Biden needs to ‘double-down’ on Russia: Nikki Haley
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley tells ‘The Story with Martha MacCallum,’ Biden needs to take action on Russia or the situation will ‘only get worse.’
Heroism is contagious.
The heroism of Ukraine’s people and leadership is inspiring the free world to support their cause. Spontaneous pro-Ukraine demonstrations have sprung up all across the world. European governments that didn’t want to be involved are now sending weapons to Ukraine. Even Germany, Europe’s biggest slacker, is now actively supporting Ukraine. And in the very heart of Moscow, thousands of fair-minded Russians are bravely risking arrest by their own government for protesting Vladimir Putin’s madness.
The biggest military engagement in Europe since the Second World War is showing us both the worst and the best of humanity.
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It's too soon to know how the Russian war against Ukraine will end. But already, more than any other event could have, it is demonstrating the evil nature of the Russian government under Putin. As U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, I witnessed this every day.
I saw the Russians enable chemical weapons attacks against children in Syria and lie about it. I saw the Russians poison an enemy and his daughter in England and lie about it. I saw the Russians lie about their own spies they kept on their staff at the U.N. in New York. This is the nature of Putin’s government. It is barbaric and can never be trusted.
What should America do about that?
Small but symbolic things are happening. New Hampshire has pulled Russian vodka from its liquor stores. Good for them. Larger symbolic things should happen too. America now sits alongside Russia on the United Nations Human Rights Council. How is that possible? We should demand Russia’s expulsion from any council dedicated to human rights or withdraw from it ourselves if Russia can’t be removed.
Weak sanctions only embolden Putin to think he can get away with whatever he wants.
In the business of economic sanctions, some are much stronger than others. When I was at the U.N., we passed three sets of massive sanctions against North Korea in response to its illegal nuclear weapons program. Those sanctions put demands on the entire world to cut off most of North Korea’s trade. The Trump administration’s sanctions on Iran brought its oil exports to nearly a complete stop. Those were sanctions with bite. The Biden administration’s initial sanctions against Russia were far too weak. We should do more and do it now.
Two steps would have the biggest impact. Banning Russia from the SWIFT international financial system and sanctioning the Russian oil and gas sector would devastate the Russian economy. Those are powerful enough to get Putin’s attention.
President Biden is moving toward a partial SWIFT cutoff, but with a huge loophole for the energy sector. That’s a mistake. Oil and gas exports are the key to Russia’s economy. Weak sanctions only embolden Putin to think he can get away with whatever he wants.
These steps would impact America and our allies too, particularly in the energy sector. If we want to stand up to Putin, we have to be willing to pay a price. But in fact, it is within our power to dramatically ease that impact. America is energy independent, but we still buy Russian oil. That is insanity. No free country should ever be dependent on Putin for energy, just as we should never be dependent on China for medical supplies. Expanding American energy is a national security imperative.
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Economic sanctions can be strong tools, but alone they are rarely enough. Strong sanctions alone, as advisable as they are, are unlikely to get Putin to stop his massacre in Ukraine. We must provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to defend itself. The Biden approach there has been too little; let’s hope it’s not too late.
Ukrainian bravery has also opened the world’s eyes to the reality of Putin’s expansionist designs. If he succeeds in Ukraine, there is every reason to think he will go further. Militant dictators are rarely satisfied with their gains. Putin has already voiced designs on Poland and the Baltic states.
And then there is Communist China.
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Russia and China are both expansionist dictatorships. But Russia is the junior partner in this relationship. Russia is a weak country with a strong military. China is a strong country with a strong military. The Chinese threat to freedom is much bigger than the Russian threat. In fact, the two are indivisible. China is watching Ukraine. If the West gives Russia a pass, it gives a China a green light. If Russia is stopped, China will take a very different lesson.
Ukrainian heroism is not only contagious. It is providing the world an amazing example of the courage we all need. The time to act is now.
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