War with Ukraine, MH17 Place Russia in New Light

·                     This morning Russia shot down two Ukrainian SU-25 fighter jets in the region of the destruction of MH17, signaling its intention to escalate hostilities against Ukraine. Reportedly, the pilots ejected. Ironically, at the same time The Daily Beast reported that Ukraine had quietly asked the US and NATO for sensitive technology that could jam the radar that the Russians are using to lock their missiles on Ukrainian jets. Apparently, the US and NATO did not agree with the request thereby perpetuating the likelihood of more Ukrainian aircraft and pilot losses. It should be pointed out that the guided missile BUK system used by Russia – the one that is driven into and out of Ukraine – requires more intelligence to manipulate than the Neanderthal Russian terrorists seem to possess. Additionally, the conversations between the mercenaries on the ground and their controllers in Moscow revealed a level of linguistic skills and enunciation that is in character with an educated senior Russian officer rather than Moscow’s cutthroats in Ukraine.

·                     Annexation of Crimea, followed by a seventh-month-long war with Ukraine and the destruction of Malaysian MH17, killing 298 people, has placed Russia in a new light.

It is safe to say that most sober officials, analysts and pundits are fairly well acquainted with Russia’s bloody and despotic legacy but are hesitant to relate that knowledge to current affairs.

However, the tumultuous events in Ukraine since late last year have brought Russia’s highhandedness in its former captive nation to the forefront, making observers scratch their heads and wonder whether they should have heeded the warnings about the Kremlin. Were the right-wing conservatives and Eastern European Americans more on target about Russia than kneejerk liberals have been?

Opinions about how to respond to Russia range from tougher sanctions to a war crimes trial against the Kremlin.

The Red Cross contributed to the war crimes talk by making a confidential legal assessment that Ukraine is officially in a war, opening the door to possible war crimes prosecutions, including over the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH-17. “Clearly it’s an international conflict and therefore this is most probably a war crime,” a Western diplomat in Geneva was quoted as telling Reuters.

Since the International Committee on the Red Cross is in the UN system, it can make that determination because it is considered the guardians of international humanitarian law.

Dutch prosecutors are pursuing this angle by opening an investigation into the crash of MH17 on suspicion of murder, war crimes and intentionally downing an airliner. Based on the Law on International Crimes, the Netherlands can prosecute any individual who committed a war crime against a Dutch citizen.

Forcing Russia to stand trial for this war crime would at least symbolically bring it to justice to its legacy of brutality.

·                     In the wake of the destruction of MH17, The US and European Union have intensified their threats of imposing additional sanctions against Russia. Without a doubt, these sanctions must be painful, crippling and punitive – not figurative.

The usually reserved Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in a statement last weekend, had harsh words for  Putin as investigations seemed to be stymied. “I want to see results in the form of unhindered access and a speedy recovery of the victims’ remains. This is now priority No. 1. Putin must take responsibility vis-à-vis the rebels and show the Netherlands and the world that he is doing what is expected of him," he said.

Rutte's anger comes as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and French President François Hollande agreed that “the EU must reconsider its approach to Russia and that foreign ministers should be ready to impose further sanctions on Russia when they meet on Tuesday.”

Unfortunately, the European leaders spoke better than their sanctions did.

The EU agreed Tuesday to expand a list of Russian entities and individuals subject to asset freezes and travel bans and threatened to target vast sectors of the Russian economy if Moscow does not act swiftly to rein its terrorists.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels stopped well short of immediately carrying out vows in some countries to jump quickly to “phase three sanctions” that could cripple the Russian economy. Rather, they agreed to prepare by Thursday a list of possible options, including a potential arms embargo, limits on dual-technology sales and, more important, measures targeting the energy and financial sectors. They said such measures could be imposed later only if Russia does not force pro-Moscow separatists to grant unfettered access to the crash site and fulfill its pledge to cooperate with an international investigation.

The “if” is troublesome because it lets Russia off the hook and gives it another chance to commit another crime.

Another strong condemnation came from Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada. “Canada remains committed to doing its part to apply that pressure in response to Russia's provocative actions,” Harper wrote.

“We call on President Putin to immediately order a withdrawal of his troops from the Ukrainian border, to stop the flow of weapons and militants into Ukraine, and to use Russia’s influence to persuade insurgents to lay down their weapons and renounce violence. It is also imperative that investigators be given full, unimpeded access to the crash site of the downed Malaysian airliner.”

·                     At the White House on Monday, President Obama emphasized the need for accountability in an investigation of the shooting down of MH17. But he naively said Russia must urge the rebels to cooperate.

Citing mounting evidence, Kyiv and Washington have built a strong case that a Russian-made missile fired by pro-Moscow terrorists in Ukraine brought down the Boeing 777 airliner.

In a letter to the President, from Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein (CA), Carl Levin (MI) and Robert Menendez (NJ), who respectively chair the committees on intelligence, armed services and foreign relations, the lawmakers urged consideration of broader sanctions on the Russian economy, including the energy and financial sectors, and designation of the separatists’ self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine as a foreign terrorist organization.

“We understand and strongly support your efforts to coordinate the imposition of sanctions with our key European allies,” the senators wrote. “However, the United States must not limit its own national security strategy when swift action will help fulfill our strategic objectives, support an independent Ukraine and counter malignant Russian interference.”

·                     In its editorial on this topic, The Washington Post quaintly went back to the future. It urged the West to devise a strategy to contain the world’s newest rogue state — Russia. Yes, the West does need a new strategy. The first one was a strategic foreign policy pursued by the United States in the late 1940s and the early 1950s in order to check the expansionist policy of the Soviet Union. In an anonymous article in the July 1947 issue of Foreign Affairs, George F. Kennan, diplomat and US State Department adviser on Soviet affairs, suggested a “long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies” in the hope that the regime would mellow or collapse.

Containment failed for the same reason the League of Nations did: lack of will power and interest. The new policy must have dedication and teeth to stop Russia at the slightest transgression.