UPDATE: Last week I speculated that President Obama was on the verge of a major foreign policy victory as Ukrainian separatists faced defeat and Russia wasnt coming to their aid, possibly fearful of further sanctions from the West. Apparently I spoke too soon. Russia has since reversed course and is again sending military support to their separatist allies. The move has led to a new round of U.S. sanctions against Russia yesterday, including much stronger and broader restrictions on business dealings with many sectors of the Russian economy. Now today comes word that a Malaysian Airliner from Amsterdam was shot down over eastern Ukraine in an area where pro-Russian forces have recently been shooting down Ukrainian aircraft. Depending on the details of the attack, this may have a profound impact on the situation in combination with the new sanctions. But as of this moment, any success from President Obamas policy moves in the area has evaporated. washingtonpost/world/national-security/us-to-expand-sanctions-against-russia/2014/07/16/a4a008a8-0d21-11e4-b8e5-d0de80767fc2_story.html
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 17:18:55 +0000