President
Trump on Wednesday signed the sanctions bill against Russia, which
Congress passed almost unanimously the week before.
Trump
will not criticize Putin and continues to blame Congress for soured
relations with the Kremlin. Still no word from the White House on how
the U.S. will retaliate against Vladimir Putin, who, after Congress
passed the sanctions bill, expelled hundreds of American diplomats from
Russia, along with scores of locals working in the U.S. Embassy and
other diplomatic posts. Most of those Russians are spies for Moscow, so
no big loss there.
Trump says some of the sanctions
are too tough and his State Department will no longer support
pro-democracy forces, including those fighting ISIS in Syria, for fear
of offending Putin and his former KGB henchmen.
There’s
no sentiment in Congress to go easy on Putin. The bill Trump signed was
veto-proof and forbids him from ending sanctions without congressional
approval. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who headed Exxon and
received a freedom medal from Putin before he joined the administration,
wants improved relations with Russia because of the company’s huge
investments there. Some of Trump’s White House aides, including his
son-in-law Jared Kushner, also have close ties to the Russians and hope
to end sanctions, but the president’s national-security team, headed by
Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, are in no mood to appease the Russians,
especially while Special Counsel Robert Mueller closes in on the Trump
team’s ties to Russia.
Russia declared war on America
in the last election, and it will try to destabilize our nation in
future elections. Putin’s plot against America stands exposed. He must
be punished for his treachery. We should cut diplomatic relations with
Putin and get out of Russia, leaving behind a skeleton diplomatic crew
to help stranded tourists. Boycott Russia like North Korea.