Mac Thronberry
U.S. Reps. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and Devin Nunes (R-CA) have urged the White House to act in response to Russia breaching the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
Thornberry, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Nunes, the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, called on the White House to follow through with sanctions and to develop military options to confront Russia.
“This administration is quick to react when the Russians release information relating to the election, but when it comes to violating nuclear treaties, the president only seems willing to drag his feet,” Thornberry said. “To be clear, any Russian involvement in our political process is unacceptable. But this administration’s failure to confront the Russians for cheating on the INF treaty encourages more Russian misbehavior and leads to a more dangerous world.”
Nunes, meanwhile, said the administration’s failure to respond to Russia’s “flagrant violations” of the INF treaty, a cornerstone of nuclear disarmament agreements, is “yet another misstep” that signals American “weakness and indecisiveness.”
“The ‘strategic patience’ touted by this administration is a ridiculous euphemism for passivity and paralysis that invites further aggressive actions by Russia and other international pariahs,” Nunes said. “‘Strategic patience’ is a misleading description of this administration’s policy – it is more accurate to call it ‘strategic incoherence.’”
Thornberry and Nunes called on the president to take action in a letter sent last week, concluding, “We stand ready to support you in taking steps to respond to the military impacts of Russia’s breakout of the INF Treaty.”