WHEN WILL TRUMP REALIZE PERIL OF PUTIN?
One of the most troubling aspects to the Kremlin’s meddling with the American presidential campaign has been that, since Donald Trump took office, Washington has not lifted a finger to punish Russia for its actions.
That may change soon, now that the Senate has voted 98-2 to impose a new round of sanctions on America’s bellicose nemesis to the east. Those sanctions would hit the Russian economy’s mining, metals, shipping and railways sectors. They also would penalize Russians who carry out cyberattacks on behalf of the Russian government, or are involved in human rights abuses, corruption or the supplying of weapons to Syrian President Bashar Assad. And they would allow Congress to block attempts by Trump or any future president to scale back sanctions without its consent.
A foreign adversary meddling in a presidential election is a punch to America’s gut, and we’re glad lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are realizing it. The bill now goes to the House. Lawmakers have tethered the sanctions to a bill that strengthens penalties on Iran in response to its ballistic missile tests — making it that much tougher for Trump to veto the measure. If support in the House is as strong as in the Senate, the bill would be veto proof anyway.
Trump’s insistence on painting Russian President Vladimir Putin as a misunderstood leader and potential American ally is wearing thin. Even his strongest GOP backers in Congress see that. Will Trump finally realize the peril of Putin? His team continues to advocate a softer, somewhat coddling approach toward the Kremlin. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the Senate’s move to slap new sanctions on Russia ties Trump’s hands when it comes to dealing with the Kremlin.
“We would ask for the flexibility to turn the heat up when we need to, but also to ensure that we have the ability to maintain a constructive dialogue,” Tillerson said during testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this month. (On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced new Russia-related sanctions, but those penalties focus on individuals and organizations tied to the Kremlin’s continued interference in eastern Ukraine.)
Imposing sanctions on Russia for attempting to influence the results of a presidential election doesn’t dash hopes for constructive dialogue with Moscow. But it does send a message to Putin that his actions represented an egregious breach of our democracy that America cannot tolerate. That’s important, because the U.S. intelligence community has stressed that Putin’s Kremlin, after plying U.S. firewalls with relative ease, surely will meddle again in American elections. Trump’s in a better position to deal with Putin when Putin knows where the red lines are.
As for Vlad, the former KGB spy is finding he’s not as Teflon-tough as he thought. While his approval ratings still hover above 80 percent, the protests that swept through Russia on June 12 reflect a growing unease among Russians about their leader’s management of the country and its economy. Thousands of Russians took to the streets in more than 100 cities. As many as 1,700 demonstrators have been arrested, and their leader, Alexei Navalny, was sentenced to 30 days in jail for organizing a rally. New sanctions would turn the screws on the Kremlin at an ideal time, when Putin’s feeling some heat.
Tillerson asks that the White House be afforded flexibility in its policies toward Russia. All presidents should have ample space to craft their approaches toward foreign governments. But flexibility shouldn’t lead to a free pass, which is what the Trump administration, up until now, has given the Kremlin.