December 18, 2014
COLUMN-Russia Sanctions: Beware the Blowback
In recent days, the U.S. Congress has moved aggressively to increase the economic pain inflicted on Russia in punishment for its brazen destabilization of easternUkraine and Crimea.
Legislators are attempting to up the ante with Moscow by passing new laws to penalize foreign banks and energy companies for doing business in several Russian economic sectors.
The desire to inflict more economic difficulty on Russia is understandable. By imposing pain on Russia, the United States and the European Union can try to force Moscow to change its aggressive behavior toward its neighbors.
But the new sanctions may not be as effective as Congress hopes, and President Barack Obama should be reluctant to enforce the penalties aggressively, as doing so would have serious consequences for the United States and its partners abroad.
Read the full op-ed at Reuters.
More from CNAS
-
Putin’s Fifth Term and Russian Domestic Politics
This past weekend, Russians went to the polls for the country’s presidential election. To the surprise of no one, Vladimir Putin emerged victorious with a record-high 87 perce...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, Dr. Angela Stent & Joshua Yaffa
-
What NATO allies must do to prepare for Russian aggression
While it’s expensive to do what’s necessary to deter major aggression, it would be far more expensive to fight a major war if deterrence fails....
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Greg Weaver
-
Ukrainians Are Resilient—But They Still Need Washington
Beyond material support, my visit made clear that the psychological effect of global solidarity, especially from the United States, remains vital...
By Richard Fontaine
-
NATO’s Confusion Over the Russia Threat
NATO should not take the Russian military’s poor performance in Ukraine as a reason to be complacent....
By Franz-Stefan Gady