John McCain Is Back-Seat Presidenting the Ukraine Crisis
Sen. John McCain told a local radio show on Thursday that Barack Obama is the most "naive president in history," while repeating his call for the U.S. to impose sanctions against Ukraine in the wake of escalating violence there. Although it appears that the U.S. is indeed coordinating a plan with the E.U. to do exactly that, McCain wants to make sure everyone knows he'd handle this a lot better if it were up to him. "The naiveté of Barack Obama and [Secretary of State] John Kerry is stunning," he said, referring to the Obama administration's years-old (and widely mocked) comments about pressing a "reset button" on U.S.-Russian relations.
McCain tends to get personally involved in international diplomacy when it looks like a country is about to spiral out of control, and Ukraine is no exception. In December, the senator traveled to Kiev to meet with opposition and government officials, after an earlier violent crackdown against protesters. This week, the Republican released a joint statement with Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who visited Ukraine with McCain:
We have begun working together on legislation that would impose targeted sanctions on government officials and other persons who have committed, ordered, or materially supported acts of violence against peaceful citizens in Ukraine, or who are complicit in the rollback of Ukraine’s democracy. These sanctions should not, and will not, target the people or the country of Ukraine as a whole. Instead, they will be narrowly focused on those individuals who must be held accountable for violating human rights and undermining democracy. We remain in contact with the Administration and look forward to working together on this legislation.
McCain also went on CNN last night to reiterate that he didn't think Obama was doing enough to intervene in the Ukraine. "The President should be working with Congress to prepare a set of sanctions against Ukraine that would be put into effect unless this comes to a halt," he told Jake Tapper.
Russia responded on Thursday to the existing visa bans the US imposed on certain Ukrainian officials in the wake of the violence, along with similar bans being considered by the EU. Moscow, unsurprisingly, called the sanctions "illegitimate," adding that, "Such actions are reminiscent of blackmail."
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http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/02/john-mccain-back-seat-presidenting-ukraine-crisis/358333/
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