crisis, “officials said they would ban visas and freeze assets of select
Russian officials in the chain of command as well as target state-run financial
institutions.” Many republicans have come out with claims that Russia should be
punished with action and force for their disruption with Ukraine. Yes, we ally
ourselves with Ukraine, but do we need to continue the mantra of being the
world’s superhero? Being the mediator for every single problem takes burden on
the country’s wallet as well as resources. President Obama does have “deep
concern over Russia’s clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial
integrity”. Personally, Obama’s standing firm without any drastic action is
appropriate for the current situation in the east. Unfortunately, like any
other global political crisis, so many drastic actions has been taken by
Russia, there are multiple theories as to how this could all end for both
Russia and Ukraine; all completely plausible. The United States and the Obama Administration
should watch from the sidelines; be ready to be an intervening force while
patiently waiting for our cue to save the day.
I also agree that the US needs to stop "policing" the world's conflicts especially within one's borders. We are stretching our resources too thin, and putting ourselves at risk for retaliation and possible future combat. Haven't we learned from Vietnam, Irag and Afghanistan? I believe a more prudent approach is to continue to monitor the situation in Russia/Ukraine and garner foreign support from our allies and collectively take whatever appropriate action is needed at that time.
ReplyDelete-Paul Butterfield
The crisis going on in Ukraine and Russia does have an immense effect on the world. But, the U.S.'s involvement in this global problem is still yet to be determined. Every scenario in the past is different. Only time will tell what is to come of the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine.
ReplyDelete-Barbara Kleinbard
I disagree, I think the U.S. should get involved right away with the crisis between Ukraine, and Russia. Ukraine is our ally, and we should support them in any way possible. If Russia and United States were in a crisis, we would want and expect them to help in a time of need
ReplyDelete-Sarah Butterfield