{"id":60719,"date":"2018-03-16T06:38:23","date_gmt":"2018-03-16T06:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=60719"},"modified":"2018-03-16T06:38:23","modified_gmt":"2018-03-16T06:38:23","slug":"trump-finally-finds-reasons-punish-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/trump-finally-finds-reasons-punish-russia.html","title":{"rendered":"Trump Finally Finds Reasons to Punish Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trump Finally Finds Reasons to Punish Russia<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

After fourteen months of mixed signals (and confused policy) on Russia, the Trump Administration took twin actions on Thursday to address the increasingly aggressive moves by the government of Vladimir Putin. Washington slapped sanctions on nineteen prominent Russian individuals and five entities\u2014including Russian intelligence services\u2014for meddling in the 2016 Presidential election and for \u201cmalicious cyberattacks\u201d that targeted a stunning array of America\u2019s infrastructure, from the U.S. energy grid and nuclear plants to aviation, water systems, and manufacturing.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an intriguing twist, thirteen of the Russians who were sanctioned were indicted last month in the investigation by the special counsel Robert Mueller. President Trump has repeatedly dismissed allegations that Russia tried to sway the election\u2014as a \u201choax\u201d or fake news\u2014despite the unanimous consensus of the intelligence community. When the President met Putin, in Vietnam, in November, he even embraced the Russian leader\u2019s denial of any role in the U.S. Presidential vote. \u201cHe said he absolutely did not meddle in our election. He did not do what they\u2019re saying he did,\u201d Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, four months ago. \u201cThat whole thing was set up by the Democrats.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The new sanctions stop decidedly short of charging that Russia actually influenced the outcome of the vote in Trump\u2019s favor\u2014something Trump has vehemently argued did not occur. But they are the most significant (of limited) actions the Administration has adopted since taking office. The White House imposed the sanctions as the Times reported that Mueller had recently subpoenaed documents from the Trump Organization related to Russia, as well as other topics that the special counsel is investigating. The Trump Organization oversees the business ventures the President amassed before taking office. If true, the move by Mueller brings the investigation closer than ever to the President and his family circle.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the sanctions, the White House issued a joint statement with the three big European powers\u2014Britain, France, and Germany\u2014condemning Russia for using a chemical weapon in a recent assassination attempt on a former spy, Sergei V. Skripal, and his daughter Yulia, in Britain. \u201cThis use of a military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, constitutes the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War,\u201d the statement said. \u201cIt threatens the security of us all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Britain reported that Skripal was exposed to Novichok, which was developed by Russia more than thirty years ago but has never been used on a battlefield. Scientists report that it is more dangerous than VX and sarin, the two other better-known nerve agents, and is harder to trace. Skripal, a former military-intelligence officer who was arrested in Russia, in 2004, for spying for Britain, was released in a spy swap, in 2010. He and his daughter collapsed on a public bench in Salisbury, England, on March 4th. Both are still in critical condition.<\/span><\/p>\n

The attack was widely considered a warning from Moscow to Russian dissidents, exiles, and spies. On a broader level, however, the attack in Britain and the meddling in American elections are considered signs of Putin\u2019s boldness in spreading his influence globally\u2014well beyond Ukraine (which his forces invaded in 2014) or Syria (where it dispatched new military advisers, warplanes, and other major military equipment, in 2015). Putin is moving deeply\u2014and blatantly\u2014into the West now, too, on a scale similar to the Soviet Union during the Cold War.<\/span><\/p>\n

The joint statement called the Skripal assassination attempt, which also seriously injured a police officer and others, an assault on Britain\u2019s sovereignty as well as a breach of international law and Russia\u2019s commitment under the Chemical Weapons Convention. \u201cWe call on Russia to live up to its responsibilities as a member of the U.N. Security Council to uphold international peace and security,\u201d the four governments said. The statement followed heated attacks on Russia at the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, but it opted not to try to adopt a formal resolution because Russia holds one of the five vetoes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s public comments on the poisoning have not been quite as tough as the White House\u2019s statement. Pressed on Russia\u2019s culpability in the attack on the former Russian spy, he told reporters, \u201cIt looks like it. I spoke with the [British] Prime Minister and we are in deep discussions. A very sad situation. It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it. Something that should never ever happen. We\u2019re taking it very seriously, as are, I think, many others.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Trump Administration said its moves this week do not reflect the full scope of its response. \u201cBy no means will this constitute the end of our ongoing campaign to instruct Mr. Putin to change his behavior,\u201d a senior national-security official said during a White House teleconference briefing. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin specifically warned Russian officials and oligarchs against \u201cdestabilizing activities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security and the F.B.I. issued an alert accompanying the sanctions that detailed the wide scope of Russia\u2019s cyberattack on American infrastructure. It described the 2016 attack as \u201ca multi-stage intrusion campaign by Russian government cyber actors who targeted small commercial facilities\u2019 networks where they staged malware, conducted spear phishing, and gained remote access into energy sector networks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Russian organizations sanctioned include the Federal Security Service, which is the successor to the Soviet Union\u2019s notorious K.G.B., as well as Russian military intelligence, or G.R.U. (Both were also sanctioned by the Obama Administration for their role in election interference.) Also cited were the Internet Research Agency, and twelve people working for it in various capacities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russia said Thursday that it was preparing \u201ca response\u201d and blamed theU.S. move on Washington\u2019s political dysfunction. \u201cIt is tied to U.S. internal disorder, tied of course to our election calendar,\u201d Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the news agency Tass. Russians holds a Presidential election on Sunday that Putin is expected to win in a landslide. The only real question is the turnout.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/news-desk\/trump-finally-finds-reasons-to-punish-russia<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t