U.S. expels Russian diplomats, imposes sanctions for hacking

Executive Order on Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/04/15/executive-order-on-blocking-property-with-respect-to-specified-harmful-foreign-activities-of-the-government-of-the-russian-federation/

Why NOT engage in economic warfare? Russia is run by a sociopath at the top of an organized crime family running a gasoline stand masquerading as a “country”. The West would absolutely crush them.

You want to practice asymmetric warfare? We will show you what real asymmetry looks like.

Cut Russia off from the swift banking system. Try moving around your grift money then, Vlad. I imagine your billionaire goons wouldn’t be too happy with their money locked up out of reach either.

That’s it? Putin destroys American democracy and all Russia gets is a slap on the wrist? Come on Joe! You can do better than that. Oh wait - isn’t Joe asking Putin for a summit?

https://japantoday.com/category/world/wrapup-6-biden-proposes-summit-with-putin-after-russia-calls-u.s.-'adversary'-over-ukraine

I doubt Putin is intimidated by a summit. Vlad is probably confident he can do more push-ups at a summit than five deferment Joe. How about American troops in the Ukraine? That would show your serious. Kicking out a few diplomats is weak.

About time.

Putin has been tolerated for too long.

Good. We finally have a president that doesn’t kiss Putin’s butt all the time.

Finally? Trump did the same back in 2018

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-orders-expulsion-of-dozens-of-russian-diplomats-closure-of-consulate-in-seattle

Where does this fit into the conflicting conservative narratives that Biden is simultaneously weak and a warmonger?

Biden has been in office since January, he’s hot 4 years, a lot can happen until then, let’s hope nothing bad does happen.

Yes, Trump was kissing Putin’s butt back in 2018.

Impossible if he expelled a dozen Russians in 2018 the way Biden is doing it. Now if you say, I hate Trump (even though both men did essentially the same thing) because of partisan reasons I get it, but to say Trump was weak for doing the same thing sounds childish.

The only reason he expelled Russian diplomats was pressure from congress and the pentagon.

Well, you can make that same argument in that case as to why Biden doesn’t hit China (the real threat to US sovereignty) with hard hitting sanctions and he should, but he won’t.

Good! more sanctions on russia!

Biden left in place Trump’s sanctions. Why didn’t Trump hit China with harder sanctions?

Not sure why in the same way not sure why Biden is kissing up to our most dangerous serious adversary China, kissing up to them and Dems are quite ok with it.

Putin destroys American democracy and all Russia gets is a slap on the wrist?

Well I'm glad you can at least now admit what Russia did, instead of accusing other countries or random people in their basement! Nice to see people coming round to the side of reality.

Russia’s entire economy is roughly the size of Texas’s economy and for a massive country like that, that’s hardly impressive, now compare that to China and the story looks very different and yet as big of a threat China is, the Dems continue to never bring up the looming and serious threat of China, they want to keep Russia for obvious reasons in the forefront and thus making the Chinese very happy. Putin must be laughing his butt off and in all honesty, who could blame him?

Why NOT engage in economic warfare?

Hmmm, maybe because of the corrupt US interests? If you could see beyond the CNN propaganda you would know that.

Russia is run by a sociopath at the top of an organized crime family running a gasoline stand masquerading as a “country”. The West would absolutely crush them.

Let's not go down to the level of the second-grade media clichés, because the Russians will argue the US is run by a senile retiree surrounded by incompetent goons trying to convince the world they still matter. This will get us nowhere.

You want to practice asymmetric warfare? We will show you what real asymmetry looks like.

And what exactly can we show? Leave this couch warrior bravado if you don't have anything meaningful to say.

the Dems continue to never bring up the looming and serious threat of China

Are you really sure about that or is it just something you see every night on Tucker and now parrot here, as you're wont to do? Because Biden clearly talked about what he thinks of Xi just last month.

Putin must be laughing his butt off and in all honesty, who could blame him?

Why would Putin "laugh his butt off" after being hit with sanctions exactly?

Trump must be very angry about this.

Finally? Trump did the same back in 2018

45 made it easy for Putin's designs on the West and he facilitated the man's ego.

Thankfully, one international criminal is ousted. Hopefully Putin and his supporters will follow.

and yet as big of a threat China is, the Dems continue to never bring up the looming and serious threat of China

You must have missed congressional testimony from nearly everyone in the cabinet stating differently.

FBI, CIA, DNI, DoD.... have all stated China is the biggest threat.

That must not fit the narrative you are reading and regurgitating.

Maybe a little push back against Red China and N Korea when they hack the US government's and other major sites would be nice.

Mr. Putin must be on the phone with the X pres. asking how did we ever get to this point, and he should have won a second term till the spying task is done.

Biden is kissing up to China by leaving the sanction in place that Trump implemented?

Why isn’t Biden applying more sanctions on China? Given the fact what they put the world through last year and stealing our intellectual property, human rights abuse against the Uighur's, imprisonment of dissidents or any opposition or criticism of the Chinese authority, blocking ships in international waters, entering US territory with their submarines and on and on, so Biden could really punish and hurt the greatest threat to human democracy and Biden is doing what now?

Could you explain this a bit.

