Excellent piece, Diane. What surprises me is Pres. Biden's failure to tap into the U.S.-held portion of these assets, which (based on some news reports) appears to be $30-35 billion. One of the nation's most highly regarded constitutional law professors, Harvard Professor Laurence Tribe, and a group of legal experts have studied the issue in-depth and concluded that the president, by simply issuing an executive order, can transfer the funds immediately. The legal authority is fully in place and has already been exercised by George W. Bush when he freed up frozen Iranian assets for payment of private claims against the Iranian government.
The intensity and glee that some of the Trump cultist congressmen (e.g. .Gaetz and Greene), a presidential contender (Vivek Ramswampy), and media celebrity (Tucker Carlson) have demonstrated in their efforts to prevent any aid to Ukraine ("not even a penny") has made me think that the issue has become more than merely "political" and has grown into a personal obsession for them. It would be interesting to see what objections they would interpose if the U.S. taxpayer is spared the burden of providing any aid by sending Ukraine russian assets.
It's hard to imagine how anyone could see presidential caliber and merit in a person so self-absorbed, so bereft of prudence and good judgment, and so reckless and fraudulent as Donald Trump without assuming ignorance or malice. We know that Putin is rooting for Trump out of malice, but what can be said about his American supporters.....especially with several excellent Republican candidates to choose from?
Plus there is no statute of limitations for genocide and that is what the Kremlin did to Ukraine in 1932 and 1947. Millions were murdered by stealing 60 million tons of food from the mouths of Ukrainians. Reparations for that would be in trillions and not billions.
Given the utter criminality of the putin regime (and the evident and unfortunate corruption in the West), shillly-shallying about help to Ukraine seems specious at best and morally repugnant altogether. Ukrainians are dying every day to try to keep their country from being destroyed.
Read “Winter is Coming” by Garry Kasparov. This is so simple. Do unto Putin what he would do to you. Has always has had no problem with theft or confiscation. He has even done it to his own people.
And yet the common sense you reported is not 'common' knowledge among world leaders. There are so many ways to cripple RU yet the resistance by the democratic gov'ts is astounding - what is wrong with these 'new age' leaders?
Do you really think Putin would use nucs? He knows the consequence of that - his own demise. THAT can't control the decisions that are made by NATO - he's using that as 'fear factor' - AND it is killing innocent people & makes HIM unstoppable with that threat.
If leaders were not afraid of his nukes, steps would have been taken. Yes he is using them as fear devices, and it appears to work. It didn’t work, threat would have been dealt with. Also, western democracies don’t wish to be open to plans for regime change in a vey public way. The real Putin is clear in Kasparov book.
Thank you for your excellent reporting on this conundrum. Since when has Putin followed international rules? He has rewritten the rules with his nefarious intentions, the World needs to react accordingly. Putin's war is a Global War; let's see what he does with the upcoming elections in the US. How is he going to use AI technology? If Trump wins, he's predicting millions will leave the US (by deportation or willingly?), where will they go?
Diane - wow - this should be in the newspapers - I hope you have still that connention ANd it should be in the American, UK, and European newspapers - this would make people push their gov't to get off their 'hands' AND lead - take Putin down. I did send this info to the Conservative Party of Canada - time for them to scream in Parliament at PM Pretty Socks to stop the photo opts and get AGGRESSIVE with what ever Russian assets are in Canada - dissolve it and send it to UKR - NOW
Beautifully done… Thank you - there is nothing complicated here. For all intents and purposes Putin started World War 3 and it should be executed as such by the patsies leading us!!
While the leaders of the free world drip feed arms and humanitarian aid to Ukraine they also fail to confiscate russian assets and cash. Yet putin doing it inside russia, confiscated foreign owned aircraft and businesses. Too slow. Too many russians in every nations governments and organisations. Wake up. russia is a terrorist state and must be destroyed before it does combined with China, Iran and nth Korea to destroy us.
