Senator Lindsey Graham’s remarks were slammed as irresponsible and bloodthirsty warmongering
American lawmakers from across the political spectrum have criticized their colleague’s statements as dangerous and unhinged, after Graham claimed “the only way” to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was to kill President Vladimir Putin.
On Thursday, US Senator Lindsey Graham invoked the assassination of Roman dictator Julius Caesar and the botched plot to kill Nazi German leader Adolf Hitler as examples of what should be done in his opinion. On Friday he doubled down on his threatening rhetoric, telling Fox News that Russians must “rise up and take [Putin] down.”
“This is an exceptionally bad idea,” Texas Senator Ted Cruz wrote on Twitter. “Use massive economic sanctions; BOYCOTT Russian oil & gas; and provide military aid so the Ukrainians can defend themselves.”
But we should not be calling for the assassination of heads of state.
“Seriously, wtf?,” Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) wrote on Twitter. “I really wish our members of Congress would cool it and regulate their remarks as the administration works to avoid WWlll.”
As the world pays attention to how the US and its leaders are responding, Lindsey’s remarks, and remarks made by some House members, aren’t helpful.
“While we are all praying for peace & for the people of Ukraine, this is irresponsible, dangerous & unhinged,” tweeted Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
We need leaders with calm minds & steady wisdom. Not blood thirsty warmongering politicians trying to tweet tough by demanding assassinations. Americans don’t want war.
“When has Sen. Graham encouraging regime change ever ended badly?” Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) tweeted.
The White House also distanced itself from Graham’s statements, with Press Secretary Jen Psaki saying on Friday “that is not the position of the United States government and certainly not a statement you’d hear come from the mouth of anybody working in this administration.”
We are not advocating for killing the leader of a foreign country or regime change. That is not the policy of the United States.
The open call for the assassination of the Russian president provoked fury in Moscow, with Russia’s Embassy in the US strongly condemning such statements, as well as demanding Washington hold the official accountable for his remarks.
“It is unbelievable that a senator from a country that preaches its moral values as a ‘guiding light’ for all of mankind could allow himself [a] call for terrorism as a means to achieve Washington’s goals on the international stage,” Russia’s ambassador in the US, Anatoly Antonov, said.
Graham has been driven crazy by the ongoing tensions between Moscow and the West, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov implied, saying “not everyone can remain cool-headed these days, some [people] lose their senses.”
Moscow maintains its military offensive in Ukraine is a “special operation” aimed at the “demilitarization” and “denazification” of the nation in the name of protecting the people of the two Donbass republics Russia has recently recognized.
Kiev said the attack was unprovoked, insisting it had not been seeking to retake Donetsk and Lugansk by force. The two republics split from Kiev back in 2014 in the aftermath of the Maidan coup, which ousted Ukraine’s government.
BERLIN, Mar 04 (IPS) – The writer is is Senior Fellow, Hertie School, Berlin and Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Center for Global Governance, Washington DC.The majority of the world wants peace. This is clear by now. Just consider the many large-scale anti-war demonstrations taking place around the world; and the outpour of solidarity and support for the people in the Ukraine and the more than one million Ukrainians who fled from their country.
The Balkan nation’s public broadcaster readmitted Russian channels to its cable network
Serbian public broadcaster Telekom Srbija has restored RT and RTD, the Russian news and documentaries channels, to its cable package, RT announced on Friday. However, privately-owned SBB has kept the Russian channels blocked there, “despite having the technical capability” to resume their broadcast, Sasha Savicevic, an RT officer for distribution in Europe and Africa said.
Russian channels went down in Serbia when the EU blocked its signal as part of a package of sanctions against Moscow in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. Serbian officials called the restrictions “hypocritical” and pledged that their country would not join them.
Nevertheless, for several days the programming was not available to Telekom Srbija subscribers because French satellite operator Eutelsat stopped relaying it. The Serbian broadcaster platformed the Russian channels again after finding technical ways to circumvent the restriction.
SBB is owned by telecoms giant United Group, which does business in Balkan states and in wider southern Europe. Pro-Serbian government media criticized the firm’s chair, billionaire Dragan Solak, for siding with EU governments on the decision to censor Russian news outlets.
Solak’s name found its way into Western media headlines in January, after he took control of Southampton FC, paying a reported 120 million euros ($132 mn) to buy the stock of the English Premier League club.
Solak also funds opposition political groups in Serbia, as critics accuse him of being a vehicle for foreign money that funds the fanning up of anti-government sentiments.
United Group and Telekom Srbija recently fought a bidding war for English Premier League broadcasting rights, which the public broadcaster ultimately won.
