White House meets, Congress urges action in wake of Russia's Ukraine moves

[mick silver]

Published March 01, 2014FoxNews.com



http://a57.foxnews.com/global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/Politics/876/493/Ukraine_Russia.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/01/white-house-meets-congress-urges-action-in-wake-russia-ukraine-moves/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fpolitics+%28Interna l+-+Politics+-+Text%29#)March 1, 2014: Armed men stand guard at the Belbek Airport in the Crimea region of Ukraine.REUTERS


White House officials huddled Saturday in a high-level meeting to work on a response to Russia's efforts to move military forces into neighboring Ukraine, as Capitol Hill leaders pledged support for the Ukrainians and called on President Obama to order an immediate U.S. response.
The meeting came hours after Russia's parliament gave President Vladimir Putin the military go-ahead to protect Russian interests in neighboring Ukraine.
Among those gathered at the White House were Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, CIA Director John Brennan, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
Obama warned Russia on Friday that "there will be costs" for any military maneuvers that Russian undertook in Ukraine.
Ukraine is amid a major political unrest that started three months ago and last month resulted in the ouster of President Viktor F. Yanukovych.
On Saturday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee called on Obama to lead an immediate international effort -- including targeted sanctions -- to halt Russian military intervention.
“The United States and our European allies should immediately bring to bear all elements of our collective economic strength to stop Russian advances in Ukraine,” said Democrats and Republicans on the committee, including Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the top GOP lawmaker in the group.
They said Congress will also consider targeted sanctions against Russian people and entities that “undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine” and that the Russian government “felt free to intervene militarily in Ukraine” because the United States and Europe have failed to make clear there will be serious consequences.
Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, a committee member and military hawk, said on Twitter that Russia’s efforts, which already reportedly including sending military guards into Ukraine’s Crimea region, were “straight out of [the] Soviet playbook.”
He also tweeted “Obama needs to impose ‘costs’ now,” referring to the president’s remarks Friday.
Putin says the moves are needed to protect ethnic Russians and the personnel of a Russian military base in the strategic Crimea region.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy tweeted that he agrees with Obama, writing “there will be consequences for Russia if they continue offensive action in #Ukraine.”
He also tweeted a picture of him talking with Ukrainian-Americans in New Haven about the crisis.
The Russian government also is making plans to recall its ambassador from the U.S.
In the House, Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon called Putin’s aspirations “a throwback to the last century.”
“Our response should demonstrate the U.S. stands by its friends against bullies,” said McKeon, R-Calif. “We should do everything practical to help Ukraine turn back these invaders."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[mick silver]

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN chief called for immediate calm in Ukraine on Saturday as the Security Council convened an emergency session in New York after Russian lawmakers approved the deployment of troops to the region.
Ban Ki-moon will express "grave" concerns directly to Russian leader Vladimir Putin by telephone, his spokesman said, as tensions escalated in Ukraine.
"He calls for an immediate restoration of calm and direct dialogue between all concerned to solve the current crisis," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters in New York.
"The secretary general wants to speak to President Putin directly to express his concerns. But also to hear directly from President Putin his assessment of the situation."
Britain called the emergency talks at the UN Security Council, meeting Saturday for the second time in 24 hours to discuss the unfolding crisis.
"We are deeply concerned about the situation, especially the developments over the last 24 hours," British ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told reporters on his way into the session.
"That is why we have called this emergency session to find out what justification Russia claims to have for the actions they are taking at the moment," he added.
The UN secretary general reiterated his call "for the full respect for, and preservation of, the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine".
Poised to fly to Europe, Ban has ordered the deputy secretary general to brief Saturday's emergency Security Council talks.
"The most important thing is to raise concerns about what is happening on the ground," said Raimonda Murmokaite, ambassador of Lithuania, the current president of the Council.
The UN envoy to Ukraine, Robert Serry, said Saturday he was leaving the country and ruled out a visit to the Crimea region as requested by Ban following emergency talks Friday.
"I have since been in touch with the authorities of the autonomous republic of Crimea and have come to the conclusion that a visit to Crimea today is not possible," Serry said.
He said he would brief Ban in Geneva and "consult with him on next steps".
Ukrainian Defense Minister Igor Tenyukh on Saturday accused Russia of sending 30 armored personnel carriers and 6,000 additional troops into Crimea.
Dozens of pro-Russian armed men in full combat gear patrolled outside the seat of power in Crimea's capital Simferopol.
Similar gunmen seized the city's parliament and government buildings on Thursday and took control of its airport and a nearby military base on Friday.

