Ukraine: Lethal Aid Will Counter Russia Claims Congress, Will Obama Take On Vladimir Putin?
The Ukraine Freedom Support Act signed into law near the end of 2014 called on President Barack Obama to offer Ukraine lethal aid in support of its fight with Vladimir Putin and Russia. Senator Rob Portman recently spoke on the senate floor about the importance of providing the U.S. military for Ukraine and asked what Obama intended to do.
In a related report by the Inquisitr, less than a month ago, Ron Paul declared that a “reckless” Congress essentially declared war on Vladimir Putin and Russia based upon U.S. House Resolution 758, which authorized President Obama to give Ukraine lethal aid. The U.S. Senate passed similar legislation not too long afterward.
After signing the bill into law on December 18, 2014, President Obama was given two months to enact the actions required by the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, which would give $350 million in military aid to Ukraine. The law specifically outlined a list of military aid to be provided, including “anti-tank and anti-armor weapons, crew weapons and ammunition, counter-artillery radars to identify and target artillery batteries, fire control, range finder, and optical and guidance and control equipment, tactical troop-operated surveillance drones, and secure command and communications equipment.” It also authorizes President Obama to use additional economic sanctions against Russia in addition to countering Russian propaganda.
U.S. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio was an early cosponsor of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act and now he’s openly asking President Obama what his intentions are in regards to giving Ukraine military aid.
“While I applaud the President for signing this bill into law, I urge him to utilize the tools it gives him to support Ukraine and deter Russian aggression,” Portman said. “In particular, I look forward to hearing from the President how he intends to provide the additional lethal and non-lethal defensive military assistance the law authorizes.”
As of this publishing, the White House has not released any documents specifying plans for giving Ukraine lethal aid. Since 17 days have passed, President Obama has 43 days to produce these documents, meaning that the Obama administration has until February 16, 2015 to comply with the law.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration is hoping to hit the “reset button” with Vladimir Putin according to Global Research.
“Obama’s National Security Council finished an extensive and comprehensive review of US policy toward Russia that included dozens of meetings and input from the State Department, Defense Department and several other agencies, according to three senior administration officials. At the end of the sometimes-contentious process, Obama made a decision to continue to look for ways to work with Russia on a host of bilateral and international issues while also offering Putin a way out of the stalemate over the crisis in Ukraine.”
Do you think President Obama should give Ukraine lethal aid in defense of Russia’s support of Ukrainian separatists?
