View from the Left: Russia's raging. Where's Mr. Tough Guy now?
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«It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it.» That was the most forceful statement self-imagined strongman Donald Trump could muster on Thursday, three days after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May declared it «highly likely» thView from the Left: Russia's raging. Where's Mr. Tough Guy now?
«It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it.» That was the most forceful statement self-imagined strongman Donald Trump could muster on Thursday, three days after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May declared it «highly likely» the Kremlin was responsible for unleashing a deadly nerve agent in Salisbury, England. It was indeed so toxic that hundreds of residents in the targeted area were told to wash their clothes on the off chance of incidental contact with it. Not only were the two victims—former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia—removed from the park bench where they were found by people in hazmat suits, so were police cars and other vehicles parked nearby. The restaurant and pub where the Skripals came in contact with the nerve agent known as Novichok were also cordoned off and some pieces of furniture were destroyed. On the weekend following the March 4 attack, the streets of Salisbury, normally bustling with people, were barren. In case it hasn't totally sunk in for Americans, this was a chemical terrorist attack unleashed by one state actor on the soil of another state. If this had happened here, people would be freaking out and demanding action, exactly as the Brits are doing now. U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley offered the administration’s strongest pronouncement of solidarity with Britons this week on Wednesday, during an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council, of which Russia is a member. Here’s Haley: Let me make one thing clear from the very beginning: the United States stands in absolute solidarity with Great Britain. The United States believes that Russia is responsible for the attack on two people in the United Kingdom using a military-grade nerve agent. [...] This is a defining moment. Time and time again, member states say they oppose the use of chemical weapons under any circumstance. Now, one member stands accused of using chemical weapons on the sovereign soil of another member. The credibility of this council will not survive if we fail to hold Russia accountable. After Haley's remarks, the White House itself finally issued a supportive yet more tepid statement that it «shares the United Kingdom’s assessment that Russia is responsible.» Earlier in the week, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had found herself unable to even utter the word «Russia.” But Trump? »It looks like it,« he said of Russia’s involvement, adding that the White House was taking the “very sad situation ... very seriously.» This is the same man who on the campaign trail in 2016 mused about «the good old days» when law enforcement would «rip [a protester] out of that seat so fast.” Of another protester, he said, »I’d like to punch him in the face, I tell ya.« At a memorable rally last year, he encouraged law enforcement officers to be extra rough when they're arresting people: »Don't be too nice," he urged. Read more