I just did and there’s much more, but it would take hours. Here’s a chance where Biden can show the Chinese we will never allow them to dictate anything to use or bow down to them, Biden could increase what Trump started but couldn’t finish and he’s not. He’s going after Russia that has an economy the size of Texas.

Here’s a chance where Biden can show the Chinese we will never allow them to dictate anything to use or bow down to them

It would be equally useful if Xi showed the Great Satan that nobody should allow any country to dictate to the other.

The world has had enough of the superstates.

Sanctions on all three of them until they learn to behave.

Nice to see an American President make Russia pay a price. It's been a while.

I'm getting the impression that bass really, really, really wants to pivot the conversation to China.

Odd, that.

To be fair to m'learned colleague, I'm not particularly subtle today, either. The old writer's block and all that. The creative juices tend to dry up when countering the increasingly bizarre deflections from fellow posters. Tut tut!

It's difficult to deliver 24/7 caricatures, sometimes they're just not going to fly.

Finally? Trump did the same back in 2018

In 2018, US intelligence agencies confirmed that Russia had interfered in the 2016 US election.

Putin told Trump, "no we didn't".

Trump said he believed Putin and not the US intelligence agencies in front of the entire world.

Won't the right-wingers and republicans be upset at how their Russian allies are being treated? They must be missing that Putin-Trump love fest.

The CIA might be advising Biden to take a page from Putin's playbook and put some polonium in his borsch, a better, more workable plan than pulling out their old Castro dirty tricks manual of beard depilators and exploding cigars. Joking aside, it's time for the US government to stop playing footsie with the ruthless Kremlinator.

Biden knows he can’t and could never be alone on a one on one Zoom call or even in person in a verbal debate.

Biden went one-on-one with Trump in two debates. And won both times.

First in space, best vaccine, defeater of IS, biggest country, best weapons...my teacher told me to respect my elders. Russia even has 500 more nukes.

The Biden administration announced Thursday the U.S. is expelling 10 Russian diplomats and imposing sanctions against dozens of companies and people, holding the Kremlin accountable for interference in last year's presidential election and the hacking of federal agencies.

And in an alternate universe where Trump won reelection...

"Sorry I couldn't give you more passwords Vlad, but even Pence is getting suspicious".....

I don’t think any strong sanctions against Russia will be ever imposed. Russia is extremely weak with Putin: corrupted, inefficient. And while Russian top hierarchy hold most of their assets in the West, there can’t be any serious threat from Russia. Moreover, the situation is extremely profitable for Western countries: they buy Russian resources and most of the money are coming back (together with families of Putin’s friends).

Not sure why in the same way not sure why Biden is kissing up to our most dangerous serious adversary China, kissing up to them and Dems are quite ok with it.

That is a patently false statement and I think you know it's nonsense.

Trump said he believed Putin and not the US intelligence agencies in front of the entire world.

The old KGB thug had Donald Trump dancing for him like a fat ballerina. Whatever song Pootie-Poo played Donald Trump danced to it. I had to grit my teeth every time that fat sob parroted the KGB/FSB party line contradicting our own people.

History repeats itself. ((

"No one wanted war - the war was inevitable"

At this point perhaps the only other step I would have taken is to prohibit US financial and investment firms from buying Russian bonds on the secondary market.

Nice to see an American President make Russia pay a price. It's been a while.

What price? Throwing out a few diplomats is nothing. How about sending some tank buster missiles to Russia’s enemies. Or is that too much to ask because Biden won’t do anything that Trump has done. Biden is weak. He likes to talk tough but it’s all bluff. The guy got five draft deferments and some poor working class sap from Scranton was sent to get shot at in his place.

Good. We finally have a president that doesn’t kiss Putin’s butt all the time

Classic RF verbiage, does not know that warmonger conservatives are on both sides, Trump fought them..Biden seems to be doing as instructed.

Pot calling the kettle black much? The US is engaged in exactly the same clandestine hacking and surveillance activates as Russia, expect with the US it's on a grander scale worldwide. Add to the fact the US constantly interferes with many country's governments, the US has no moral high ground to stand on.

The US even interferes with the governments of it's close allies, the CIA had their hand in the unconstitutional dismissal of former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1975, effectively the US orchestrated a coup in Australia, their most loyal ally.

How about sending some tank buster missiles to Russia’s enemies.

What a brilliant idea hey? Let's start a devastating war in Eastern Europe all because America feels that it's empire is being threatened.

Why NOT engage in economic warfare? Russia is run by a sociopath at the top of an organized crime family running a gasoline stand masquerading as a “country”. The West would absolutely crush them.

There's the typically psychotic, imperialist mindset of the violence orientated American. 'The West' is not going to follow the US Empire into another oil war.

You want to practice asymmetric warfare? We will show you what real asymmetry looks like.

Good luck when your country is at each others throats and is on the verge of social collapse.

P. SmithToday  06:49 am JST

Good. We finally have a president that doesn’t kiss Putin’s butt all the time.

Where does this fit into the conflicting conservative narratives that Biden is simultaneously weak and a warmonger?

joe is reimposing what his former boss (Obama) did when Russia invaded the Crimea. Sanctions are always a better alternative to war. And Russia itself has been committing cyberwar on several nations for the past decade or more. I am glad that we have a real President who doesn't orbit Moscow like a sputnik.