[mick silver]

Ukraine says Russia follows pre-Georgia war scenario in Crimeahttp://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/FZN6924R0WZ__x92.x6.GA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9Zml0O2g9Mjc-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/logo/reuters/d0c3eb8ca18907492a4b337b5cec5193.jpeg (http://www.reuters.com/)Reuters – Fri, Feb 28, 2014



rint (http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Fukraine-says-russia-follows-pre-georgia-war-scenario-204411762--sector.html&t=Ukraine%20says%20Russia%20follows%20pre-Georgia%20war%20scenario%20in%20Crimea%20-%20Yahoo%20News)








KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's acting president accused Russia of open aggression on Friday and said it was provoking his country in the same way as it had Georgia before going to war in 2008.
Urging President Vladimir Putin to stop "provocations" in Ukraine's Russian-speaking Crimea, Oleksander Turchinov recalled
Russia's intervention in Georgia over breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which have large ethnic Russian populations.
Russia's Black Sea fleet has a base in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol.
"Russia has sent forces into Crimea ... they are working on scenarios which are fully analogous with Abkhazia, when having initiated a military conflict, they started to annex the territory," Turchinov said in televised comments.
The war with Georgia lasted five days and Russia remains in control of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, although the United Nations and most countries regard them as still part of Georgia.
"The Ukrainian army will fulfill its obligations but it will not give in to provocations," Turchinov said, adding that he thought the situation would soon be resolved.
"I am personally appealing to President Putin, demanding an end to the provocation and the withdrawal of troops from the Republic of Crimea."
Tensions have increased in Crimea since the ouster of Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovich, following three months of protests in the national capital Kiev.
Armed men seized two airports in Crimea earlier on Friday and the country's main telecommunications company said landlines and some Internet services were down after fiber optic cables were tampered with.
Some witnesses reported seeing Russian armored personnel carriers and helicopters, and at least one Russian warship on patrol, although Moscow denied deploying its forces in Crimea.
A representative of Turchinov in Crimea said 13 Russian aircraft had landed on the Black Sea peninsula, and each one had up to 150 personnel on board.
A Reuters correspondent saw at least 20 men wearing the uniform of Russia's Black Sea fleet and carrying automatic rifles surround a Ukrainian border guard post near Sevastopol.
The identity of armed groups that occupied the regional parliament in Crimea and the two airports was not immediately known. Ukrainian officials accused them of being commanded by the Kremlin but Moscow dismissed this.
(Reporting By Sabina Zawadzki and Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

[Ares]

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/sm/custom/8847e1ec55.jpg

[singular_me]

is it cynical to predict that the $5 trillion cold war/weapon race may well finally be consumed?

maybe it is time to drop the word 'hoax' from Eustace Mullins's book title: The $5 Trillion Cold War Hoax

[Horn]

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/sm/custom/8847e1ec55.jpg

The move by Russia to go in without their colors on,

is kinda more like the My Little Pony play than Obama.

[Serpo]

I can see what it has to do with Russia but whats the Ukraine got to do with America?

[palani]

Typical. Congress is gridlocked until it comes to a topic that involves NOT declaring war on Russia in order to participate in another POLICE action that will result in hundreds of thousands of dead people and a wartime economy.

[Ponce]

No one gets it......the only thing that is keeping the US ahead of the game is their toys, new toys that they are coming up with all the time .....but.......Russia, China, and others are doing a reverse number on all those toys and improving them all the time.....in ten years the US won't have the toys that they need in order to stay ahead of the game..........and then what?....the US will find itself between a hammer and a rock...................sorry folks but is going to be bad, bad, bad.

The US will find itself isolated and alone and with nothing that the other side needs from us.

V

[Sparky]

is it cynical to predict that the $5 trillion cold war/weapon race may well finally be consumed?

maybe it is time to drop the word 'hoax' from Eustace Mullins's book title: The $5 Trillion Cold War Hoax

Just last week, Secretary of Defense Hagel proposed military budget cuts. I guess those will be off the table now. Time to request an increase. Sigh.

[mick silver]

ponce ponce but what about are buddys from Israel they will help --)


No one gets it......the only thing that is keeping the US ahead of the game is their toys, new toys that they are coming up with all the time .....but.......Russia, China, and others are doing a reverse number on all those toys and improving them all the time.....in ten years the US won't have the toys that they need in order to stay ahead of the game..........and then what?....the US will find itself between a hammer and a rock...................sorry folks but is going to be bad, bad, bad.

The US will find itself isolated and alone and with nothing that the other side needs from us.

V

[Ponce]

You can count on those people the same way that you can count me not having tp to wipe my ass.........all their schools are now teaching Chinese..........I wonder why?

V

[woodman]

is it cynical to predict that the $5 trillion cold war/weapon race may well finally be consumed?

maybe it is time to drop the word 'hoax' from Eustace Mullins's book title: The $5 Trillion Cold War Hoax

Nah, It's still a hoax. Everything is going according to plan. If the weaponry is used, it will be according to plan. Harvest time. It's all a giant show. Watch it and laugh or cry. Human suffering is feedstock for porcine banksters.

[Horn]

Everything is going according to plan.

The people must suffer thru costs.

6080

[singular_me]

ultimately you are right


Nah, It's still a hoax. Everything is going according to plan. If the weaponry is used, it will be according to plan. Harvest time. It's all a giant show. Watch it and laugh or cry. Human suffering is feedstock for porcine banksters.