David Rothkopf Profile picture
Feb 21 6 tweets 2 min read
I don't even the US policymakers having to formulate a response to Putin's remarks. He has said there will be no concessions. He has said he doesn't care about sanctions. He has framed himself as a threat to both Ukraine and all the former Russian Empire.
What is the point of negotiations with someone who clearly is entering them cynically and in bad faith? If the only point is to avoid an invasion--and that's clearly the main point and a worthy one--where do you go if there are to be no concessions on the other side?
If he has asserted rights over the future of Ukraine that he does not have, should the sanctions come now? Failing to levy them enables him to claim one of the prizes invasion might have brought at no cost.
His position must be condemned. The UN must meet & reject his right to assert this view (even knowing a Russian veto is inevitable in the UNSC.) The EU must reject it. NATO must reject it. And it must be said that Russia will remain a pariah state until it disavows this view.
NATO defenses in the rest of Eastern Europe should be strengthened further still in the wake of his implicit threat to all the former states that were once Russia or that contain substantial Russian populations or to which Russia has ever laid claim.
More aid must flow to Ukraine--financial and lethal. Committed support to the elected government must be backed up with action.

In short, it is not easy...but it is the core challenge the US and the West face in the wake of Putin's incendiary challenge.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with David Rothkopf

David Rothkopf Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @djrothkopf

Feb 23
I'm lying awake here tonight because I honestly can't fathom how we have gotten to the point that the leader of the GOP, the last SecState, some of the party's most vocal members & a major US TV network all are actively taking Russia's side in a conflict with America & the West.
Yes, I lived through the 2016 campaign and all four years of Trump placing Putin ahead of our intel community, praising Putin, defending Russian positions. And yet here we are at a moment of great crisis, a threat to the order Americans & allies fought and died for.
And Trump and Fox and the rest are actually praising the man who has threatened the entire international order, who has put tens of millions of innocents at risk. They're defending him. They're spreading his lies. They're betraying our country and our values.
Read 17 tweets
Feb 22
A rebuttal to the idea that the West contributed to the current crisis by supporting NATO expansion. 1.) It is naive. It accepts Putin's false rationale for his action. He obliterated this argument when he made his real argument: That Ukraine does not exist & is part of Russia.
2.) Putin's argument that the historical boundaries of the Russian empire or Soviet Union should fall under Moscow's control only underscores how important it was that former Soviet states were able to join NATO and gain its protections.
The reason Ukraine was targeted was because it was not a member of NATO not because it was. It was vulnerable and Putin, a predator, sought and seeks to take advantage of that.
Read 5 tweets
Feb 22
The easiest job in the world is foreign policy critic. I know because I not only play one on TV...it's what I do. No one gets everything right. No one controls all variables. There are always complications and options that could've, should've been considered.
But as easy as it is to critique and say, "I'm smarter, if only they'd done it my way," it is almost impossibly hard to actually conduct effective foreign policy, especially for a superpower like the U.S. There are so many moving parts.
There are so many institutional hurdles. There are so many political obstacles. There are so many factors and egos and allied interests and variables to contend with. Especially on big, fast-breaking issues of global concern.
Read 8 tweets
Feb 22
The @POTUS response to what he accurately condemned as Russia's flagrant violation of international law was strong and smart. It was made stronger and smarter by the coordination with the wide-ranging sanctions and responses of our allies in Europe.
This was not just an example of a good performance by the president or presentation of professional crafted well-calibrated set of measures, it was also the result of tireless diplomacy and behind the scenes preparation.
The decision to move forces into the Baltics and to underscore our commitment to helping Ukraine defend itself also added an important and necessary security dimension to the measures. And there are still very substantial and meaningful measures we can introduce if needed.
Read 4 tweets
Feb 22
So, what is wrong with saying, "International law demands Ukraine be allowed to determine its own future. So long as the people of Ukraine seek to preserve their independence, we will work with our allies to provide the support they need to do so. And...
...we will use all tools available to us to penalize Russia for violating Ukraine's independence. That includes not just sanctions, but sweeping sanctions. And not just temporary sanctions, but long-term sanctions that grow longer/deeper the longer Russia's aggression lasts.
We will seek to systematically isolate Russia within the international community and limit their ability to participate in international forums. We will target Putin and those closest to them, reveal their corruption, freeze their assets, make it impossible for them to travel.
Read 6 tweets
Feb 21
While I appreciate the swiftness of the WH response re: sanctions on the territories recognized by Putin, I'm afraid they are inadequate and inappropriate in several respects. They are likely to be of only minimal economic consequence. Further...
...they punish the people of the territories rather than the wrong-doers, Vladimir Putin and his government. They also suggest that our severe sanctions will also come not unless there is an invasion--even if Putin unilaterally claims what would be one of the goals of invasion.
The threat of force should not be seen as an acceptable or "minor" international offense in a case like this. (You don't need to fire a gun for the penalties for armed robbery to kick in.) Proportionality is good. But, this feels light to me.
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(