I postponed reading your article fully because, to me, its subject is agonizing in its self-defeating destructiveness. The failure of Western leaders to seize Russian assets is either naive or arrogant magical thinking--or both--believing that if we constrain ourselves by fair rules that presuppose and work towards a fair system, that other countries and leaders will do the same. The approach seems to come from the world of parenting, that if we model good behavior and maintain positive expectations towards naughty kids, we can both inspire and keep the door open for them to follow suit. But we are failing to recognize and deal with the reality before us. We must brush aside all the words, beliefs, and wishful thinking to focus simply on “what is”.
The one moment of delight I felt in this excellent article on a terrible subject was that George W. Bush, who was so criticized for his simple- minded style and substance, just went ahead and seized Iranian assets for their crimes. Here is a way in, a precedent, for Biden to counter Putin’s boundless predation and cruelty--his means for self glorification and elevation through lawlessness. The failure of the West to stop Russia’s continuing predations effectively and uncompromisingly, when we can and should and need to, is not only an agony for millions of Ukrainians, it will be suicidal for us. The “reasoning” in the West is based on delusional ideas about reality, a failure to grasp the facts, because the perpetrator of the crime is a “foreign criminal”--both literally and metaphorically too. His morally vacant psychology is foreign to us, meaning unimaginable--and this after years of crime shows on tv.
The paradigm is to protect money first and pretty much at all costs. If paradigms had singing voices you could have heard a hymn when it was decided to sequester the Russian $ assets on deposit along with the profits. When the choice is people or profit, profit is protected.
Excellent piece, Diane. What surprises me is Pres. Biden's failure to tap into the U.S.-held portion of these assets, which (based on some news reports) appears to be $30-35 billion. One of the nation's most highly regarded constitutional law professors, Harvard Professor Laurence Tribe, and a group of legal experts have studied the issue in-depth and concluded that the president, by simply issuing an executive order, can transfer the funds immediately. The legal authority is fully in place and has already been exercised by George W. Bush when he freed up frozen Iranian assets for payment of private claims against the Iranian government.
The intensity and glee that some of the Trump cultist congressmen (e.g. .Gaetz and Greene), a presidential contender (Vivek Ramswampy), and media celebrity (Tucker Carlson) have demonstrated in their efforts to prevent any aid to Ukraine ("not even a penny") has made me think that the issue has become more than merely "political" and has grown into a personal obsession for them. It would be interesting to see what objections they would interpose if the U.S. taxpayer is spared the burden of providing any aid by sending Ukraine russian assets.
I wonder if the old adage 'ignorance is bliss' prevails among these tRump supporters.
It's hard to imagine how anyone could see presidential caliber and merit in a person so self-absorbed, so bereft of prudence and good judgment, and so reckless and fraudulent as Donald Trump without assuming ignorance or malice. We know that Putin is rooting for Trump out of malice, but what can be said about his American supporters.....especially with several excellent Republican candidates to choose from?
PS- Sorry, about the low number.....the amount under U.S. control may have grown (as per your chart) to $38 billion.
What is the rest of the world waiting for?
Pull the tooth before the infection kills you, because it can and will!
Well said. Exactly
Plus there is no statute of limitations for genocide and that is what the Kremlin did to Ukraine in 1932 and 1947. Millions were murdered by stealing 60 million tons of food from the mouths of Ukrainians. Reparations for that would be in trillions and not billions.
yeah they let Hitler's forces roll right over them for a long time too...will we ever learn?
Given the utter criminality of the putin regime (and the evident and unfortunate corruption in the West), shillly-shallying about help to Ukraine seems specious at best and morally repugnant altogether. Ukrainians are dying every day to try to keep their country from being destroyed.
Read “Winter is Coming” by Garry Kasparov. This is so simple. Do unto Putin what he would do to you. Has always has had no problem with theft or confiscation. He has even done it to his own people.
And yet the common sense you reported is not 'common' knowledge among world leaders. There are so many ways to cripple RU yet the resistance by the democratic gov'ts is astounding - what is wrong with these 'new age' leaders?
