McCain "Ashamed" of U.S. Response in Ukraine

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright February 23, 2015
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             Disgusted by the U.S. response to the Russian takeover of Ukraine, 78-year-old Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) admitted to CBS’s Bob Schieffer on “Face The Nation,” he was revolted by the passive U.S. response to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I’m ashamed of my country.  I’m ashamed of my president and I’m ashamed of myself that I haven’t done more to help these people,” McCain told Schieffer.  “It’s really heartbreaking,” McCain admitted, watching a sovereign country with aspirations to join the European Union and NATO sold out by Germany and France.  When German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande met with Putin at the Kremlin Feb. 6, they all agreed that peace would only come by splitting Ukraine in two parts.  Putin already seized the strategic Crimean Peninsula March 1, 2014 after watching a pro-Western coup Feb. 22, 2014.

             McCain reacted harshly to the state of affairs in Europe that repeated the same passivity that resulted in the Sept. 30, 1938 Munich Agreement with the allied powers, ceding Adolf Hitler Czechoslovakia, leading to WWII.  McCain sees the same kind of appeasement where Putin, Merkel, Hollande pressured Ukrianian President Petro Porshenko in Minsk, Balarus Feb. 12 to sign a ceasefire handing the Donbass region of Southeastern Ukraine to pro-Russian separatists and, more importantly, the Kremlin.  White House officials have no stomach for confronting Putin, despite Obama saying Feb. 9 he’s considering arming Ukraine.  It didn’t take long for State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki to renege Feb. 17, saying the U.S. does not want a proxy war with Russia.  Obama’s Feb. 9 warning about arming Ukraine prompted Merkel and Hollande to acquiesce to Putin.

             Worried about a growing recession in the EU, Merkel and Hollande tossed Porshenko under the bus, essentially giving Putin everything he wanted, namely, Southeastern Ukraine.  “I believe that German chancellor and president of France legitimized for the first time in 70 years the dismemberment of a country in Europe.  It’s shameful.  Vladimir Putin has not paid any price,” said McCain.  Since the pro-Western revolution that evicted Kremlin-puppet Viktor Yanukovich Feb. 22, 2014, Putin has disregarded Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.  Putin sees the coup as a CIA-sponsored plot to establish a U.S. proxy state in Russia’s backyard.  Putin’s pernicious propaganda, controlling Russian media since taking office May 7, 2000, leaves the Russian public brainwashed about U.S. intentions.  Recent polls show Putin with strong backing for taking over Ukraine.

             McCain, now the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, hasn’t caught up with the egregious decline in American power—and global respect—started during the George W. Bush administration.  When Putin rolled the Russian army into Georgia’s South Ossetia and Abkhazia Aug. 7, 2008, former President Bush and his Vice President Dick Cheney yawned.  Putin carved up Georgia against all protests from former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.  Poroshenko, like Saakdashvili, could only watch helplessly as Putin’s superior military carved up Ukraine like a Thanksgiving turkey.  “Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine not to be part of Europe, and he is succeeding in doing so,” said McCain.  “This is really a dark chapter in the history of our alliance,” referring to obvious cracks in NATO.  While Ukraine isn’t a part of the EU or NATO, the alliance is no match for Putin.

             Former New York senator and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Putin’s annexation of Crimea like Hitler in the 1930s March, 4, 2013.  While Hillary took heat for the comparison, her words are proving prophetic now with no one—much to McCain’s frustration—willing to take on Putin.  When Psaki signaled the U.S. would respect the EU’s position on placating Putin, McCain realized how little influence the U.S. has in the EU.  Without saying it, McCain can’t help but wonder whether or not capitulating to Putin will eventually drag the U.S. into a new war in Europe.  Had allied powers drew a line against Hitler in 1938, maybe things would have been different in Europe.  McCain speaks of a “dark chapter” because he sees how a feckless NATO can’t contain Putin’s land grabs.  Several former Soviet satellites, especially in the Baltic states, worry about Putin’s aggression.

             Stunning CBS’s Bob Schieffer, McCain expressed what no one’s willing to admit about today’s U.S. foreign policy:  That after two lengthy and costly foreign wars, there’s no stomach in the U.S. to confront Putin.  White House officials must get on the same page with Congress trying to present a coherent U.S. foreign policy.  Supplying arms and cash to Syrian rebels puts the U.S. into a proxy war with Iran, the same country it tries to negotiate a meaningful arms control deal.  McCain and Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) need to hold urgent hearings about the feasibility confronting Putin more directly in Ukraine.  Letting Merkel and Hollande sell out Ukraine doesn’t deal with Putin’s unchecked aggression.  Without some type of check on Putin’s power grab, the U.S. could find itself eventually dragged into another costly war in Europe.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.


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