While Great Briain’s Prime Minister Theresa May’s government isn’t getting the best of reviews, at least they seem to be willing to call a bear a bear, according to the BBC:
Former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia, Theresa May has told MPs.
The PM said it was “highly likely” Russia was responsible for the Salisbury attack.
The Foreign Office summoned Russia’s ambassador to provide an explanation.
Mrs May said if there is no “credible response” by the end of Tuesday, the UK would conclude there has been an “unlawful use of force” by Moscow. …
Mrs May said: “Either this was a direct action by the Russian state against our country, or the Russian government lost control of its potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others.”
Meanwhile, President Trump can only express admiration for Putin and other autocrats such as the newly-minted Chinese President-for-life Xi Jinping and Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
This weakness in our President will have consequences for decades to come, and it lands squarely on the backs of Congress, specifically Speaker Ryan and the Executive oversight committees, to identify such grave failures and do something about them. To their mild credit, they did pass a sanctions bill to punish Russia, which Trump promptly ignored.
But make no mistake, the consquences are also immediate – for our ally. In normal times, Britain would have had a conference and then the full backing of the United States on this important matter. Today? They can have no confidence in us, because our leadership appears to be compromised.
For Trump, the Russian moves are nothing more than the arabesques of a ballerina. For our erstwhile ally, they are far more sinister.
(h/t Syd Sweitzer)
