According to the Washington Post, "President Obama faces the gravest challenge of his presidency in figuring out how to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine". Currently, Russian forces have occupied the Crimean Peninsula and Yanukovich has fled the capital. Ukraine remains a difficult challenge to solve because of the internal cultural, religious, and linguistic divisions. What is the solution then? A separation like Czechoslovakia or Bosnia-Herzegovina? It is not as clean-cut as it seems. Analysts point out that the United States' foreign policy has already been damaged by our inaction in Syria and the Arab Spring. Relations with Putin are colder than ever (mind the pun). Is another Cold War on the horizon and if so, what would be different this time around? Will we provide forces to Kiev and the Crimean Peninsula? Should we offer NATO membership to the Ukraine for protection? Freeze Russian assets? There isn't any clearly defined answer on what President Obama should do. Like we have discussed before in class, there is no manual to foreign policy or being the president. The decisions Obama makes regarding the Ukrainian situation will make waves for the end of his presidency and the start of 2016. Will it take the use of chemical weapons (again) for us to get involved or will we just stand by and let others take over?
Emily Goodfellow
#PSC 222
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