FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
Some Congressmen Mouth British Line against Russia over Ukraine
Nov. 27, 2018 (EIRNS)—Certain Congressmen have stepped up to mouth the British line against Russia over Ukraine, and demand President Donald Trump take action to impose more sanctions on Russia and send more weapons to the Kiev regime.
Sen. Robert Menendez (NJ), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called on the Trump Administration to bulk up its security assistance to Ukraine, and suggested NATO increase exercises and its presence in the Black Sea, and that Trump should make that commitment before he heads to Argentina to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Menendez said, as reported by The Hill, “At this precarious time, the U.S. cannot afford a weak performance by President Trump at the G20, like we saw in Helsinki.” He went on, “Once again, the Kremlin has shown that it only respects a strong adversary that is willing to stand up to bullies.”
Drawing the special ire of certain Congressmen was a tweet by Trump in which he, again, took other NATO members to task for not carrying their fair share of the burden of the Alliance. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), who is in line to be the next chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that that’s the wrong message that Trump should be sending “when Russian expansion is full blown.” Engel reiterated his support for sending more weapons to Ukraine. “If Putin starts seeing Russian soldier fatalities, that changes his equation,” warned Engel.
The Congressional pressure on Trump isn’t just coming from Democrats. “If Putin continues his Black Sea bullying, the U.S. and Europe must consider imposing additional sanctions on Russia and ... a greater U.S. and NATO presence in the Black Sea region,” said Armed Services Chair Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) Nov. 26.
