Two columns against our over-hesitant help for Ukraine against Russia.
Expelling Russia from Interpol should be just the barest start (April 26):
Republican U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska is right to say that Interpol, the international policing facilitator, should expel Russia from its membership and block Russian access to its databases.
Indeed, organizations worldwide should be doing more to isolate, exclude, and punish Russia.
Sasse made his demand in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He said the expulsion of Russia is necessary “to protect Interpol against potential abuses by the Russian government or to ensure that Russia does not exploit Interpol’s intelligence sharing function to further harm the people of Ukraine.” Sasse added that Russia and China already use Interpol in multiple ways to suppress and abuse political adversaries…. [Later in the piece]
If Russia is using Interpol intelligence to crack down on Ukrainians protecting their own country or on other entities protecting human rights, then it is imperative to cut Russia off from that source of information.
Please allow, however, a broader point. The very fact that Russia remains a member of Interpol is a symptom of a larger failing. …. [The full first column is at this link.]
Pelosi should call Congress back to pass Ukrainian relief package (May 1): For all the big talk and showy photo ops Democratic officials are making in support of Ukraine, they continue to be many days late and billions of dollars short. They need to move much faster.
Speaking to George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s This Week, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas made that point from the start.
First, it must be said that McCaul, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, clearly was pleased that Speaker Nancy Pelosi had visited Ukraine and that she and President Joe Biden are supporting a $33 billion aid package for the beleaguered nation. Still, he lamented yet another pending delay in the assistance.
“I think time is of the essence,” McCaul said. “The next two to three weeks are going to be very pivotal and very decisive in this war.”…… [The full second column is at this link.]
