At the beginning of Barack Obama’s term in office, he softened American foreign policy towards Russia and announced his “reset” policy to accommodate Russian interests. He hoped that by giving the Russians a free hand to reassert their grip on Ukraine, the Baltics and the Caucasuses as well as abandoning missile defense for Poland and the Czech Republic; that in return they would help America with the war on terrorism and prevent Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons.
Sadly, this policy has been an utter failure for America’s interests (and our allies) and hasn’t produced any tangible results for U.S. foreign policy objectives.
Immediately after the commencement of the Obama-Biden administration “reset” policy, Russia wasted no time in working to restore the Soviet Empire. They started first by tightening the screws on Ukraine by extorting exorbitant energy prices to force compliance with Moscow’s wishes.
Without the backbone of American support, Ukraine’s pro-European course was quickly thwarted and NATO aspirations dashed indefinitely. Even a Russian friendly government in Kyiv has discovered that concessions – no matter how big or small ¬– are not enough to satisfy the Kremlin’s appetite for land and power.
Sadly, the current administration appears willing to cede entire countries such as Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and others to appease Russia’s voracious imperialistic tastes. As former President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brezinski once said: “Without Ukraine, Russia ceases to be an empire.”
The Russians understand this completely and while the Obama-Biden administration fiddles, Kyiv figuratively burns. Despite concessions, Russia continues to issue passports to ethnic Russians in Ukraine and specifically Crimea in hopes of expanding its’ territorial claims. The last time this happened (in South Ossetia and Abkhazia), the Russians used this as part of the pretext for an invasion of Georgia to “defend its citizens.”
The Obama-Biden administration’s lukewarm words of support for Ukraine have been viewed by the Russians as weakness and they have wasted no time in exploiting it. As Churchill said: “I am convinced that there is nothing they (Russians) admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which they have less respect than weakness.”
Ukraine is not alone in feeling Russian pressure as a consequence of the Obama administration’s indecisiveness, but Georgia as well. In January 2008, with the largest affirmative vote in all of NATO’s history, Georgian voters voted to join the alliance. However, other than token words and recently giving Georgia a few rifles, the Obama-Biden administration has done almost nothing to assist Georgia’s entry into NATO and ineffectively defends American interests while kowtowing to Russia’s demands on Georgia.
In the meantime, Russia continues to violate its treaty obligations pertaining to the August 2008 invasion of Georgia, yet Obama hides behind the skirt of European Union declarations instead of standing up for the people of Georgia.
Not only have NATO aspirants like Ukraine and Georgia been essentially abandoned by the Obama administration, but other Western friendly countries too. For example, the country of Moldova finally elected a non-Communist president last year and has made significant progress towards joining the European community. However despite having a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as vice president, Europe’s poorest country hears only silence from the current administration while the Russian 14th Armored Division continues to occupy eastern Moldova.
Regrettably, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the only person in the Obama-Biden administration tough enough to keep the Russians honest, has already announced her departure at the end of the year –regardless of the election outcome.
The other GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova) nation, Azerbaijan, has also been abandoned by the “reset” policy. Despite being one of America’s most reliable energy partners, Azerbaijan has been basically blacklisted by the Obama-Biden administration in order to appease short sighted political interests. The only Shiite Muslim country in the world to recognize Israel has been treated worse than hostile Middle Eastern regimes by this administration while energy prices continue to skyrocket and gouge the average American in the pocketbook.
A few months after Obama’s “reset” policy was announced, I had a meeting with a friend who is a member of the Ukrainian parliament. He had just switched from the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko to the Party of Regions the day prior. I asked him why he made this change as he had been quite active in 2004 Orange Revolution. His answer crystallized the problem with the “reset” policy: “How do you expect me to stand up to [Viktor] Yanukovych (today Ukraine’s president) when your President won’t even stand up to [Russia’s Vladimir] Putin?”
His response illuminated the real issue: that is, the Neville Chamberlain-like foreign policy of the Obama-Biden administration. Finally, matters are simply not helped when Obama promises Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, “After my election, I’ll have more flexibility,” in reference to dismantling our missile defense and subjugating Eastern Europe to Russia’s chauvinistic interests while simultaneously getting assurances from Medvedev that he’d “transmit this information to Vladimir.”
Such statements beg the question, “what does Obama plan to surrender to the Russians after the election?”
A new presidential administration led by Mitt Romney will end the failed “reset” policy. The Romney-Ryan administration understands that it is not time to “reset” relations with Russia. It is time to rearm our allies, it is time to restore America’s greatness, and it is time to reinstate a foreign policy that prevents Russia from oppressing its neighbors. Electing Mitt Romney as president will accomplish these goals and ensure the independence of developing democracies like Ukraine and Georgia.
Brian Mefford has lived and worked in Kyiv for 13 years and is the chairman of the Republicans Abroad for Ukraine. He is currently the executive director of the Committee for Open Democracy, an organization that monitors and observes international elections.