They are afraid of his nukes.
Do you really think Putin would use nucs? He knows the consequence of that - his own demise. THAT can't control the decisions that are made by NATO - he's using that as 'fear factor' - AND it is killing innocent people & makes HIM unstoppable with that threat.
If leaders were not afraid of his nukes, steps would have been taken. Yes he is using them as fear devices, and it appears to work. It didn’t work, threat would have been dealt with. Also, western democracies don’t wish to be open to plans for regime change in a vey public way. The real Putin is clear in Kasparov book.
The west needs to adjust their rules to meet the aggressor's expectations rather than sitting on their hands and being slapped repeatedly in the face!
Thank you for your excellent reporting on this conundrum. Since when has Putin followed international rules? He has rewritten the rules with his nefarious intentions, the World needs to react accordingly. Putin's war is a Global War; let's see what he does with the upcoming elections in the US. How is he going to use AI technology? If Trump wins, he's predicting millions will leave the US (by deportation or willingly?), where will they go?
Diane - wow - this should be in the newspapers - I hope you have still that connention ANd it should be in the American, UK, and European newspapers - this would make people push their gov't to get off their 'hands' AND lead - take Putin down. I did send this info to the Conservative Party of Canada - time for them to scream in Parliament at PM Pretty Socks to stop the photo opts and get AGGRESSIVE with what ever Russian assets are in Canada - dissolve it and send it to UKR - NOW
Agree 100% excellent
Beautifully done… Thank you - there is nothing complicated here. For all intents and purposes Putin started World War 3 and it should be executed as such by the patsies leading us!!
While the leaders of the free world drip feed arms and humanitarian aid to Ukraine they also fail to confiscate russian assets and cash. Yet putin doing it inside russia, confiscated foreign owned aircraft and businesses. Too slow. Too many russians in every nations governments and organisations. Wake up. russia is a terrorist state and must be destroyed before it does combined with China, Iran and nth Korea to destroy us.
I postponed reading your article fully because, to me, its subject is agonizing in its self-defeating destructiveness. The failure of Western leaders to seize Russian assets is either naive or arrogant magical thinking--or both--believing that if we constrain ourselves by fair rules that presuppose and work towards a fair system, that other countries and leaders will do the same. The approach seems to come from the world of parenting, that if we model good behavior and maintain positive expectations towards naughty kids, we can both inspire and keep the door open for them to follow suit. But we are failing to recognize and deal with the reality before us. We must brush aside all the words, beliefs, and wishful thinking to focus simply on “what is”.
The one moment of delight I felt in this excellent article on a terrible subject was that George W. Bush, who was so criticized for his simple- minded style and substance, just went ahead and seized Iranian assets for their crimes. Here is a way in, a precedent, for Biden to counter Putin’s boundless predation and cruelty--his means for self glorification and elevation through lawlessness. The failure of the West to stop Russia’s continuing predations effectively and uncompromisingly, when we can and should and need to, is not only an agony for millions of Ukrainians, it will be suicidal for us. The “reasoning” in the West is based on delusional ideas about reality, a failure to grasp the facts, because the perpetrator of the crime is a “foreign criminal”--both literally and metaphorically too. His morally vacant psychology is foreign to us, meaning unimaginable--and this after years of crime shows on tv.
Isn't it Ms. Yellen who has said the U.S. can't touch the
38 Russian billion we have
and give to Ukraine, because
of some World Bank destabilization?
same argument as Euros
Yep.
Just wait until the other shoe drops if the orange devil is elected . Putin will forgive trumps debts and trump
Will donate Ukraine and others .
Watching democracy erode while the crowds of dumb Americans cheer on!
The paradigm is to protect money first and pretty much at all costs. If paradigms had singing voices you could have heard a hymn when it was decided to sequester the Russian $ assets on deposit along with the profits. When the choice is people or profit, profit is protected.