First Steps

15 March 2018

Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

West Retaliates for Russian Chemical Attack on Britain

The UK, US, France and Germany have issued a joint statement condemning the use of chemical weapons against a Russian defector in Salisbury, Wiltshire. The four stated there was no plausible alternative explanation to Russian culpability. Moreover, Prime Minister Theresa May noted it was the "first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War," while announcing the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats. It's a first step. More must follow.

This journal is relieved that the Trump administration has admitted the facts in this instance and decided to honor its international obligations. At a UN Security Council meeting last night, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said, "Let me make one thing clear from the very beginning: the United States stands in absolute solidarity with Great Britain. The United States believes that Russia is responsible for the attack on two people in the United Kingdom using a military-grade nerve agent."

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also said on the BBC "There is something in the kind of smug, sarcastic response that we've heard that indicates their fundamental guilt. They want to simultaneously deny it, yet at the same time to glory in it.

"There is very little doubt in people's minds that this is a signature act by the Russia state -- deliberately using novichok, a nerve agent developed by Russia to punish a Russian defector as they would see it, and in the run-up to Vladimir Putin's election."

The Russians have denied responsibility and have gone so far as to blame the British for the attack as a provocation. No doubt Russia will respond by expelling British diplomats from Moscow. As this is being written, President Putin is chairing a meeting of his national security team.

So when the Russians kick the Brits out, the Brits have a choice. Either the government can leave things as they are, or it can tighten the screw further. This journal believes the latter is the only viable option if there is any hope of deterring future Russian aggression.

The US did make a move in that general direction a few hours ago with the addition of five Russian organizations and 19 individuals to the sanctions list. Upon closer inspection, the additions are those enacted by Congress some weeks ago that the administration failed to implement. This is actually retaliation for the Russian interference in American's 2016 election and not the chemical weapons attack. Still, it is nice to see the Trump administration doing something.

Germany and France also need to act, and ideally, they should bring the rest of the European Union into a concerted response. Britain may be leaving the EU, but it is still part of NATO and the west.

Ultimately, the grievance is with the Putin government and not the Russian people, who have virtually no say in the actions of that regime. Mr. Putin and his cronies must be the targets of any retaliation. They are motivated by money more than anything else. Hitting them in the wallets will hurt most.

© Copyright 2018 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.


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